For years, the Chemistry Department at Dickinson has used a standard lab safety presentation during the first lab sessions of each semester of introductory and organic chemistry. Although details varied from one instructor to another, rules regarding protective eyewear, proper attire and food in the lab were recited and various pieces of safety equipment were pointed out. Students sat and listened with most tuning out the presentation when hearing it for the 2nd or 3rd time.Wouldn't it be better to apply the same active learning principles we use to teach chemistry to the teaching of lab safety? Our department has begun the process of developing a sequence of activities to be used in the first four courses of the chemistry curriculum. Ideally, activities will differ from one semester to the next so that, by the end of the organic chemistry, students will have experienced a consistent message regarding lab safety that has been reinforced, not simply repeated. This poster describes our efforts to date.

Reinforcing safety in the lab through a sequence of activities in the first four semesters of the chemistry curriculum

248th National Meeting (2014)

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