At Penn State the analytical chemistry curriculum introduces students to modern methods of chemical analysis and provides students with practical instrumentation skills necessary to obtain high quality results. The laboratory component combines skill-building exercises with open-ended, hands-on and inquiry-based thematic experiments that combine the concepts of precipitation, acid-base equilibria, chelation, redox, UV/VIS spectroscopy, extraction equilibria and their pH dependencies, and forensic applications of chromatography. New projects are rotated in every semester. For example, two of the projects this past semester required students to develop and characterize (stoichiometry, pH dependence, breakthrough volume, etc.) a complexometric and SPE-based concentration method for Cu2+, Pb2+, and Zn2+; and to compare and contrast QuEChERS and Soxhlet pesticide extraction methods with subsequent characterization by GC-MS. The course uses Learning Assistants (LA) to facilitate/mentor small group discussion/work on in-class lecture activities and to conduct evening homework problem-solving sessions. The LA program integrates a weekly education seminar, meetings with science faculty to review content, and a semester-long teaching experience working with groups of students in university science courses (in this case, my analytical course). LAs further their content understanding in weekly meetings with the lead instructor of the course in which they work. In these meetings they also plan for the upcoming week and reflect on the previous week. Second, LAs develop their pedagogical knowledge through a weekly science education seminar that is co-taught by an education faculty member. The ultimate goal of the LA program is to enhance student outcomes for both the LAs and the students they work with.

Enhancing outcomes in analytical chemistry via special projects and co-curricular experiences

249th National Meeting (2015)

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