A VIPEr Learning Object (LO), “Formal NSF Styled Proposal Writing in Preparation for Original Multi-Week Laboratory Projects” by Lon Porter, Wabash College, has been adapted for use in three different upper division courses at Siena College.  These courses span the curriculum including both inorganic courses and those outside of the subdiscipline.  In their third and fourth years, starting with a Chemical Communications course, students prepare formal project proposals based upon the VIPEr LO for an individual literature review presentation. In subsequent laboratory courses, Inorganic Synthesis and Physical Biochemistry, the proposal is expanded to include an experimental protocol and budget. The laboratory proposals are written as a team of co-PIs and ultimately the students present their project as a group and/or submit an individual paper in the style of an ACS communication.  We have further adapted the LO to include a grading scheme that mimics NSF-style feedback, including the possibility of rejection and request to resubmit before initiation of the project.  Alumni who continued their education report that the skills practiced in these activities have positively impacted their readiness for graduate school research.

Writing research proposals across the undergraduate curriculum: Adapting a VIPEr Learning Object for use in multiple courses

251st National Meeting (2016)

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