Active learning requires a meaningful problem for students to consider; however, most reading materials designed for classroom use are written to be accessible to novices and break complex, interrelated ideas down into easily digestible pieces. While such texts have an important role as a student resource, they rarely lend themselves to effective and engaging active learning activities. In contrast, the primary literature – written by and for experts – provides text and data that are rich in real world complexity bridging interlocking concepts from across the curriculum. In this talk, I will describe several strategies from the science education literature and my own teaching experience building active learning activities around the primary literature. I will also discuss the challenges associated with the use of primary literature in the analytical and instrumental analysis courses, as well as the resulting benefits when these challenges are met.

Articles from the primary literature as a platform for active learning

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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