Laboratory courses in chemistry have the potential to engage students in science practices as part of three-dimensional learning. These learning goals are reflected in recent laboratory curriculum reform efforts, such as inquiry laboratories and course-based undergraduate research experiences. However, all too often, these goals of the laboratory learning environment are not achieved. In order to understand how science practices are valued and incorporated into laboratory curricula, we interviewed faculty who are currently teaching undergraduate chemistry laboratory courses, including general chemistry, organic chemistry, and other advanced chemistry laboratory courses. In the interviews, we asked faculty about what they expected students to learn, how they assessed student learning, and how they structured student learning experiences. We analyzed interview transcripts to determine which specific science practices were valued by faculty, and how they were assessed and scaffolded throughout the laboratory curriculum. In this talk, we will present preliminary results from analysis of faculty interviews. These data are part of a larger effort to map the landscape of teaching and learning in undergraduate chemistry laboratories at our institution.

Faculty perceptions of science practices in undergraduate chemistry laboratory courses

2019 Spring National Meeting

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