The inability of students to draw connections between chemistry principles and daily experiences, as well as other STEM disciplines can hinder their interest in pursuing STEM programs and mastery of interdisciplinary cross-cutting concepts. As gateway courses to many STEM programs, General Chemistry laboratory courses can be revamped to convey interdisciplinary connections increase students’ appreciation of science and improve mastery of cross-disciplinary concepts. In this study, five authentic, inquiry-based interdisciplinary chemistry-biology modules were developed and implemented in the General Chemistry I laboratory course. Some laboratory sections were exposed to the traditional “cookbook” experiments (Comparison group), whereas others were exposed to the interdisciplinary modules (Treatment group). We assessed the impact of the modules on students’ cognitive and affective outcomes. This presentation will reveal detailed results centered on students’ perceived STEM identity and interdisciplinary chemistry-biology connections in the course as a result of the interdisciplinary curriculum.

Impact of authentic research-based experiences on students’ learning outcomes in general chemistry I laboratory course

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