Development and Implementation of a Research-Preparative General Chemistry Laboratory Course: Chemistry of Beverages

Abstract

In the University of North Carolina Asheville Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, we believe that research with undergraduates is the most effective educational pedagogy. Yet to achieve high quality student research, student readiness for independent research must be developed early in their undergraduate career. To this end, we developed and implemented a research-preparative General Chemistry Laboratory course to build student research skills. In this first chemistry laboratory in the curriculum, students learn to work cooperatively in a group, construct an experiment to address a chemical question, and complete that experiment to yield results based on scientifically sound principles. The main culmination of the course is a group research project of the students’ design but based on the laboratory techniques and principles learned in the course. The entire laboratory is focused on the chemical and physical properties of beverages, making it an interesting and relevant topic for students. In addition, the entire lab was created with sustainability in mind, creating very little chemical waste. In this paper, we describe the development, layout, and implementation of the course and evaluate student learning and faculty impressions of student learning.