Research Question

Will having a CURE in General Chemistry II lab increase students' experimental design skills and lab technique?

Rationale

Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workforce employers have cited the need for more well-trained graduates that can apply their discipline to real world problems. Laboratory courses are typically where students learn discipline specific skills, which have historically been taught through pre-prescribed protocols, similar to "cookbook" recipes. Inquiry-based labs build in some open-endedness to the protocols, but Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) shift it even further. CUREs have 5 main components, shown below. It has been shown that CUREs improve students' understanding of the research process, their attitude toward science and research, their science identity, and more. It has NOT been explicitly shown that CURE-based lab courses increase students' experimental design skills or their laboratory technique.

Hypothesis

We hypothesize that the CURE cohort will build more experimental design skills and better lab technique than the non-CURE General Chemistry II cohort.

Approach

We have built a General Chemistry II lab curriculum that includes a CURE in the second half of the semester. In the first half of the semester students learn lab techniques and concepts that apply to General Chemistry II and their CURE topic. They also learn science practices and science communication throughout the semester.