2011 Innovations in the Chemistry Laboratory

The 2011 Harris Teaching Workshop was held on May 12-13, 2011 at the University of Alberta, North Campus. The topic for discussion was "Innovations in the Chemistry Laboratory" and participants from all post-secondary schools across western Canada were invited to attend. In this workshop, we looked at the laboratory experience across the entire undergraduate chemistry program and discussed various topics, including curriculum, delivery, students, teaching assistants, and structure. A particular recurring theme this year was to examine how to collaborate across sub-disciplines of chemistry, across departments, and across institutions to give students a better lab experience.

The workshops are structured such that the first day has 4 small-group breakout sessions on various topics, so that a detailed look at the issues can be done. On the second day, all the groups report back to the large group to allow all participants a chance to discuss the issues. Below are the report outlines of the small-group breakout sessions, organized by session number and topic.

Download the workshop schedule here.

Session 1

• Green Chemistry
• Introduction of Spectroscopy in 1st and 2nd-year labs
• Lab Exams and Lab Assessment
• Methods of Engaging Students in the Lab
• Virtual Labs/Labs at a distance
• Where and when do students do their most important learning?

Session 2

• Discovery vs Concept Reinforcement Labs
• Methods of Engaging Students
• How to engage students
• Multiscale/Multi-Institutional Labs
• Synthetic Labs

Session 3

• Encouraging Collaboration
• Grading rubrics, marking and learning objectives
• Integrated Labs
• Measurement of Labs
• The Role of the Laboratory in Chemistry Student Training

Session 4

• Introduction of Spectroscopy in 1st and 2nd-year labs: Implementation
• Pre and Post Lab
• TA Professional Development
• Upper Level Labs