NSF Center for Workshops in the Chemical Sciences
Teaching Guided-Inquiry Organic Chemistry Labs
University of California, Irvine
8/5/07-8/10/07

Workshop Objectives:

1. Provide the participant hands-on experience with question-driven, guided-inquiry organic chemistry projects and experiments.

2. Allow the participant to evaluate what works well for guided-inquiry and design-based experiments and what are the practical constraints.

3. Help the participants learn how to invigorate their laboratory courses by using inquiry-driven experiments and projects.

4. Provide the participant experience with recasting a traditional experiment or project into a question-driven or design based one.

5. Encourage sharing of positive and negative experiences by participants regarding their teaching of organic chemistry labs.

6. Explore whether graduate-student teaching assistants can provide competent supervision in the use of inquiry-driven organic chemistry labs and what training will be necessary to do this successfully.