Revising the Undergraduate Laboratory Curriculum: A case study from Chemistry at the University of Leeds

Location
Learning Centre - UG06
Dates
Wednesday 3 February 2016 (13:00-14:00)
Contact

teachingacademy@contacts.bham.ac.uk

Dr Nimesh Mistry – School of Chemistry, University of Leeds

The teaching of practical science plays a central role in the majority of STEM degree programmes1, and when taught well has the potential to 'enrich the formation of science concepts by fostering inquiry, intellectual development, problem-solving skills, and manipulative skills’.2 The high cost associated with practical science in comparison with other teaching methods means that there is an increasing scrutiny placed upon the learning experience that students gain from experimental work.

Within the School of Chemistry at the University of Leeds, a review was performed of laboratory-based teaching using established learning theory in practical chemistry. After this review it was  decided that a long overdue redesign of practical courses was required and began work in 2013/14.  In this talk Dr Nimesh Mistry will discuss the developments that have been completed so far and plans for the future.

Highlights from the talk will include:

  • Designing whole laboratory programmes with learning theory at its foundation
  • Embedding blended learning into practical chemistry
  • Increasing the proportion of open-ended experiments in years 1 and 2
  • Developing problem-based learning projects that incorporate transferable skills
  • Using students as partners to develop new resources

The majority of the literature presented, and developmental work can also be applied outside of a chemistry context so we hope that this talk will be of interested to those teaching a variety of subjects.

 References

  1. Reid, N.; Shah, I.; The role of laboratory work in university chemistry. Chemistry Education Research and Practice. 2007, 8 (2), 172-185.
  2. Domin, D.; A review of laboratory instruction styles. Journal of Chemical Education. 1999, 76 (2), 543-547.

Nimesh has been an Organic Chemistry Teaching Fellow in the School of Chemistry at the University of Leeds for the last three years. Prior to this, Nimesh held the same position at the University of York. As well as day to day teaching, he takes an active role in the teaching enhancement in the department. The majority of his work so far, has centred around practical chemistry but he also has interests in improving students’ understanding of organic chemistry.

To book your place please complete the doodle poll: http://doodle.com/poll/syg6icf8y6wxsge5 .  For more information or if have any queries about this event, please contact the Teaching Academy at teachingacademy@contacts.bham.ac.uk

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