Design and Implementation of an Organic to Analytical CURE Sequence

Abstract

This paper describes the design and implementation of a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) sequence in chemistry that links a lower-division, organic chemistry course to an upper-division, analytical chemistry course. The focus of student research is on blood preservation using trehalose derivatives in order to mimic the tardigrade, a microscopic extremophile, which produces sugar molecules to survive desiccation and freezing. Students created a library of modified sugar molecules in the organic CURE and then evaluated the behavior of those molecules within membranes in the analytical CURE. The CURE sequence has been run with three student cohorts which were selected to match the demographics of all students in the course. This article details the student selection process, the course design, the faculty implementation, and revisions. Fidelity of the CURE is demonstrated with survey results. We also describe adaptation of the research courses to accommodate the COVID-19 restrictions.

Goals for the Undergraduate Instructional Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory When Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences Are Implemented: A National Survey

“…Further, community-based support has been identified as an essential resource for both the initial and long-term planning of CUREs in the physical sciences . Instructors may also benefit from department-level, college-level, or multi-institutional CURE programs in which students work across courses on a shared research goal; development of experiments and learning materials would then be a collaborative effort rather than a task done in isolation. ,,,, The Center for Authentic Science Practice in Education (CASPiE) serves as one example for broadly implementing course-based research experiences in chemistry. , …”

“…Our understanding of how individuals learn across the undergraduate chemistry curriculum has prompted a rise in inquiry-based instruction . As evidenced by this Special Issue and numerous articles within the Journal , a body of chemistry educators are now committed to developing and implementing inquiry-based laboratory experiences. − Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) constitute one means of incorporating inquiry into the instructional chemistry laboratory. − The CURE pedagogy involves embedding real chemistry research experiences within the undergraduate curriculum, providing an opportunity for students to design experiments, collect and analyze novel data, and produce results relevant to the scientific community. , Participation in undergraduate research is associated with increased levels of retention, greater pursuit of graduate education, and learning gains for key research skills; by incorporating research within a course, CUREs have the potential to increase access to undergraduate research opportunities and ultimately make associated benefits available to a larger number of students . Furthermore, the CURE pedagogy can bridge the disconnect between research and teaching for faculty instructors that feel they cannot amply devote the necessary time to both, allowing them to advance their own research interests while fulfilling their instructional role…”

Effects of a CURE Laboratory Module on General Chemistry Students’ Perceptions of Scientific Research, Green Chemistry, and Self-Efficacy

“…The two largest scale URCs were the CASPiE project (Center for Authentic Science Practice in Education), led by Purdue University, and the REEL project (Research Experiences to Enhance Learning), led by Ohio State University. Both projects were funded for about five years and each included thousands of students in the research-based laboratory experiences. − Most CUREs are provided in upper-level chemistry courses such as analytical, , inorganic, physical, and biochemistry courses, , or covering more than one course. − CUREs have also been integrated into introductory general ,− and organic chemistry courses, ,, which are usually called “gateway” courses to STEM degrees due to traditionally low success rates. CUREs incorporated in introductory courses are able to exert a greater influence on students’ academic and career paths.…”

The Design and Implementation of an Interdisciplinary CURE as an Alternative Option for the General Chemistry Laboratory Course

“…Due to the multitude of benefits associated with CUREs, a large number of new and innovative CURE projects have been published in the Journal of Chemical Education covering a variety of topics in analytical, organic, physical and biochemistry. − ,− These previously published CURE programs not only demonstrated the feasibility of implementing undergraduate research experiences in a course setting with a much larger enrollment (some accommodate hundreds), but also validated that many of the aforementioned pedagogical benefits are well conserved in chemistry-based CURE programs. − ,− Recently, Clark et al, Hauwiller et al, and Calvin et al, reported the expanding effort in experimenting CURE initiatives at the first-year level. ,, Together, they demonstrated the consistent and positive learning outcomes of CUREs for novice chemistry students, which promoted early career chemistry students to self-identify as chemists, and persist in the program. ,, Ghanem et al, further demonstrated that the implementation of CURE programs in chemistry education, through the full integration of training in mandatory and accredited general chemistry programs with open-ended research experiences, produced unexpected but positive outcomes in undergraduate science curricula . Encouraged by all the reported benefits and practicality of CUREs, we would like to report our newest development and implementation of an interdisciplinary CURE course (from here on referred to as CURE CHEM111).…”