The Role of Automated Instrumentation in Undergraduate Chemistry

Bell, S. A.

doi:10.1021/ed077p1624

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Some of the benefits of early exposure to instruments were provided by Steehler in his commentary to this Journal : “...including the motivating connection to real-life chemistry, the complementary nature of the type of laboratory experience, and the need to start learning these powerful [modern chemistry] methodologies” . Despite these benefits, many instruments are perceived by students as “black boxes”, − meaning users are only concerned with instruments’ functions rather than how they function . This phenomenon may partially be an outcome of the curriculum’s frequent emphasis on the manipulation of numerical data provided by instruments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating General Chemistry Students’ Ideas of the Role of Scientific Instruments

Holme

2021

J. Chem. Educ.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Scientific instruments have long been a vital part of science, paving pathways to remarkable scientific advancements. Such advancements have changed the world both socially and culturally, especially in the past few decades. Students can be introduced to this idea through the concepts of nature of science (NOS): scientific observations are often filtered through apparatus, inferences can be made through observations, and science is a socially and culturally embedded practice. The curriculum often fails to emphasize the role of instruments in scientific practices, even in teaching laboratories. This study uses semistructured interviews to investigate the cognitive (thoughts) and affective (feelings) domains of first-year university students as they relate to scientific instrumentation, including students’ ideas of instruments. First, the study probed how general chemistry students conceptualize scientific instruments in relation to the three NOS notions. Second, students’ practices related to experimental data evaluation were investigated as data collection is a large part of psychomotor learning in laboratory. Third, students’ affective states toward learning about instruments were queried. The interview results suggested that a majority of participants acknowledge some ideas of NOS, while a few students displayed an advanced understanding when discussing scientific instruments and also tended to have higher interest and motivation toward learning about instruments.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating General Chemistry Students’ Ideas of the Role of Scientific Instruments

Holme

2021

J. Chem. Educ.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…13 The automated titration setups previously reported typically used potentiometric changes for feedback. 14a−f As argued by Bell, 15 the students' understanding of instrument theory and computer skills may vary across a cohort or between different disciplines such as Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. The incorporation of automated instrumentation is by no means a substitute for knowledge and hands-on laboratory technique but yet could illustrate improvements in efficiency.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simple Visual-Aided Automated Titration Using the Python Programming Language

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The advance of digital technology presents an opportunity to equip students with relevant skill sets as “Scientists of the Future” who are able to utilize knowledge at the interface between various disciplines. In this technology report, an open source programming language is used to automate a simple laboratory experiment commonly performed by Chemistry and Chemical Engineering students. It is introduced and demonstrated to the students from a 3-year Chemical Engineering undergraduate program. The aim of this activity is to allow students to appreciate the integration of knowledge from Chemistry and Computer Science.

show abstract

“…Recent instrumentation advances have focused on increasing acquisition efficiency through user-friendly software and automated instrumentation, thus, reducing the time required for acquisition of data. Automation is increasingly finding its way into the undergraduate curriculum, , but the retrieval and processing of data, which is often the most time-consuming operation, remains inefficient. Common strategies to move the students away from the instrument workstation include purchasing and installing extra copies of the instrument software, which can be expensive.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Cloud Storage for NMR Data Distribution

Soulsby

2012

J. Chem. Educ.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

An approach using Google Groups as method for distributing student-acquired NMR data has been implemented. We describe how to configure NMR spectrometer software so that data is uploaded to a laboratory section specific Google Group, thereby removing bottlenecks associated with printing and processing at the spectrometer workstation. Outside of the laboratory, students access and download their data by going to the appropriate URL, then manipulate their data using a freely available NMR Processing software package. This approach allows us to spend more time with students on the analysis of their data and has led to an increase in the number of NMR spectroscopy-centered experiments in our curriculum, including experiments that require the collective analysis of data. The implementation and challenges of this approach are described, including feedback from students in this course.

show abstract

The Role of Automated Instrumentation in Undergraduate Chemistry

Cited by 4 publications

References 11 publications

Investigating General Chemistry Students’ Ideas of the Role of Scientific Instruments

Investigating General Chemistry Students’ Ideas of the Role of Scientific Instruments

Simple Visual-Aided Automated Titration Using the Python Programming Language

Using Cloud Storage for NMR Data Distribution

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About