I will be participating in a Course Design Workshop at McGill University for 2 day sessions in the next 2 weeks. Since I have already quite a few lectures under my belt, it is time to take a second look. So I have decided to give Course Redesign a spin, focusing on my Analytical Chemistry lecture.
There are exciting new teaching approaches around, especially for combined theory & lab courses. Interdisciplinary project-based learning [1] provides a better insight how research projects work and are carried out. The project-based approach provides a highly motivating environment and fosters critical thinking in a group-based process. It is something I have been interested in for a while and I certainly want to explore the opportunities the Analytical Chemistry curriculum provides for this approach.
Reference
[1] e.g., DL Van Engelen, SW Suljak, JP Hall & BE Holmes, Undergraduate Introductory W Quantitative Chemistry Laboratory Course: Interdisciplinary Group Projects in Phytoremediation (2007) Journal of Chemical Education, 84(1) 128-131.
