Education Commons^™

Improving Student Attitudes About Science By Integrating Research Into The Introductory Chemistry Laboratory: Interdisciplinary Drinking Water Analysis, Dana Richter-Egger, James P. Hagan, Fredric C. Laquer, Neal Grandgenett, Robert Duncan Shuster

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

The integration of student research into a general chemistry laboratory and an environmental geology course has been evaluated for its effectiveness to improve (i) student attitudes about science and chemistry, (ii) student understanding of the nature of experimental science and the scientific method, and (iii) student perceptions of the application of science and the interdisciplinary nature of science. Students in introductory science courses frequently devote all or most of their time and effort to learning basic laboratory techniques by following predefined procedures that have intentionally predictable outcomes. Though this longstanding model of laboratory structure is an important means of effectively …