Article pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Modeling Collaboration and Partnership in a Program Integrating NMR across the Chemistry Curriculum at a University and a Community and Technical College Cathleen Webb,† Darwin Dahl,† Lester Pesterfield,† Donielle Lovell,†,§ Rui Zhang,*,† Sue Ballard,‡ and Shawn Kellie‡ †
Department of Chemistry, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky 42101, United States Elizabethtown Community and Technical College, Elizabethtown, Kentucky 42701, United States
‡
S Supporting Information *
ABSTRACT: In this NSF-supported project, two Anasazi FT-NMRs are being integrated simultaneously across the chemistry curriculum at Western Kentucky University (WKU) and Elizabethtown Community and Technical College (ECTC). The collaborative project adds to a new curriculum initiative by integrating NMR throughout the chemistry curriculum to enhance both undergraduate programs. For the first time, students at ECTC now are able to gain on-site access to an NMR, which has dramatically improved the community college student’s educational experience. The project has stimulated WKU and ECTC efforts to establish an equal and sustainable partnership in a broad range. The outcome and viability of the partnership between ECTC and WKU has been externally assessed. Through strategic planning, new insights for the future of the WKU−ECTC chemistry partnership have been generated. The transformative and dynamic partnership between WKU and ECTC provides a model for other disciplines and institutions. KEYWORDS: First-Year Undergraduate/General, General Public, Second-Year Undergraduate, Upper-Division Undergraduate, Curriculum, Organic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Collaborative and Cooperative Learning, NMR Spectroscopy
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(DUE 0942208), a team at Western Kentucky University (WKU) and Elizabethtown Community and Technical College (ECTC) has developed a collaborative partnership to integrate NMR into the chemistry curriculum at both institutions, where advanced techniques and undergraduate research become a core part of their teaching practice. Central to this project, multinuclear Anasazi FT-NMRs have been set up at both institutions and experiments simultaneously implemented into the laboratory curriculum at both participating institutions. This initiative allowed substantial revision of the chemistry curriculums and introduced new experiments previously unavailable in some courses. Because WKU and ECTC shared their laboratory procedures in their laboratory courses, students at ECTC now are able to have the same laboratory experience using NMR as those students at WKU. An overview of the partnership structure, instrument distribution and implementation, student engagement, community outreach, communication and goal attainment, and future goals beyond funding are presented.
uclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is one of the most powerful technologies that is widely used in structural determination of chemical compounds.1 A multinuclear Fourier transform (FT)-NMR is also critical for undergraduate education2 and proton and carbon NMR spectroscopy are increasingly employed in undergraduate laboratories at all colleges and universities.3−5 As addressed recently by President Obama,6 two-year community colleges are an important yet undervalued asset of the American highereducation system, especially as more than 40% of all U.S. undergraduate students in public higher education attend community colleges.7 Nowadays, student participation becomes an increasingly important issue; however, the move from two to four year colleges represents a challenge for many students. In view of the high cost of NMR instruments and their maintenance, however, there are still many chemistry students without access to modern FT-NMR spectrometers. Many educational institutions have incorporated modern NMR into their undergraduate curriculum and have reported the use of shared NMR facilities.4,5,8−10 The NMR sharing normally involves local data acquisition (near the instrument)4,5,8 and remote data processing and transfer.9,10 This article describes a model for an equitable partnership between a comprehensive university and a community college by sharing resources, insight, and experiences on NMR training procedures, teaching pedagogy, laboratory exercises, and assessment strategies. Supported by an award from the National Science Foundation © XXXX American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF WKU−ECTC PARTNERSHIP With a student body of over 21,000 students, WKU is a comprehensive regional university located in south-central Kentucky. WKU has the second largest total undergraduate
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educational experience. The NMR has been extensively used in the general chemistry and organic chemistry labs since the spring of 2011. WKU shared their laboratory procedures initially with ECTC, and since then, ECTC has modified or developed procedures to fit their laboratory requirements. A list of NMR experiments performed at ECTC can be found in the Supporting Information (see Table S2). With students at ECTC having the same laboratory experience using NMR as those at WKU, the hope is that their interest will be piqued, potentially inspiring them to pursue a STEM discipline at a comprehensive university once they have completed their associate degree. Currently, the WKU chemistry department will only accept the second semester of organic chemistry lab from a transfer school if the student can demonstrate that he or she has equivalent experience on a functioning NMR. Because ECTC has the level of instrumentation that WKU expects in an organic lab, the student can seamlessly transition into WKU. The new NMR is also very important part of undergraduate research at WKU. The Anasazi FT-NMR was heavily used in undergraduate research projects during the academic years and summers to help characterize corrole and porphyrin macrocyclic compounds and analyze the metal-catalyzed sulfide oxidations. This research effort has been highly successful, leading to a peer-reviewed publication containing two undergraduate student coauthors12 and multiple student presentations in professional meetings including ACS national meetings.
enrollment as well as the third-largest graduate enrollment in Kentucky. ECTC, located 70 mi from WKU, is a comprehensive community and technical college serving the region as a STEM leader since 1964. The two institutions have a long history of working together. Starting in 1964, WKU began offering education classes to teachers and school administrators through ECTC and this turned into a formal partnership in the late 1970s. Given this relationship, in 1986, WKU established a formal “extended campus” at ECTC and, since that year, WKU staff have been teaching on the ECTC campus. Currently, the two schools are working together to ensure a seamless transition for students from ECTC to WKU to complete bachelor’s programs. Because of this partnership, faculty and staff from both institutions work closely in program development and course adjustment, student service provision, and joint club sponsorship. Financial aid officers and academic advisors work closely to ensure a smooth transition for those students wishing to complete their degree with WKU. Further, the institutions share resources that benefit each student body. The current NSF grant marks an extension of the close ongoing partnership between WKU and ECTC.
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INTEGRATION OF NMRS IN THE UNDERGRADUATE LABORATORY The primary mission for the undergraduate chemistry program is to provide students with a fundamental grounding in theoretical models balanced with real-life applications and hands-on laboratory and research experiences. As part of the recently completed WKU chemistry five-year strategic plan, an increased emphasis was placed on advanced instrumental techniques and theories in the core courses in order for students to achieve an understanding of chemical and physical phenomena at the molecular level and to develop the critical thinking skills necessary for efficient and creative chemical problem solving.11 Since the initial installation in the fall of 2010, the two Anasazi FT-NMR spectrometers provide students at both WKU and ECTC with the opportunity to work directly with real NMR data beginning in the first year. The Anasazi FT-NMR is more appropriate for many institutions than a high-field instrument because of the ease of the instrument operation. Little training is required to use the Anasazi NMR. Students are able to gain experience with acquiring and processing NMR data while applying it to a variety of chemical problems. The focus is to use NMR as a prominent feature in each chemistry sequence and significantly improve the students’ independence and comfort level with this advanced technique. The courses implemented with the NMR at WKU include general chemistry lab, two organic labs, quantitative analysis, and instrumental analysis. The types of experiment (or operation) as well as the variety of problems are thoughtfully designed so that there is a logical progression in theory and practice as the students advance through curriculum. The small number of students in upper-level courses (10−20) allows considerable hands-on time for each student. As the new NMR spectrometers are user-friendly, flexible, and fast, it becomes possible to routinely obtain NMR data during many of the labs. A list of NMR experiments incorporated into the laboratories can be found in the Supporting Information (see Table S1). In each semester, around 400−450 students are directly impacted by this project. Students at ECTC are also able to gain laboratory experience using NMR. The capability of on-site NMR instrumentation has dramatically enhanced the community college student’s
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COMMUNITY OUTREACH To foster knowledge of and facilitate access to the NMR technology, the team has run two thematic workshops on NMR in the summers of 2011 and 2012 on the WKU main campus. In both years, four one-day workshops brought together a broad community of participants including teachers and students from local high schools, students from another NSF project (NSF# 1004655), faculty and students from ECTC, and WKU research and graduate students. The workshops were conducted on a lecture-experiment format to encourage active participation by all registrants. Aspects of the chemistry and organic synthesis of the wonder drug, aspirin, and its analysis and structural elucidation by NMR analysis were covered in a one-day program. The workshop provided a working knowledge as well as hands-on experience with NMR and chemical synthesis and imparted an understanding of the capabilities and usefulness of modern instrumental analysis in selected chemical applications. The participating faculty members from WKU and ECTC also shared insights and experiences related to NMR training procedure, teaching pedagogy, laboratory exercise, and future plans for the long-term collaboration. In addition, FT-NMR introduction and on-site demonstration were held for local high school teachers at WKU and the forensic science students at ECTC, respectively. In the fall of 2011, ECTC students also demonstrated the NMR for high school students as part of ECTC Engineering Day.
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ONGOING COMMUNICATION Facing a number of technical and logistical challenges, the team has had to assess the optimum way to conduct the ongoing collaboration between the institutions. In particular, the discussions and communication, which are necessitated by running a joint project, could have been impacted by the distance between the colleges. The effective planning meetings between ECTC and WKU partners were critical to achieve the B
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set goals. During the first year, there were a total of seven onsite planning meetings at either WKU or ECTC to lay foundations such as logistics, equipment installation and training, creating labs for the new equipment, and getting to know one another. However, travel was a significant issue. Consequently, in the second year of project period, the team used an interactive video system, which has allowed for a more face-to-face discussion. This is increasingly important as the team moves to convenient and routine implement of their project as a permanent system within both the institutions. In strategic planning sessions, the priorities are laid out for the next stages of the collaboration. This could also serve as a means to an ongoing dialogue about classroom instruction, assessment strategies, and other pedagogical concerns and opportunities. With the partnership set up, the team is hoping their ongoing work will be eased by these initial efforts.
the potential for future planning. Having an initial project to work on has opened the opportunity for new ideas to be brought forth about how the two institutions can build a collaborative beyond just the introduction of the equipment to their students. Of particular importance to this project was whether the partners at ECTC feel as if they were full partners. This can be of concern when a two-year institution is partnering with a four-year institution. One conversation was particularly telling in terms of this aspect. The ECTC participant noted that WKU faculty appeared to trust the ECTC faculty and the expertise they had to perform and get the job done. Finally, in a partnership it is crucial to determine whether all people involved have felt their time, energy, and talents have been well used. Multiple examples were provided by participants of where their strengths were utilized in this partnership over the years. Participants were asked to discuss both how decisions are made within the group and frequency of communication. Data indicate that meetings were a place for open discussion and to enhance ideas of other members. Participants felt they could express their opinion among the group. The evaluator also observed this in many instances during meetings. The year-two evaluation results showed partners were making excellent progress in each of these areas and were committed to sustaining not only the communication and resource distribution goals, but also new goals that will continue beyond the funding. A full copy of the evaluation reports for this project can be found in the Supporting Information.
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PROJECT EVALUATION Measuring outcomes has been an important part of the work completed by the team, and the team members have ensured that standards within the program are consistently high. According to literature reports,13,14 the following components are important for a successful and sustainable partnership: (i) strong personal relationships, (ii) open and continual communication, (iii) full participation from both partners where each partner is of equal importance, and (iv) strategic and thoughtful planning. True partnerships do not “just happen”. To this end, the project has been critically assessed by an external evaluator. Evaluation in year one focused on the overall effectiveness of the partnership structure, distribution of resources, and communication. In year two, strategic planning sessions were conducted using an Empowerment Evaluation framework,15 which is rooted in action research and involves a partnership with the evaluator and client. The assessment data was used for problem solving and strategic planning. It is important to note that this participatory model does not follow a standard evaluation plan. Rather, the model emphasizes flexibility so that the complex nature of partnership building and creating sustainability may be understood.16 Multiple interviews over two years were conducted with program partners and student participants. The evaluator attended meetings for direct participant observation and evaluated the communication process and the personal relationships among partners. Year one was spent implementing the NMR instruments into the curriculum in the classroom and the faculty getting to know each other. Year two was about considering how the partnership can be sustained with the existing resources of the two institutions. Some of the goals were immediate and the outcomes can be reported. Others will take time to come to fruition. A part of an effective partnership is whether the collaboration is beneficial to both institutions. First, both institutions noted how important the introduction of the equipment is for their students. Next, data show that partners believed the added expertise of all the partners to the project is an important benefit for both institutions. It is important to note all partners have a different area of scientific expertise. Further, other partners have expertise outside the world of academia. With the multiple areas of expertise, each partner approaches challenges and opportunities from their field. In addition, each institution has access to these various sources of expertise as needed. Both institutions noted the importance of the networks created and
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MOVING TOWARD A LONG-TERM COLLABORATION The grant cycle ended in September 2012, yet both partners are committed to working together past the end of funding and have put a number of strategies in place to sustain a long-term collaboration. This thoughtful planning means their work has moved beyond simply purchasing the technology that they require to make the project work. First, a student pipeline has been created by developing a 2 + 2 program, encouraging graduates from ECTC to enter WKU’s chemistry program. WKU graduates have also hosted a research forum for ECTC students to better understand the undergraduate program and research opportunities at WKU. Additionally, ECTC faculty members were granted WKU adjunct faculty status and partners have made joint professional presentations and publications. Finally, the partners have been able to enhance ongoing communication. With these innovations in place, a long-term improvement in the integrative program offered between these two institutions has been fostered.
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CONCLUSION Over the two years of the project period, the team at WKU and ECTC has made a number of important steps. First, modern FT-NMRs were integrated into WKU and ECTC’s chemistry laboratory programs starting in general chemistry, thereby improving undergraduate learning experiences. This collaborative project also enhances student competency with NMR through direct operation of the NMR for a wide variety of chemical problems. Furthermore, the project has created a sustainable and equitable relationship between the two institutions by sharing resources, insights, and experiences on NMR training procedures, teaching pedagogy, laboratory C
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(9) Alonso, D. E.; Mutch, G. W.; Wong, P.; Warren, S.; Barot, B.; Kosinski, J.; Sinton, M. A networked NMR spectrometer: configuring a shared instrument. J. Chem. Educ. 2005, 82, 1342. (10) Soulsby, D. Using Cloud Storage for NMR Data Distribution. J. Chem. Educ. 2012, 89, 1007−1011. (11) Miller, L. S.; Nakhleh, M. B.; Nash, J. J.; Meyer, J. A. Students’ Attitudes toward and Conceptual Understanding of Chemical Instrumentation. J. Chem. Educ. 2004, 81, 1801. (12) Abebrese, C.; Huang, Y.; Pan, A.; Yuan, Z.; Zhang, R. Kinetic Studies of Oxygen Atom Transfer Reactions from transDioxoruthenium(VI) Porphyrins to Sulfides. J. Inorg. Biochem. 2011, 105, 1555−1561. (13) King, B., Williams, W. Howard, S., Profitt, F., Belcher, K.; McLean, J. E. Creating the Bridge: The Community’s View of the Expanding Community Partnerships; West Virginia University Press: Morgantown, WV, 2004; pp 75−88. (14) McLean, J. E.; Behringer, B. A. Establishing and Evaluating Equitable Partnerships. J. Community Engagement Scholarship 2008, 1, 66−71. (15) Fetterman, D. M. Foundations of Empowerment Evaluation; Sage Publications: Thousand Oaks, CA, 2001. (16) Worthen, B., Sanders, J.; Fitzpatrick, J. Program Evaluation: Alternative Approaches and Alternative Guidelines; Addison, Wesley and Longma Publishing: New York, 1997.
exercises, and assessment strategies. Finally, insights into the ongoing project have been gained through several strategic planning meetings to ensure the sustainability of their partnership. The team hopes their work will be able to provide a blueprint of interaction between four- and two-year colleges, moving their transformative and dynamic relationship into other disciplines and furthering the opportunities that undergraduates can be offered as part of their studies.
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ASSOCIATED CONTENT
S Supporting Information *
A list of NMR experiments performed in the undergraduate laboratory at WKU and ECTC during 2010−2012 academic years; a copy of the evaluation reports (year 1 and year 2). This material is available via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org.
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AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected]. Present Address §
D.L.: External evaluator, Department of Sociology, Western Kentucky University. Notes
The authors declare no competing financial interest.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work was supported by an award from NSF CCLI program (DUE 0942208) and through contributions from WKU and ECTC faculty members and teaching assistants. The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to NSF program officers: En-Woo Chang, Bert Holmes, and Joseph Grabowski. Their advice, suggestions and continuous support to this project have been invaluable. The authors are also thankful to another NSF project (EAR 1004655) for a significant interaction with this work.
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REFERENCES
(1) Akitt, J. W. NMR and Chemistry, An Introduction to the Fourier Transform-Multinuclear Era; Chapman and Hall: London, 1983. (2) American Chemical Society, Committee on Professional Training. Undergraduate Professional Education in Chemistry: ACS Guideline and Evaluation Procedures for Bachelor’s Degree Program; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2008. http://portal.acs. org/portal/PublicWebSite/about/governance/committees/training/ acsapproved/degreeprogram/WPCP_008491 (accessed Mar 2013). (3) Davis, D. S.; Moore, D. E. Incorporation of FT-NMR throughout the Chemistry Curriculum. J. Chem. Educ. 1999, 76, 1617. (4) Vaughn, J. B. The Influence of Modern NMR Spectroscopy on Undergraduate Organic, Inorganic, and Physical Chemistry at Florida State University. J. Chem. Educ. 2002, 79, 306. (5) Ball, D. B.; Miller, R. Impact of Incorporation of High Field FTNMR Spectroscopy into the Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum. J. Chem. Educ. 2002, 79, 665. (6) Video recording from the Web site of the White House, Washington, DC. http://www.whitehouse.gov/video/PresidentObama-Announces-American-Graduation-Initiative, 2009 (accessed Mar 2013). (7) National Center for Education Statistics . Digest of Education Statistics; U.S. Department of Education: Washington, DC, 2001; p 210. (8) Smith, D. H. The Nebraska instrument sharing consortium. J. Chem. Educ. 1986, 63, 68−69. D
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