Personalized Lab Experiences through Cooperative Projects Marjorie Kandel
State University of New York at Stony Brwk, Stony Brook, NY 11794-3400 Stony Rrook is in many ways a typical large university. To give an idea of our size and organization, we have about 1000 students enrolled in elementarv and general chemistry (first year) and about 600 in orginic (&ond year). At the introductow and succeeding levels. a student can choose from a v&ety of courses &d independent research projects to suit background and interests. As coordinator responsible for cumculum in the organic lab courses, I have become interested in cooperative projects that can further personalize a student's experience at our large school; create ties between undergraduates in different courses; and, as advocated for example by Harry B. Grav " (1). . ., show how subiect matter in these different courses is interrelated. ~ l&zing l our Undergraduate Instrument Center. three omiects havine these goals are de" scribed below.
.
-
-
The Undergraduate Instrument Center
The Undereraduate Instrument Center is a chemistrv department f&lity equipped with a 300-MHzNMR, thrde FTIRs. and a comouwr-controlled W-visible soectrometer. ~ e f o r the e estLblishment of the Center, each subdiscipline (general, organic, inorganic, and physical) had its own courses and equipment, each in separate lab areas. The Center brought students in different courses to the same place, often at the same time. The development of cooperative projects was a natural consequence of this proximity. The Mentor Program
In this elective program, the more advanced organic lab students are mentors for prot6g6s in the firsbyear course. The mentor-prot6g6 pair works together on an organic compound identification experiment. It is the mentor's responsibility to explain the project and to oversee the pmGg6's performance of tasks appropriate to the latter's knowledge and skill. We had four mentor-prot6g6 pairs the first year and 12 the second. One student who was a proSg6 the first year sewed as a mentor the second. I have found that even averaee oreanic ., students are auite comoetent to exolain the concepts and procedures; thus, I accept as mentora all hut the most oatentlv unsuitable. Resides encoura~!n~ budding teachers a t the mentor level, this program keikrnes
-
fvst-year students into the chemistry department\ intellectual circle, the existence of which may not be even suspected by the typical freshman. The Cooperative Organic-Inorganic Project -
The organic and inorganic labs are taken by students at various stages raneine from sophomore to senior vear. The two coursc
