Raman spectroscopy based activities were developed and implemented into the first year chemistry undergraduate curriculum. The implementation of these experiences and experiments and the utility of Raman spectroscopy as a teaching tool to convey anchoring chemistry concepts using a hands-on Raman spectroscopy based approach are discussed. Fundamental principles of chemistry, such as the interaction of light with matter, molecular bonding, equilibrium, and acid base reactions are facilitated through use of these Raman spectroscopy based experiments and experiences. An assessment of student learning gains as a result of participation in a Raman spectroscopy experience was also conducted and is discussed. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Dealing with the college laboratory program in general chemistry, this study compares the effects of exercises based on current national problems with the effects of traditional laboratory exercises. The study has been prompted by the recent emphasis on topics of national interest in the undergraduate chemistry curriculum. These topics include air and water pollution, drug addiction and analysis, tetraethyl-lead additives, insecticides in the environment, and recycling of wastes. The relevant experiments are taken from recent issues of the Journal of Chemical Education. The traditional exercises, from the laboratory manual Chemistry in the Laboratory, by Watt, Hatch, and Lagowski (New York, Norton, 1964), deal with such topics as chemical composition, gas laws, solutions, and acids and bases.

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Over the past decade over 600M in funding has been devoted to bringing about reform in science education, but little is known about who is implementing reform, the extent of reform implementation and how educational contexts differentially impact reform innovations. This dissertation explores the results of the Multi-Initiative Dissemination Project (MID Project), a national curriculum reform program that was designed to propagate reform pedagogy among undergraduate chemistry faculty in faculty development workshops. We analyzed data from surveys, in-class observations and faculty interviews to explore the relationships between the participant faculty demographic features and their pedagogy and teaching philosophy before and following exposure to the workshops. We found interesting demographic characteristics that distinguish the participant faculty from the academic chemistry faculty responding to the ACS 2000 census. Also, our study uncovered relationships between the participants' demographic features and their conceptions of teaching and practices that may mediate the impact of pedagogical interventions such as curriculum reform workshops. This dissertation describes these relationships and their implications for policies supporting reform efforts

The purpose of this study is to find out what students in the first chemistry course at the undergraduate level (general chemistry for science majors) know about the affordances of instrumentation used in the general chemistry laboratory and how their knowledge develops over time. Overall, students see the PASCO™ system as a useful and accurate measuring tool for general chemistry labs. They see the probeware as easy to use, portable, and able to interact with computers. Students find that the PASCO™ probeware system is useful in their general chemistry labs, more advanced chemistry labs, and in other science classes, and can be used in a variety of labs done in general chemistry. Students learn the affordances of the probeware through the lab manual, the laboratory teaching assistant, by trial and error, and from each other. The use of probeware systems provides lab instructors the opportunity to focus on the concepts illustrated by experiments and the opportunity to spend time discussing the results. In order to teach effectively, the instructor must know the correct name of the components involved, how to assemble and disassemble it correctly, how to troubleshoot the software, and must be able to replace broken or missing components quickly. The use of podcasts or Web-based videos should increase student understanding of affordances of the probeware.

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