Development of a Large-Enrollment Course-Based Research Experience in an Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory: Structure–Function Relationships in Pyrylium Photoredox Catalysts

Abstract

Despite the recognized effectiveness of course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), there are few examples of the development of a CURE-based course in a large-enrollment undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory. Herein, we describe the development and implementation of a series of undergraduate laboratory experiments centered around the synthesis and characterization of pyrylium salts in the context of photoredox catalysis. Pre- and post-survey data regarding the CURE features of collaboration, discovery, iteration, and student project ownership also highlight the strengths of the CURE implementation in this large-scale lab course.

Participation in a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience Results in Higher Grades in the Companion Lecture Course

“…CUREs for undergraduate science majors focus on the science content knowledge necessary for pursuing science-related careers (e.g., Cianfrani & Hews, 2020; Cruz et al, 2020; Olimpo et al, 2016). An underlying assumption of these CUREs is that for such knowledge to be robust, it cannot simply be transmitted to students (Brownell et al, 2012).…”

Measuring integrated understanding of undergraduate chemistry research experiences: assessing oral and written research artifacts

“…When students are provided with the space to encounter challenges, revise their research goals, and repeat their work, this iterative process can have a powerful impact on their sense of ownership as they learn to navigate obstacles in their scientific discipline (Corwin et al, 2018;Gin et al, 2018). CUREs focused on chemistry have been shown to improve students' project ownership in lower-division, upper-division, and largeenrollment undergraduate courses (Williams and Reddish, 2018;Cruz et al, 2020;Heller et al, 2020).…”

“…Despite a national call to replace traditional introductory laboratory courses with research-based courses, this practice is still emerging at U.S. colleges and universities (Olson and Riordan, 2012;Laursen, 2019). Those course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) that have been developed in chemistry allow students to develop self-confidence and project ownership, as well as contributing to novel research in chemistry (Kerr and Yan, 2016;Ghanem et al, 2018;Cruz et al, 2020). Additionally, students who complete these courses believe that they have learned more chemistry content than they would have in traditional lecture and laboratory courses (Chase et al, 2017).…”

Expanding the Scope of Citizen Science: Learning and Engagement of Undergraduate Students in a Citizen Science Chemistry Lab

“…CUREs embedded in the natural sciences enable students to collect or analyse novel experimental data, following a structured inquiry process and addressing research questions to which the expected outcome is unknown (Dolan 2016;Kerr and Yan 2016). For example, Cruz et al (2020) describe a series of undergraduate laboratory experiments centred around the synthesis and characterization of pyrylium salts in the context of photoredox catalysis with an unknown structure−activity relationship. While CUREs are not formally defined as citizen science, recent publications highlight the similarities between the fields, incorporation of citizen science projects into CUREs, and the possible expansion of CUREs into citizen science projects that have greater public engagement and stronger scientific goals (Gastreich 2020;Sorensen et al 2018).…”