Teaching Chemical Technique. A Review of the Literature

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine through a historical review of the literature some of the most effective ways to teach manipulative skills in chemistry. I reviewed chemical education journals, laboratory manuals, early American chemistry textbooks, analytical chemistry texts, and science education textbooks and journals that have to do with instructional methods of teaching laboratory technique in the chemistry laboratory from the mid-1800s to the present. Both anecdotal and research-based findings suggest that while it may be difficult to choose the "best" method to improve students' manipulative skills, it is clear that videos can be useful media to promote skill acquisition. Using videotapes, videodiscs, CD-ROMs, and the Internet can have several advantages, such as the ability to be edited, copied, and viewed multiple times. The review of the literature also strongly suggests that some sort of mental preparation combined with physical practice can beneficially affect students' laboratory skills. Mental preparation in the form of questions, summaries, or imaginary practice is cost effective and places minimal demands on the instructor. Using verbal behavior that encourages and is responsive to the student during these prelab sessions could be very effective in promoting psychomotor skills. Lastly, feedback seems to be a key component in mastering a skill. Although not widely validated by empirical studies in the chemical education literature, feedback has been shown to improve the learning of procedural knowledge.

Reasserting the role of pre-laboratory activities in chemistry education: a proposed framework for their design

“…This was often in parallel with the introduction of chemical concepts underpinning a laboratory, described above, that is unsurprising given that this is based on what would be considered to be the overall purpose of a traditional pre-laboratory lecture. De Meo has provided a useful review of approaches taken to teach chemical technique, including preparatory aspects, since Michael's Faraday's book Chemical Manipulation (DeMeo, 2001). We supplement this below by considering general themes proposed by various educators to prepare students for laboratory tasks that they would be completing.…”

“…Mental Preparation Pre-laboratory work in preparation for discussions about experimental technique were also reported, where students were asked to write out the procedure of the practical and submit it with their pre-laboratory questions (Rollnick, Zwane, Staskun, Lotz, & Green, 2001). De Meo groups approaches such as discussion and advanced written work under a general theme of mental preparation (DeMeo, 2001). Most of the reported work in chemistry laboratory education on mental practice is reported by Beasley (Beasley, 1979(Beasley, , 1985Beasley & Heikkinen, 1983).…”

Teaching Analytical Chemistry to Pharmacy Students: A Combined, Iterative Approach

“…However, the strategy presented here, and those of others, have shown the benefits of a so-called combined approach, where a logical progression of techniques, experimental practice and theory are developed, allowing the students to discover the links themselves and forging their own understanding of the topics within the module. [6][7][8][9] Indeed, the merits of theories behind individual components of this course have been discussed in detail elsewhere; however it is important for the whole to be applied as opposed to segmented pedagogical activities.…”

A Framework for Learning in the Chemistry Laboratory

“…We reject this model of teaching chemical technique. In a major historical review of teaching chemical technique, DeMeo refers to “elbow instruction” – the traditional guide on the side teaching leaners about particular approaches. As class sizes increase, the extent to which such individualised attention can be given to students is limited.…”