What is a Problembased Laboratory

1
What is a Problem-based Laboratory?

• John C. Woolcock and Wendy Elcesser Indiana
  University of PA (IUP)

18th BCCE, Iowa State University, Ames, IA July
2004
2
Problem-Based Learning in Lab

• Students are presented with an open-entry problem
  with more than one path to the solution
• Outcome is pre-determined a clear goal or final
  desired result is described explicitly
• Deductive approach students must understand the
  principle being investigated before lab begins
• Procedure is student generated students work in
  teams to create a lab procedure and/or data
  analysis strategy

Reference Domin, D. S. J. Chem. Educ., 1999, 76,
543-547.
3
Laboratory Instructional Styles
Reference Domin, D. S. J. Chem. Educ., 1999, 76,
543-547.
4
Selected Problem-Based Laboratory Programs

• CER Chemical Scenarios by Patricia Metz
• Cooperative Chemistry by Melanie Cooper
• I.O.N.S Concept by John Kenkel
• ChemConnections, A joint project of the ChemLinks
  Coalition and The ModularChem Consortiumwith
  support from the National Science Foundation
• Working With Chemistry by D. Wink, S.
  Fetzer-Gislason and J. Ellefson-Kuehn

5
CER Chemical Scenarios

• Each experiment places students in a job based
  scenario to solve a real world problem.
• Background Minimal presented as overview of
  task(s) required students must review chemical
  principles
• Pre-Laboratory Assignment Linked to student data
  collection and analysis.
• Report Student-generated Laboratory
  Investigations Outline with no data tables
  provided
• Post-Laboratory Questions Includes calculations
  but no specific instructions for them asks for
  results summary and writing task
• Teams and Roles of Group members Not specified

6
CER Chemical Scenarios

• Predetermined Outcome students are charged with
  finding a solution to a very specific problem
• Deductive Approach minimal background is
  provided includes chemical equations and
  suggestions for data collection
• Procedure -- very general description students
  must translate this to a procedure or it must be
  distributed by instructor
• Reference Metz, Patricia. Chemical Education
  Resources, Modular Lab Program,
• Brooks/Cole, Thomson Publishing, Philadelphia, PA

7
Cooperative Chemistry

• Multi- week projects focused on real-world
  problems
• Prelab organizational questions focus on
  procedure design and data analysis/calculations
• Description of lab equipment, techniques and
  instrumentation are detailed in the lab manual
  and in SuperChemLab software
• General oral and written report guidelines and
  model reports are provided along with post-lab
  summary question specific to each project.
• Cooperative group work provides structure and
  support for designing the procedure, analysis of
  data and a group oral or written report

8
Cooperative Chemistry

• Predetermined Outcome scenario asks students to
  analyze a sample or solve a technology problem
• Deductive Approach minimal background on
  chemical principles and concepts involved is
  provided
• Procedure Design - students design all the
  procedure however, techniques needed are
  identified and hints on procedure are provided
• Reference Cooperative Chemistry Laboratory
  Manual by Melanie Cooper,
• McGraw-Hill Publishing (2002)

9
I.O.N.S. Concept

• Innovation and Novel Solutions (I.O.N.S), a
  fictitious company trying to solve problems for
  various clients
• Scenario Introduced by the CEO
• Background Letter from Client or Consultant or
  Standard Operating Procedures
• Pre-Laboratory Assignment Focus on Safety
• Data sheets sometimes included
• Report Student-generated as a memo to CEO/client
  describing results
• Teams and Roles of Group Members Teams sometimes
  mentioned roles remain unassigned

10
I.O.N.S. Concept

• Predetermined Outcome solution to a very
  specific problem
• Deductive Approach background information
  provided by CEO and/or consultant (including
  routine laboratory procedures)
• Procedure Given very specific as a standard
  operating procedure (SOP)
• Reference Kenkel, John V. Chemistry An
  Industry-Based Laboratory Manual,
• CRC Press LLC,Boca Raton, FL (2000).

11
ChemConnections

• Modules integrate lecture and labs
  explorations.
• Example Earth, Fire and Air What is Needed to
  Make an Effective Air-bag System
• Lab explorations are a mix of guided-inquiry (4B)
  and problem-based labs (8E)
• 4B How does the identity of the gas affect the
  air-bag volume?
• 8E How can baking soda and vinegar be used to
  inflate an air-bag?
• Cooperative group work provides structure and
  support for designing the procedure and analysis
  of data
• Creating a context sections prepare students for
  the experiment
• Post-lab summary questions for exploration are
  provided

12
ChemConnections

• Predetermined Outcome students are asked to
  optimize the yield and rate of gas production
• Deductive extensive background on chemical
  principles and concepts is developed in each
  session of the module
• Procedure Design - students are given the
  procedure but are asked to predict the amount of
  gas needed to fill the bas and select one or more
  design factors to explore

• Reference ChemConnections Series Guide to
  Teaching With Modules by Joanne L. Stewart and
  Valerie L. Wilkerson, W. W. Norton Publishing
  (1999)

13
Working With Chemistry

• Two week experiment groups focused on a
  real-world scenario application of a specific
  chemistry concept to other sciences
• Expository skill building lab
• Problem-based application lab
• Both individual and group work is included as
  part of each lab
• Prelabs focus on learning background, procedure
  design, data analysis/calculations and lab safety
• Data collection and reports are described
  narrative with no report model or data sheets for
  the skill building lab

14
Working With Chemistry

• Predetermined Outcome scenario ask students to
  analyze a sample or solve a technology problem
• Deductive background includes complete
  description of all chemical principles and
  concepts involved
• Procedure Design - students design only a part of
  the procedure or data analysis

• Reference Working With Chemistry A Laboratory
  Inquiry Program, 2nd Edition by Donald Wink,
  Sharon Fetzler-Gislason and Julie Ellefson-Kuehn,
  W.H. Freeman Publishing (2005)

15
Special Emphasis of Each Lab Program

• CER Scenarios emphasis is on translating a
  procedure to a specific written protocol
• Cooperative Chemistry emphasis is on procedure
  design and group work
• I.O.N.S. Program emphasis is on standard
  laboratory operations and communication skills
  required of industrial technicians
• ChemConnections emphasis is on the integration
  of lecture and laboratory for all students of all
  disciplines
• Working With Chemistry emphasis on applying
  previously learned skills to a problem that is
  linked to the use of chemistry in other sciences

16
Why Working With Chemistry?

• We wanted experiments that
• had problems that were directly related to the
  disciplines of non-chemistry science majors
• allowed students to use the skills learned in one
  experiment to carry out another related one
• were focused on a concept or topic that had clear
  and explicit connections to lecture

17
How To Adapt Labs to WWC Style

• Find a chemistry concept theme that you want to
  explore in a series of two to three lab
  experiments for example, equilibrium.
• Find an application of chemistry to other
  disciplines of science for example computer
  science.
• Create a skill building lab using an expository
  instructional style and create an application lab
  using an inquiry or problem based style complete
  with a scenario.

18
Features Included in Lab Groups

• Purpose describes links to lecture concepts
• Scenario provides the problem statement
• Learning goals for each lab are explicitly listed
• Prelab
• Skill building focuses on learning concepts and
  techniques
• Application focuses on transfer of skills from
  previous lab, procedure design and data analysis
• Background chemical concepts related to the lab
  are described in detail
• Procedure application lab must have an explicit
  student-design component
• Report/Conclusions
• Skill building expository-style report is a
  model for next lab
• Application report outline provided conclusion
  questions linked back to the scenario

19
Creating A Skill Building Lab

• GS-1 Determination of the Molar Mass of an
  Unknown Metal
• Purpose uses stoichiometry of a gas forming
  reaction and Ideal Gas Law calculations
• Procedure uses Vernier pressure sensors to
  determine ?P at constant V and T
• Prelab focuses on Daltons Law of Partial
  Pressure, practice calculations with Ideal Gas
  Law and how T and V are measured
• Report tutorial has prepared data tables but
  identical calculations for multiple trials are
  automated with Excel.

20
Creating An Application Lab

• GS-2 Designing a Model Airbag
• Scenario development of model air bag for baby
  carriages
• Procedure design how to measure P, T V, how to
  keep reactants from mixing and amounts of
  reactants needed to inflate bag
• Problem to solve What effect is there on
  inflation size and speed by changing amounts of
  reactants?
• Prelab focuses on design of airbag, hypothesis on
  the effect of changing amounts of reactants and
  example calculations
• Report guide has a only an outline students
  write a formal report
• Reference ChemConnections Series Guide to
  Teaching With Modules by Joanne L. Stewart and
  Valerie L. Wilkerson, W. W. Norton Publishing
  (1999)

21
Creating the Skill Building Lab

• Molecular Orbital Calculations of Small Molecules
• PreLab focuses on the comparison of Valence Shell
  Electron pair Repulsion Theory and Molecular
  Orbital calculations to predict the shapes of a
  series of molecules including bond angles.
• Preparing students for software use and
  interpretation of results
• Rationalize differences from idealized geometries
• Report tutorial contains tables and directed
  questions to focus understanding
• Experiment highlights an important use of
  computers for problem solving in chemistry

22
Creating An Application Lab

• Prediction of the Preferred Reaction Product by
  Molecular Orbital Calculations
• Prelab focuses on
• Understanding what the output of the Spartan
  molecular orbital calculations mean
• Predicting using VSEPR what the likely product
  would be
• Report tutorial has a report outline so students
  can write a formal report
• Scenario focuses on Molecular Orbital
  Calculations to predict the outcome of a
  synthesis which is then performed.

23
Conclusions

• All PBL lab programs examined have the essential
  characteristics described by D. Domin each with
  its unique emphasis.
• All PBL labs programs also use group work to
  provide structure and support and pose real-world
  problems.
• We have successfully created WWC style experiment
  groups starting from a chemical concept or an
  application of chemistry.
• We have successfully converted three week,
  1st-edition WWC experiment groups to the new
  two-week skill building/ application format found
  in the second edition.
• We have also created our own prelabs and report
  writing guides to focus to provide more
  structure and support for these tasks
• We have found that Calculations Practice is
  useful guidance for some of the more intricate
  calculations.
• Future Goals How to more effectively use groups
  and the use of group reports.

24
Acknowledgements

• IUP General Chemistry Teaching Circle Thomas
  Crumm, Wendy Elcesser, Jaeju Ko, Anne Kondo,
  Charles Lake, George Long, Philip Palko, Ronald
  See, John Woolcock
• (http//wey238ab.ch.iup.edu/woolcock/teachingcirc
  le/index.htm)
• Donald Wink, Sharon Fetzer Gislason and Julie
  Effefson Kuehn
• National Science Foundation CCLI AI grant
  (DUE-0126498)
• IUP College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics