- Complete and original labs for the integrated laboratory
- All materials, protocols, and equipment spelled out
- Each lab customizable for your department
- Introduces and explains a wide range of lab techniques
- Geared to various ability levels
This volume is intended for chemistry instructors seeking to provide engaging and challenging labs that combine all the features and benefits of the integrated laboratory. Written by educators from around the country, each chapter of the book contains a fully detailed and explained experiment, with guidance for student questions and possible customization. The book offers students and instructors a wealth of learning opportunities in experiment preparation, measurement, recording and analysis from disciplines extending from biology and microbiology to geology, nanotechnology, and microelectronics. All experiments have been classroom tested, with safety and monitoring issues given precedence. Many of the experiments contain modules that permit the instructor to make the lab more challenging as time and student ability dictate.
DEStech – :
“The Integrated Approach to Chemistry Laboratory”
Edited by Partha Basu and Mitchell Johnson
The authors give sound reasons behind the integrated laboratory approach, and the collection of laboratory experiments presented would allow for a highly successful implementation of this teaching philosophy. Besides the variety of topics offered for investigation, the principle strength of this manual is the way the integration of methods and techniques is natural, and not forced. Oftentimes, a particular instrument or technique is presented simply for the sake of exposing them to students; in this instance, the methods chosen make sense based on the nature of the investigations.
Another advantage is the way that many of the experiments lend themselves to be used as projects that span multiple lab sessions. Students can see that scientific questions are rarely answered during a 3-hour lab session, but rather tend to involve multiple experimental steps, collaboration with others, and often lead to further questions. The experiments chosen are flexible enough that lab sections of varying size, level of experience, and available instrumentation or resources can be adjusted accordingly; moreover, there are often multiple possibilities for reagent choices, giving students multiple avenues of inquiry.
Finally, although the intent of the text is for the experiments to be used in an integrated laboratory course, most of the individual labs can be used on their own merit in a number of upper level lab courses. In closing, I am very impressed with the organization of the manual, the quality of the experiments, and the philosophy behind the approach. I would highly recommend it to my colleagues.
Sincerely,
Jason K. Vohs, PhD
Department of Chemistry
Saint Vincent College
300 Fraser Purchase Road
Latrobe, PA 15650
724-805-2354
DEStech – :
The traditional approach to educating students in chemistry is to treat the five disciplines (organic, inorganic, analytical, physical, and biological) as separate, stand-alone courses. While students tend to learn the material adequately, this approach—especially in the laboratory—does not encourage students to explore the deeper connections amongst these areas. Often students simply do not understand how principles and concepts from one discipline can be applied to the others. With their new edited manual The Integrated Approach to Chemistry Laboratory: Selected Experiments Partha Basu and Mitchell Johnson present a series of edited experiments that allow students to explore the interconnections of the major chemical disciplines.
The experiments in this manual cover all aspects of chemistry and include synthetic, analytic, and biological studies. Each experiment is written by a diverse group of authors and compiled and edited masterfully by Basu and Johnson to present a coherent collection. While edited volumes tend to be weak because of the contrasting styles of the individual authors, Basu and Johnson obviously worked to ensure a level of consistency that will allow students to follow from one experiment to the next. The journal article presentation of each experiment means that stylistic variations between authors are minimal, and indeed this presentation is a strength as undergraduates must learn how to read and interpret journal articles during their careers.
The 12 experiments are accessible to senior-level undergraduates, and the materials and equipment needed should be available at most undergraduate institutions. All of the experiments are “stand alone” so if an instructor decides to skip a particular experiment—whether for time, or cost considerations—there will be no ill-effects pedagogically.
This approach will be especially useful for smaller institutions struggling with American Chemical Society accreditation standards. Instead of having 3-4 separate upper-level labs, an institution using the Basu and Johnson approach could consolidate these into a single integrated lab (perhaps 2 credits) and provide their students with the same types of experiences they would receive otherwise. Such a consolidation would alleviate stress from low-enrolled, high-cost labs. Each experiment contains significant background material, allowing students to complete and understand the experiments even if they have not done the complementary lecture work.
Overall this is a solid approach to upper-level undergraduate chemistry experiments. The approach is well thought out and will benefit undergraduates at varying level colleges and universities.
Barry L. Westcott, PhD
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Central Connecticut State University