NSF Award
9950846
The University is assisting seven regional community colleges, Allen County Community College, Coffeyville Community College, Fort Scott Community College, Independence Community College, Labette Community College, Neosho County Community College, and N.E. Oklahoma A&M College, in adding data acquisition equipment and adapting related experiments to their chemistry laboratory programs. The instructions to students for the new equipment include computer analysis and display of the data collected. The equipment for four of the community colleges is Vernier calculator based laboratory (CBL) packages, the type used at the University. Pre-existing circumstances caused the other three schools to select sensors interfaced directly to computers. The community college chemistry instructors also are bringing organic chemistry laboratory classes to the University to get hands-on experience with existing major instruments including NMR spectrometers (60 and 300 MHz), a GC/Mass spectrometer, and an FT-IR spectrophotometer. During the first year of the project, institutions adapt existing laboratory instructions to the new equipment and data analysis software. A workshop at the University assists the community college chemistry instructors in the adaptation process and trains them to operate the major instruments to which they bring students. During the second year of the project, faculty add new experiments that increase the use of the sensors. The new experiments are written in guided-inquiry format, adapting methods used by the New Traditions chemistry initiative. During the second year, the community college instructors become self-sufficient at operating the major instruments at Pittsburgh State and teaching students to analyze the spectra taken. During the third year, the participants disseminate the results of the project by publications and presentations. The equipment at the community colleges and Pittsburgh State is capable of serving all the chemistry students in the region for many years.
