Primary Literature as the Course Design Centerpiece in a General Chemistry Course That Prepares Undergraduates for Research

Over the past several decades, research has become a key component of the undergraduate curriculum. Indeed, there have been considerable efforts to prepare undergraduates to engage in authentic research experiences with educators developing various curricular and pedagogical changes as the catalysts for effective preparation. However, most institutions elect to innovate in the major-level courses, while remaining committed to the traditional approach in general chemistry that was designed decades ago and took hold in the 1950s. It is our assertion that this outdated approach limits the ability of undergraduates to gain early access to research while also diminishing the learning gains experienced by students once they begin in their research endeavor. Therefore, in order to provide an alternative and potentially innovative approach to General Chemistry undergraduate education, we have explored the development of a combined lecture-laboratory course at the US Air Force Academy that emphasizes a research-forward, primary literature-based design to in lieu of the traditional textbook approach. This course emphasizes the extensive use of primary literature that is overtly connected to a series of experiments as the major emphasis in the course. As such, this course leans predominantly toward a laboratory-based method of instruction (∼70%). What follows is a description of a course, including methodology for changing the general chemistry curriculum from a course focused on distributing knowledge to one designed around introducing students to the academic chemical research process. This approach facilitates student learning relative to research, inquiry, and scientific reasoning, allowing such a curriculum format to be used for the achievement of relevant, <i>in situ</i> learning of chemistry.