The value of hands-on science education : an honors thesis (HONRS 499)

Abstract

Recent journal articles have shown that some members of the scientific community are not convinced of the benefits of laboratory teaching in undergraduate non-major chemistry courses. These courses are often general education requirements for students at the college level. In response, many professors have written responses about the success found in the laboratory. In a laboratory setting, students develop skills that they can apply to other disciplines, as well as battle a problem among the general public termed "science illiteracy." In order to support this conclusion, I have reviewed many articles on the topic of laboratory teaching and the results are presented here. I have been convinced of the benefits of a laboratory section in undergraduate non-major coursework, hence, I have also presented some proposed experiments that could be added to the current CHEM 100 People and Chemistry course at Ball State University.