Our six hour/week two semester organic laboratory sequence has long included a half-semester three- step independent synthesis project in the second semester. Over the past two decades this has evolved from a mandatory, closely controlled suite of projects tied to a central ‘theme’ that varied annually, to an elective and increasingly independent set of projects tied to a wide variety of ongoing faculty research programs across chemistry and beyond. This has allowed faculty to leverage this course to advance their research as well as students’ learning, and has drawn a diversity of targets from most of the faculty in the chemistry department and some from other STEM disciplines. Students gain exposure to and connection with authentic faculty research, providing some a springboard to future research engagement. All have the satisfaction of contributing to ongoing work rather than to a waste container. Projects begin with a literature search workshop on how to use SciFinder and other library resources. Students identify a target and develop a synthetic plan. They craft a research proposal including lists of chemicals, hazards, and required equipment. Students execute the multistep synthesis with complete purification and characterization of intermediates over five weeks, and prepare a comprehensive written report. Two years of CURE survey data indicate students are successfully achieving desired learning gains from this course-based research experience at a level that is comparable with summer undergraduate research experiences. Moreover, targets prepared in these projects have contributed to the work of 21 faculty including 20 papers and four funded research proposals.
Smith et al. (Wed,) studied this question.