Enhancing the First Titration Experience

A titration is a common method of analysis that students perform in an introductory chemistry laboratory course. The author describes eight key elements that he uses to enhance student learning when his students conduct a complexometric EDTA titration of zinc. The eight elements are: the use of a prelaboratory flow diagram, a multiple-week laboratory structure, student preparation of solutions, a conceptual connection, repeated modeling of the technique, a certification process, disclosure of results, and an argument for “good” data. Through a multiple choice survey, twenty-four students enrolled in the author’s introductory laboratory course provided positive feedback on these eight instructional elements.