Prioritizing the Development of Experimental Skills and Scientific Reasoning: A Model for Authentic Evaluation of Laboratory Performance in Large Organic Chemistry Classes

Practical skills in chemistry are considered an essential outcome of an undergraduate chemistry degree. To achieve this, chemistry curricula are designated a substantial number of hours in teaching laboratories. However, the general method of a summative assessment of these sessions is through a written laboratory report and not through the actual skills displayed by the students, thereby limiting our ability to identify the deficiencies in a student’s putative skill set. This has downfield implications on the perceptions of the value of a chemistry degree, both from employers and graduates. Here, we report a rubric-based method of assessment in which we grade practicals based on observations made in the laboratory. The active assessment allowed us to engage with every student and to offer immediate feedback and guidance for skill improvement.