Course: Organic Chemistry
Faculty: Judith Amburgey-Peters, Ellen E. Burns, Assistant Professors of Chemistry
Librarian: Donna Jacobs, Science Librarian
Proposal Overview
We are requesting funding to incorporate the fundamentals of information literacy into the Organic Chemistry lecture and laboratory curricula. Our students need basic information literacy competencies both for organic chemistry and to be better prepared for the advanced writing-intensive and research-intensive experiences in their junior and senior years. This program enhancement will be the collaborative effort of Judith Amburgey-Peters and Ellen Burns, Chemistry professors, and Donna Jacobs, Science Librarian. We will restructure the lecture and laboratory syllabi and schedules to incorporate basic elements of information literacy into both semesters of the course. Making information literacy an integral part of the course curriculum will improve the general, as well as the discipline-specific, information literacy skills of our students and strengthen the entire chemistry program. The organic chemistry sequence is a central point in the chemistry program, and our proposed changes will provide students with crucial library and information skills that will be important for further study in chemistry and other science disciplines. Incorporation of information literacy into organic chemistry is a starting point for its integration throughout the chemistry and biochemistry curriculum. Making information literacy a core competency and an integral part of the chemistry curriculum will enhance student learning and will make more efficient use of student, faculty and librarian time.
Currently, the chemistry and biochemistry majors (25 to 30) are introduced to information literacy, including the use of the STN databases, as juniors in the one-semester, writing-intensive Introduction to Independent Study (Jr. I.S., Chem 401). This course attempts to provide nearly all of the formalized library instruction necessary for Jr. I.S., as well as the year-long Senior Independent Study (Sr. I.S, Chem 451, 452) project which requires library research, laboratory work, and completion of a thesis. As currently organized, the amount of new library information being covered in Jr. I.S. overwhelms the students. Given the lack of time and the complexity of the STN databases, most of the Jr. I.S. library instruction focuses on the mechanics of the STN search system rather than on the fundamentals of information literacy. Based on a survey of Jr. I.S. students conducted by Donna Jacobs, we are incorrectly assuming that the students already have developed information literacy skills. In reality, the students' lack basic information literacy skills and are poorly prepared for the advanced work required in Jr. I.S. Incorporating information literacy into organic chemistry will provide a strong foundation to better prepare students in Jr. I.S. for learning to use the advanced tools, such as STN and other electronic databases, necessary to gather information for the course assignments and independent research. By reducing the amount of new library instruction in Jr. I.S., the students will be able to focus on developing the logic of research strategies and the skills necessary for good scientific writing. Ultimately, providing students with good information literacy skills early in their careers will facilitate independence in using the library.
Organic chemistry is a good course to introduce general and discipline-specific information literacy instruction. The course lecture and laboratory necessitate the use of basic library and chemical reference materials. In addition, the class size and format are amenable to effective instruction in information literacy. Organic chemistry also targets potential science majors who are advanced enough in their studies to appreciate the importance of information literacy in the sciences. The majority of the 60 to 80 students in the first semester of organic chemistry are sophomores who will declare a science major. By the second semester, nearly 60% of the 50 to 65 students declare a chemistry or biochemistry major with the other 40% choosing biology, psychology, physics, and a few humanities or social sciences majors. We are in the process of redesigning the organic lecture and laboratory and information literacy will be readily and seamlessly incorporated to enhance the entire course. Because nearly all science majors take organic chemistry as sophomores, the course will provide uniform, basic instruction in information literacy. This program will initiate and inform departmental discussions about incorporating formalized information literacy instruction throughout the chemistry curriculum.
Specific Goals
I. First Semester Organic Chemistry (Chem 211). The initial in-library session will include an introduction to the science library and use of reference tools necessary to complete specific assignments. Preliminary discussions suggest that the assignments will be multi-week projects requiring the students to gather information (e.g. physical properties, safety information, spectral data, experimental methods) to prepare for a laboratory experience. This multi-week project will also include instruction in laboratory notebook skills and scientific writing. The library session will provide the basis for implementation of the introductory web-based tutorial.
Subsequent library sessions will introduce the students to the electronic catalog, CONSORT, and searching the World Wide Web. The differences between scholarly and popular information and the need to evaluate authenticity, accuracy, and reliability of information will be emphasized. Students will become familiar with chemical reference materials and develop a basic understanding of the organization of chemical literature in their for information to complete a formal laboratory report. This assignment will require an introduction to the American Chemical Society (ACS) Style Guide with special attention given to issues of intellectual property.
II. Second Semester Organic Chemistry (Chem 212). Early in the second semester, an advanced library session will review the use of CONSORT and will include other electronic databases. Instruction will include: the logic involved in a database search; how to order books from other libraries; and an introduction to developing a recursive, as opposed to linear, research strategy. We will review the differences between tertiary, secondary, and primary literature sources, as well as introduce the peer review process. Students will learn to use the chemical literature and references as primary sources. Preliminary ideas for specific assignments include a short review paper and oral presentations. This assignment will use the ACS Style Guide and provide a general introduction to ACS as a professional society. As the students develop information literacy skills, they will also develop a stronger sense of themselves as competent scientists.
III. Assessment. We will develop an assessment tool to evaluate the students' information literacy competency at the beginning of the first semester. This information will be used to help finalize the content of the library sessions and the introductory Web-based tutorial. An assessment tool will also be developed to evaluate improvements in information literacy at the end of the first semester, which will be included in the course grade. The ultimate evaluation of the students' information literacy skills will take place at the end of the second semester. Our current multi-week qualitative organic chemistry laboratory project already requires students to use specific library resources to gather the necessary experimental information. However, the project will culminate in a formal laboratory report that requires the use all of the information literacy skills developed in the two semesters of organic chemistry.
IV. Departmental Discussions. Early in the fall semester 2001, we will present our plans for information literacy instruction in organic chemistry to the department of chemistry and solicit input. During the spring semester 2002, we will prepare documentation for the department which describes the information literacy competencies that can be expected of upper level chemistry and biochemistry students. Colleagues will be encouraged to extend the formalized instruction in information literacy to both first year (General Chemistry) and junior-level courses (Physical Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, and Biochemistry). This proposal represents a milestone for incorporating uniform and comprehensive information literacy instruction into the chemistry curriculum. This project, which coincides with revision of the organic curriculum and the expansion of the science library's web-based literacy tutorials, relies on continued collaboration between chemistry faculty and Donna Jacobs. It is an ideal time and a unique opportunity to improve the information literacy and science education of a large number of students.
Timeline
This project will take place in three major phases as outlined in the timeline below:
Summer 2001
Fall 2001
Spring 2002