As you prepare to teach your general chemistry labs using these materials please keep in mind the following freedoms and constraints relative to effectively using our method:

Freedoms

• Grading- There are no points attributed to the workbook questions or the post-lab questions. The workbook does not dictate how you grade, or even what you grade. If you are interested in what some instructors choose to do, check out a sample syllabus from the Organic Chemistry REActivities.

• Partner Work- Although REActivities is designed to increase/enhance student-to-student and student-to-instructor engagement, the lab experiments themselves can be done individually by each student or as a pair. This is left up to the instructor’s discretion. Note: Practice time is always performed individually so as to develop the skill but the actual experiment can be done as a pair or individually depending upon time, philosophy, or limited resources.

• Course Schedule- Although the REActivities are listed in the workbook, there are some freedoms to choosing the order. When choosing however, please be aware of the following limitations:

  • Lab Safety, Kitchen Safety, and Waste Management should all be taught first

  • Solid and liquid measurement learned near the beginning are important techniques that will be used throughout the labs

  • Periodic Table and Atomic Structure, Significant Figures, Reading Labels, Unit Conversions, and Measuring Volumes/Mass, Density Calculations, and Stoichiometry: Pancakes vs. Crepes can be taught in any order but should be taught before Separations, Liquid Measurements, and Solution Preparation, Saturated Solutions and Recrystallization, and Biochemistry: Proteins, Enzyme Lactase, and Acid/Base Chemistry

Constraints

• Instructor Engagement- The stop sign icons ensure that instructor engagement is present during the course time. However, for the most effective instructor environments and proper stop sign use, the instructor should be available to the students and not independently engaged. Some instructors have said that they work harder during the lab REActivity but work smarter outside of the REActivity (ex. less prep/no pre-lab lecture, workbook partner problems assist to frame questions during office hours, coordination of many lab instructors is streamlined and uniform, etc.).

• Holistic Adoption- Although any REActivity can be adopted independently, the most effective student gains are realized when at a minimum, the techniques labs are adopted as a whole. The rhythm of the REActivities method takes about two to three labs for students to embrace. Once the students find this rhythm, they enjoy it and appreciate understanding the expectations of the lab.

• Time- The time frame of REActivities is designed for a 45 min high school class period but can also be broken up to last over 2-3 hours. Labs can either be condensed over a week time or can span over a 4-6 week long summer program. As such, flexibility with regard to finishing the acquisition of lab data the following period relieves this constraint but requires a less rigid timetable for the due dates of graded items such as a lab report or lab proof.