Do It Right! Requiring Multiple Submissions of Math and NMR Analysis Assignments in the Laboratory

Abstract

The first-semester introductory organic chemistry laboratory has been adapted to include mini postlab assignments that students must complete correctly, through as many attempts as prove to be necessary. The use of multiple drafts of writing assignments is a standard approach to improving writing, so the system was designed to require drafts for assignments that involve calculations, NMR interpretation, the creation of good figures, and other nonwriting forms of analysis. The system was created to require students to pay attention to faculty feedback and to review their own work. Scores on a written lab final suggest that the “Do It Right!” system has had a statistically significant improvement in students’ abilities to perform stoichiometric calculations and to answer questions about a standard aqueous workup.