Raman spectroscopy, a powerful vibrational spectroscopic technique widely used in chemistry, materials science, and environmental analysis, provides critical molecular insights through spectral fingerprints. However, undergraduate students often lack proficiency in optimizing experimental parameters, interpreting vibrational modes, and applying…

Fluorescence spectroscopy experiments are a frequently taught as part of upper-division teaching laboratories. To expose undergraduate students to an applied fluorescence technique, a corrosion detection method, using quenching, was adapted from authentic research for an instrumental analysis laboratory. In the experiment, students acquire…

This guided-inquiry, upper-division undergraduate organic lab experiment, a hybrid of problem-based learning (PBL); process-oriented, guided-inquiry learning (POGIL); and peer-led team learning (PLTL) has been developed to ease the transition from the undergraduate lab to a research lab environment. The characterization of a mixture of camphor and…

Different approaches to the use of "clickers" (also known as student response systems) were introduced to a cohort of 127 students over a two-year period with the aim of making students think more deeply in-class about their chemistry knowledge. Student performance was monitored, and individual, anonymous student feedback was frequently…