1. ADVANCED SYNTHESIS AND SPECTROSCOPY - LESSONS LEARNED FROM DESIGNING A CAPSTONE COURSE BCCE 2014, GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY ENRICHING PROFESSIONAL PREPARATION OF STUDENTS: VERTICAL SKILL INTEGRATION AND CAPSTONE EXPERIENCES SCOTT VAN BRAMER AND LOYD BASTIN

2. Assessment – Identifying the need  Chemical Synthesis  Student writing  Critical thinking

3. Course Structure  Transformed Advanced Spectroscopy into Advanced Synthesis and Spectroscopy  Fall Semester Senior Year  1 hour lecture – 1 credit  6 hours lab – 2 credit  2 days/week  Team Taught

4. Course Design  Multistep Synthesis  Progressive Paper  Learning through feedback  Reinforce curriculum content  Just in time teaching Van Bramer & Bastin, Journal of Chemical Education 2013, 90(6), 745-750 Stephens & Arafa, Journal of Chemical Education 2006, 83(9), 1336-1340

5. Characteristics of a Capstone: From AAC&U HIP Institute  Requires significant investment in time  Includes discussions with other students  Frequent meeting with supervising faculty  Clear expectations  Integrate and apply from throughout undergraduate experience  Cements disciplinary affiliation and provides rite of passage into profession

6. Student Mastery  Word Processing  Structure Drawing  NMR Data Processing  IR/MS/NMR Interpretation  Green Synthesis

7. Expectations  General Chemistry  Organic Chemistry  Instrumental Analysis  Physical Chemistry

8. Assessment – Identifying weakness  Writing  Critical thinking  Reaction mechanisms  Nomenclature  References

9. Assessment – Identifying strengths  Writing  Presentations  Lab skills

10. Progressive Paper Outcomes

11. Abstract  Capstone Courses are recognized as a High-Impact educational practice by the Association of American Colleges and Universities. In the chemistry curriculum, these courses provide an opportunity to synthesize content from each chemistry discipline. They are also an opportunity for students to master critical skills including writing, presentations, chemical literature, laboratory record keeping, and specialized software. This talk will show how the design of a capstone course helps meet these goals and provide useful assessment data. The Widener University chemistry department implemented a new capstone course in 2011 based on assessment outcomes. The course was designed to integrate content from throughout the chemistry curriculum and provide an opportunity to assess student learning. The resulting course is now a critical part of our curriculum, it ensures that our students graduate with the expected knowledge and skills and it provides the department with valuable assessment information to improve our curriculum.