Enhancing Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratories

Laboratory work is an essential part of undergraduate chemistry courses. The laboratory provides a setting for training not just in practical hand and instrument skills, but also for other skills such as planning, recording, interpreting and working in teams. However, students often learn little from their time in the laboratory and find it hard to make connections with lectures. Over half of third-level chemical students have no intention of becoming practising chemists anyway. Teaching staf…