by Glen Brizius

Created on: December 15, 2009   Last Updated: December 16, 2009

Speaking as an academic-based Ph.D. chemist with a decade's experience, I can say that preparing a successful high school chemistry lab doesn't have to be difficult.  It requires a lot of planning, a lot of hard work, and above all, the students have to be excited about the subject.  Nothing kills the atmosphere faster than students who are not motivated.  So, put aside all the checklists about making sure the students have the proper equipment, and that the chemical reagents are laid out just so, and that the procedure has been tested ahead of time.  That's what your Lab Assistants are for.  Concentrate on making the lab *fun*.  

Normally an instructor has the opportunity to spend at least a few minutes either directly before lab or at the end of the previous class section discussing the upcoming lab assignment.  Assume that the students are not complete idiots and can read directions.  Instead, relate the lab to something they will find useful.  Is the lab based on learning the principles of distillation?  Relate the lab towards the production of alcohol, and show slideshows of the distilleries that litter our nation, using the very sample principles that the students will be using in lab.  Show them pictures of oil refineries, the "juice" that keeps our cars and our economy flowing smoothly.  *Show* them that the material is important.

Does the lab involve synthesizing a new compound?  Pick a simple example from the literature of a molecule that made a dramatic difference in the quality of life of people, alleviating suffering, and describe to them that the steps they are taking in lab - the skills they are learning - are no different from the skills these earlier scientists used to synthesize this particular molecule.  "Natural Products", by Nicolau, is a perfect source text for this sort of discussion.  Many molecules - powerful pain relievers, antimalarial drugs, even antibiotics - have a simple structure, well within the reach of a practicing chemist.  By showing the students the possibilities - using *nothing more complicated than the skills they are learning* - they will immediately see the applicability of what they are learning.

By transforming the so-called "grunt work" the students are undergoing into something very, very special for them, their enthusiasm will go through the roof.  Their energy levels will be higher, they will prep to a higher degree before the lab, their notebooks will be more complete, and their lab grades will reflect this enthusiasm.  Who knows, maybe some of them will go on to become scientists in their own right.  Everybody wins.

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