A Research Presentation as a Flexible Alternative to a Practical Lab Exam in Organic Chemistry

Covid-19 public health measures have forced educators to adapt their courses to an online or hybrid presentation format with laboratory components facing particular challenges. We surmised that having introductory organic chemistry students orally present selected faculty literature publications would provide a flexible alternative to our final laboratory assessment held at the end of term, and this exercise exceeded our expectations. Using video conferencing software, students presented the research findings of a faculty publication and showed how second-year organic chemistry laboratory techniques were being similarly used by research groups on campus. Apart from improving scientific literacy and oral communication skills, this task provided students with perspective and context for the materials taught in undergraduate-level chemistry and demonstrated how even introductory lab skills are used at the highest levels of research. This presentation can be delivered online or in-person, is scalable in length and scope, and can be used in various second-year or higher-level courses. The presentation material is self-refreshing since newly published faculty papers can be provided for students to read every year. Lastly, reviewing the work of local professors has the potential to increase the sense of community and foster connections between teaching and research. Due to positive feedback from students and instructors, the research presentation has been permanently incorporated into our laboratory curriculum.