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Logistics of Using Theme-Based Modules at Butler University

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    134374
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    At Butler University, the theme-based modular laboratory course has a course number of CH424. CH424 is the advanced analytical laboratory course and fits into the chemistry curriculum like other 400-level lab courses in physical chemistry, biochemistry, and inorganic chemistry. The advanced analytical lecture course is separate from the lab course, and students are not required to complete advanced analytical lecture prior to enrolling in the advanced analytical lab course. Rather, students may enroll in the CH424 course after completion of the first-semester introductory analytical chemistry course. Students receive 2 hours of credit for the 4 hour lab. Students are allowed by the University registrar to repeat CH424 for credit so long as each retake has a different theme.

    Class size for all advanced labs at Butler is capped at 8 (for advanced lecture courses, the enrollment cap is higher), with an option of expanding to 10 if enrollments are high. We do this to foster an intimate environment where students can significantly contribute to the goals and outcomes of a project.

    The chemistry department typically offers 1 to 3 sections of CH424 per year, depending on other teaching loads, sabbatical plans, and contributions to the honors program or the University core curriculum. Each section counts for 2 teaching hours toward a typical 9 hour semester load for tenured or tenure-track faculty. Therefore, the CH424 lab is often paired with one or two additional courses to make up a full semester teaching load.

    The CH424 course is not an absolute requirement for the major, but is listed as an acceptable course for students to use to complete the major. It is also an option for students who are pursuing ACS certification, with the course providing 56 of the 400 necessary lab hours and counts as an analytical lab experience for ACS certification. If students are interested in advanced study in chemistry, it is recommended and encouraged that students take 2 different semesters of CH424, each section having a different theme. In this way, students gain broad exposure to multiple instrumental techniques while also gaining an in-depth understanding of each technique and how it is applied to a novel problem.

    Because the course is not required for all students to complete, most students will complete only one section of the course. In a 5 year period, roughly 50% of our chemistry majors will complete one CH424. In that same time period, roughly 10% will complete two CH424.


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