Project Time! A Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience, a CURE for the Traditional Organic Lab

In recent years, course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have been increasing in popularity as replacements for or adjuvants to the traditional laboratory experience. This approach shifts the focus from an exercise-based curriculum to an experiment-based curriculum and provides students with a more authentic and higher-impact scientific experience. Reported herein are the details of a CURE deployed in the organic chemistry II lab at a primarily undergraduate institution. In this instance, students are given nearly free rein regarding their group projects completed during the second semester. Quantitative assessment of the approach through student surveys is provided, though the statistical significance of the results is at best questionable. Qualitatively, one project has resulted in a paper in preparation and others are nearing this milestone, demonstrating the viability of the approach to expose students to doing publishable scientific research and the scientific process. Additionally, free responses to survey questions seem to suggest that the method is a success.