The Australian chemistry enhanced laboratory learning project

The Australian Chemistry Enhanced Laboratory Learning (ACELL) project aims to improve the quality of learning in undergraduate laboratories. One principal goal of the project is to construct a database of educationally sound, student-tested experiments, which will be freely available to all via the internet. Experiments submitted to the project are evaluated both educationally and chemically, using an educational template which has been developed by the project. Submitted experiments are also tested by academic staff and undergraduate students at workshops, prior to the collection of student feedback data at the submitting institution. In this way, it is possible to ensure that experiments do effectively assist students learning. The most recent ACELL workshop was conducted in February, 2006, and involved the collaborative efforts of academic staff and students from 28 Australian and New Zealand universities. 34 different experiments were tested from across the chemistry disciplines and at all undergraduate levels. This presentation will describe the ACELL approach to improving the quality of undergraduate laboratory learning, and will discuss the achievements of the project.