The Stepping Stone Approach to Teaching Chemical Information Skills

Abstract

Information literacy is of paramount importance to any successful research program. Information techniques and skills should be infused throughout a student’s undergraduate curriculum rather than being the focus of a single course. To this end, we have created several courses, beginning in the first year, where students review current scientific literature, design experiments, collect and analyze data, and disseminate their findings in both written and oral formats. At the completion of this sequence of courses, students have a greater understanding of all aspects of chemical research from identification of reliable sources through articulation of their findings. Details about the creation and implementation of the Stepping Stone Approach to chemical information literacy are discussed within.