OUT OF THE TEXTBOOK AND INTO THE WORLD - STUDENT PROJECTS IN THE RADIOCHEMISTRY LABORATORY

A major objective of any laboratory course should be to stimulate stud ents to extend their knowledge of the subject to specific problems. In the radiochemistry laboratory course at the University of Kentucky, w e encourage students to make the transition from the textbook or labor atory manual to the ''rear'' world through the use of a special projec t. This project, which typically replaces two normal laboratory exerci ses, is a short research problem that the student independently develo ps and executes. An overview of the incorporation of special projects into our radiochemistry laboratory course is presented.