Unpacking Engineering Practices for Curricular Assessment: Aligning Lab Practices and Assessment Items Using the...

Laboratory learning has been the focus of significant creativity for educators. Engaging students in "real world" contexts or using their knowledge in laboratory exercises in a meaningful way requires that students are engaged in the practice of science. The role of decision-making around this practice of science, say for the analysis of the sustainability or social consequences of that science, can be structured as the application of engineering practices. To provide a coherent definition of how to elicit students' use of knowledge, we turn to three-dimensional learning (3DL) and its previous applications in laboratory learning. Specifically, we extend the three-dimensional learning assessment protocol (3D-LAP) to reliably detect three distinct engineering practices: defining problems, evaluating solutions, and designing solutions. This analysis was then used to compare two second-year organic laboratory curricula: one verification or "cookbook" style and one project-based.