An upper-division laboratory project has been developed as a collaborative investigation of a reaction routinely taught in organic chemistry courses: the reduction of carbonyl compounds by borohydride reagents. Determination of several trends regarding structure-activity relationship was possible because each student contributed his or her results to an overall data set in a situation similar to a research environment. The students learned to use [superscript 1]H NMR techniques for in situ kinetic determinations and collaborated with classmates to develop a complete theory for structure-activity effects in the kinetics of this fundamental organic reaction. (Contains 1 table, 1 figure, and 1 scheme.)