Submitted by Abhik Ghosh / University of Tromsø - The Arctic University of Norway on Tue, 07/22/2014 - 14:53
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Over the last few years, my colleague Steffen Berg and I at UiT - The Arctic University of Norway have developed a new approach to teaching descriptive inorganic chemistry based on organic-style arrow pushing. The approach has been shown to work well for main group chemistry. Two articles have been published in the Journal of Chemical Education illustrating the approach for both simple and rather complicated main group reactions:

Arrow Pushing: A Rational, Participatory Approach To Teaching Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ed200166z

Six Impossible Mechanisms Before Breakfast: Arrow Pushing as an Instructional Device in Inorganic Chemistry
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ed3006693

A full-length exposition of the approach will also appear in book form during August, 2014 (you might find the book at the Wiley stall at the Fall 2014 ACS Meeting and Expo in San Francisco):
Arrow Pushing in Inorganic Chemistry: A Logical Approach to the Chemistry of the Main Group Elements
http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118173988.html

Overall, the approach is new, possibly unique, in the context of inorganic chemistry teaching. We have had very positive feedbacks from our own students in Norway, who can no longer imagine a memorization-intensive treatment of inorganic chemistry. In this Discussion, we would like to hear about your own experiences with, as well as critiques of, this approach.

We are in the process of extending this approach to transition metals; we are therefore also interested in hearing about any limitations to our approach.

Chip Nataro / Lafayette College

This sounds really interesting. Any chance we could get some kind of simple preview example?

Tue, 07/22/2014 - 22:38 Permalink