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This learning object focuses on teaching students how to read and use Chemical and Engineering News for class discussions and critically evaluate the scientific literature. Recently, Chemical and Engineering News published an article about the retraction of a 15-year old paper, which had misidentified a multidentate ligand, which is central to the paper (Ritter, S.K. “Chemist Retract 15-year old paper and publish a revised version.” Chem. Eng. News, 2017, 95, (36), p6). The authors published a revised paper to the journal in 2017, with the correct structure of the ligand along with an x-ray crystal structure. This activity consists of two components, namely the students working in teams to discuss the C &E News article, retracted Inorganic Chemistry paper (DOI:10.1021/acs.inorgchem.7b01932) and the revised paper (DOI:10.1021/acs.inorgchem.7b01117) and preparing a poster for a “Gallery Walk.”
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Student handout and discussion questions. | 46 KB |
An important learning goal for this learning object is to incorporate practices for creating an inclusive learning environment for students (inclusive pedagogy). The goals for this LO are for students to:
- Read and use C&E News for student-led discussions
- Critically evaluate experimental evidence published in the scientific literature
- Apply concepts learned in previous chemistry courses
- Gain a better understanding of the peer-review process for publication and retraction
- Appreciate the importance of structural analysis tools such as X-ray crystallography
- Prepare a team poster to communicate scientific ideas
The students will need 3M Post-IT paper and markers to prepare a poster for the "Gallery Walk."
You will need to provide access to the Chemical and Engineering News article, and the two Inorganic Chemistry articles before class. This activity will likely take two class periods The first class period should focus on discussion of the articles and developing a rubric for evaluating the posters with the class. The second class period, the students will be allowed 30 min to prepare a poster for a "Gallery Walk."
Evaluation
This LO has various options for evaluation. First, a rubric should be prepared based on criteria identified by the student teams for evaluating the team posters. The students will be evaluated based on their ideas and attention to detail for their individual reponses to the discussion questions. In addition, a 7-question survey is included in the handout for the students. Four of the questions address self-efficacy questions for chemistry majors. These questions were modified from a self-efficacy instrument developed by Baldwin et al for biology students. I have included a link to the model. We should be developing assessment tools that address science identity, sense of belonging, and self-efficacy for chemistry majors. If a student does not feel comfortable in a chemistry course, they will likely not pursue a career as a chemist.
Will be reported later.