Interactive Syllabus

Submitted by Amanda Reig / Ursinus College on Mon, 08/27/2018 - 22:58
Description

The Interactive Syllabus is a web-based survey delivery of syllabus content to your students prior to the first day of classes.  The web link below explains many of the features and advantages, but in my opinion some of the best benefits are (1) students actually engage with the content on the syllabus in meaningful ways, (2) it saves class time on the first day, and (3) can encourage students to share questions/concerns they may not have been as eager to share in person.

The survey is built on the qualtrics platform, but could be adapted for other programs.  

Bonding and MO Theory in Flavodiiron Nitrosyl Model Complexes - Foundation Level

Submitted by James F. Dunne / Central College on Fri, 06/22/2018 - 22:31
Description

This acitivty is a foundation level discussion of the Nicolai Lehnert paper, "Mechanism of N-N Bond Formation by Transition Metal-Nitrosyl Complexes: Modeling Flavodiiron Nitric Oxide Reductases".  Its focus lies in discussing MO theory as it relates to Lewis structures, as well as an analysis of the strucutre of a literature paper.

Developing Effective Lab Report Abstracts based on Literature Examples

Submitted by Nicole Crowder / University of Mary Washington on Tue, 05/08/2018 - 11:38
Description

For inorganic lab, I have my students write their lab reports in the style of the journal Inorganic Chemistry. The first week of lab, we spend time in small groups looking at several examples of recent articles from Inorganic Chemistry, focusing mainly on the experimental section and the abstract (as these are included in every lab report). We then come back together as a class to have a discussion of each of the sections in the articles. We discuss what was included in each section, what wasn’t included, and the style, tone, tense, and voice of each section.

Streamlining Lab Report Grading: Errors Checklists

Submitted by Sabrina Sobel / Hofstra University on Mon, 01/22/2018 - 11:26
Description

I present a format for more effective communiction of errors in lab reports to students that I term Errors Checklists. Grading lab reports are one of the banes of our existence as professors. They are endless, unremitting papers that need to be scrutinized for accuracy, precision and understanding.

What is (not) inorganic chemistry?

Submitted by David Eichhorn / Wichita State University on Thu, 09/14/2017 - 10:08
Description

For twenty years, I have started my second-year Inorganic Chemistry class with a few PowerPoint slides illustrating the inorganic chemistry that is present in a number of societal areas. The point is to emphasize to the students that inorganic chemistry is present in all aspects of life. To make this process more interactive, I made "game pieces" with a topic on the front (e.g, photography or radiation protection or vitamin B12) and an area on the back (energy, materials, biology, medicine, or environment). As each student enters the class, they are asked to take one game piece.

Inorganic Nomenclature: Naming Coordination Compounds

Submitted by Gary Guillet / Furman University on Mon, 07/31/2017 - 15:23
Description

I do not like to take a large amount of time in class to cover nomenclature of any kind, though I want students to know the names of common ligands and the basic ideas of how coordination complexes are named.  Since it is a systematic topic I assign this guided inquiry worksheet.  I guess I think about it like learning rules for a new board game, sometimes you just have to play and learn as you go.  This assignment is meant to establish teh basica rules for naming by guiding students through what the needs are in naming, then it allows them to identify the convetions from a list of structur

In-class peer review

Submitted by Chantal Stieber / Cal Poly Pomona on Fri, 03/03/2017 - 17:15
Description

This activity includes questions for students to answer to help guide them through the process of peer review. It was designed to assist students in writing peer reviews for research reports written by their classmates, but could be applied to literature articles as well.

Experimenting with Danger- CSB safety Video

Submitted by Sheila Smith / University of Michigan- Dearborn on Thu, 03/02/2017 - 12:19
Description

This 2011 video by the Chemical Safety Board is a very serious and moving motivation for adopting safe practices in the chemical laboratory.  It focuses on two recent and very real safety issues in University labs (UCLA, 2008 and TTU, 2010 ), both of which have shaken the educational research community to result in positive change. 

I have shared a "SafeShare" link so that you will not have to listen to ads, and if you choose to play the link in your classroom, you will not see all the Youtube ads on the screen.  

calistry calculators

Submitted by Adam Johnson / Harvey Mudd College on Wed, 01/18/2017 - 18:17
Description

I just stumbled on this site while refreshing myself on the use of Slater's rules for calculating Zeff for electrons. There are a variety of calculators on there including some for visualizing lattice planes and diffraction, equilibrium, pH and pKa, equation balancing, Born-Landé, radioactive decay, wavelengths, electronegativities, Curie Law, solution preparation crystal field stabilization energy, and more.

I checked and it calculated Zeff correctly but I can't vouch for the accuracy of any of the other calculators. 

Strategies for Effective Science Writing

Submitted by Anne LaPointe / Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University on Tue, 01/03/2017 - 18:25
Description

This presentation is designed for senior undergraduates or beginning graduate students who need to write a research report or paper.  It was originally developed for the summer undergraduate students in the NSF Center for Sustainable Polymers.

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