Class activity:
An introduction to research, both laboratory and scientific literature.
Before Class: Read the essay by Martin Schwartz entitled “The importance of stupidity in scientific research”, Journal of Cell Science, 2008, 1771. http://jcs.biologists.org/content/121/11/1771.full.pdf
Introductory Class Discussion:
Students in a 2nd year inorganic class read an article describing the effect of additives on the final morphology of copper oxide. (Siegfried, M.J., and Choi, K-S, “Elucidating the Effect of Additives on the Growth and Stability of Cu2O Surfaces via Shape Transformation of Pre-Grown Crystals”J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2006, 128 (32), pp 10356–10357. dx.doi.org/10.1021/ja063574y).
This is a presentation to introduce students to Toulmin’s Argumentation Scheme in the context of providing explanations in Inorganic Chemistry. It was inspired by discussions with Rick Moog at Franklin & Marshall College regarding how to encourage students to fully explain the “why” behind chemical behavior, rather than simply cite trends or equations. These slides were used to prompt a discussion about what a complete, logical explanation should include. They also served as a means of defining what is expected on quizzes and exams in response to various prompts.
This assignment introduces students to the various sub-disciplines of Inorganic chemistry and requires them to examine the current literature throughout the semester. The assignment is introduced the first day of class as part of a discussion on the breadth of inorganic chemistry. I review the journals published by the American Chemical Society and discuss which contain papers related to inorganic chemistry.
The Materials Project is part of the Materials Genome Initiative that uses high-througput computing to uncover the properties of inorganic materials.
It's possible to search for materials and their properties
It employs high-throughput computation approaches and IT to create a system that can be used to predict properties and construct phase diagrams andPourbaix diagrams.
Collection of Safety LOs from VIPEr
The NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) Standard Reference Databases provides valuable resources. Two resources were specifically mentioned by respondents to the 2013 Inorganic Curriculum Survey: the webbook and the stability constants of metal complexes. Some of the data in the Chemistry WebBook include
The resources on this website will help students learn concepts in materials chemistry, solid state chemistry, and nanoscience. The website provides links to
In the 2013 Inorganic Curriculum Survey, respondents were asked about the resources they used when they teach inorganic chemistry. About 20% of respondents selected "other" and provided information about these resources. A number of people mentioned specific websites. This collection consists of the websites submitted in the survey.
Asking students to work in groups and developing group projects is always challenging. This 5-slides about describes approaches for increasing the effectiveness and success of student groups. It also contains some helpful links to resources on how to form groups and help students develop group skills.