General Chemistry Collection for New Faculty

Submitted by Kari Stone / Lewis University on Thu, 07/26/2018 - 14:42

VIPEr to the rescue!

The first year as a faculty member is extremely stressful and getting through each class day to day is a challenge. This collection was developed with new faculty teaching general chemistry in mind pulling together resources on the VIPEr site to refer back to as the semester drags along. There are some nice in-class activities, lab experiments, literature discussions, and problem sets for use in the general chemistry course. There are also some nice videos and graphics that could be used to spark interest in your students.

Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry

Submitted by RTMacaluso / University of Texas Arlington on Tue, 07/24/2018 - 14:26
Description

An overview of descriptive main group chemistry, solid state structures and the energetics of ionic, metallic, and covalent solids, acid-base chemistry and the coordination chemistry of the transition metals. The course is intended to explore and describe the role of inorganic chemistry in other natural sciences with an emphasis on the biological and geological sciences. Important compounds and reactions in industrial chemistry are also covered. Intended for both chemistry and non-chemistry majors.

Teaching Forum Posts for New Faculty

Submitted by Shirley Lin / United States Naval Academy on Thu, 07/19/2018 - 11:32
Description

This web resource is a diverse list of VIPEr forum topics about teaching that may be of interest to new faculty assigned to teach general chemistry for the first time. It was created as part of a larger collection to help new faculty get started in the classroom.

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.

Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory

Submitted by Anne Bentley / Lewis & Clark College on Wed, 01/17/2018 - 13:58
Description

Introduction to classical and modern techniques for
synthesizing inorganic compounds of representative and transition
metal elements and the extensive use of IR, NMR, mass, and UV-visible
spectroscopies and other physical measurements to characterize
products. Syntheses and characterization of inorganic and organic
materials/polymers are included. Attendance at departmental seminars
required. Lecture, laboratory, oral presentations.

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.  

Safety is job one

Submitted by Alice / Villanova University on Fri, 09/16/2016 - 13:12
Description

This five slides about came to be from a discussion that happened after Marta Guron and Jared Paul gave a talk at the Philly ACS in Fall 2016. This is a modified version of a presentation given to all chemistry students regarding the proper handling and disposal of chemicals. Certain details will need to be modified to fit your individual institutions. The particular focus of the slides is for students to learn to turn to SDS sheets before using chemicals and to be able to read the labels on chemicals and understand the associated safety concerns.

Developing a rubric for a learning object

Submitted by Joanne Stewart / Hope College on Fri, 07/08/2016 - 15:46
Description

A rubric articulates the expectations for an assignment and enables faculty to assess student work in a rapid and consistent manner.

This Five-Slides About was developed for the TUES 2016 workshop Organometallica at University of Michigan. It was presented in conjunction with Chip Nataro's modeling of the development of a literature discussion learning object (Ligand effects in titration calorimetry from the Angelici lab).

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