I am looking for some suggestions on innovative strategies for introducing the chemistry of main group elements to students. Our Inorganic Chemistry class is a pre-pchem lecture and lab and I'll be using the 5th edition of Miessler/Fischer/Tarr. (And a big thank you goes out to the authors, who have finally accepted to include at least a little bit of redox chemistry in the text.) My issue arises with Chapter 8 (and the like), which in my opinion boils down to "read these sections, memorize these facts, quiz Monday".
Howdy all,
Awesome time at the workshop this week. We saw an abundance of awesome chemistry, inorganic related clothing.
All of these websites were accessed on July 1
Maggie's super awesome d-orbital earrings were found on etsy, one pair left as of July 1, 2013 at 6:44 pm:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/92342046/quantum-physicschemistry-atomic-d
Two awesome heavy metal t-shirts:
THis is an artist who makes small models of molecules and DNA using 3D printing technology. Science and art at the same time.
http://www.shapeways.com/shops/molecule_models?ca=email&ct=062713&cr=ds…
I am planning to incorporate Sapling Learning online homework in my Foundations of Inorgnaic Chemistry class and my Advanced Inorganic CHemistry class. I've not used this program before, and am on the steep side of the learning curve. If you have an established course that I can adapt, that would be great. Also, I will be authoring questions as I need. Id love to crowd-source authoring of questions so that I'mnot just relying on my own perspective. Thanks!
I teach a one-semester upper-division course where, as we all know, tough decisions need to be made. I have always taught symmetry, but it has become apparent that our students enter their senior year weak in kinetics, so I am considering swapping out symmetry/group theory for a more advanced treatment of kinetics and mechanisms. This pains me, because these two topics are are two of my favories. Then again, so is everything else...
Thoughts?
Karen
We are planning to pilot a Supplemental Instruction (SI) program in one of our general chemistry sections this fall (2013). We plan to use undergraduate supplemental instructors who will attend class and lead supplemental discussion sections for small groups of students. We are familiar with the literature on SI and we have some experience with PLTL, but we still are anxious about the logistics of setting this up.
Thanks to everyone for the blog recommendations. I'm also looking for some good podcast recommendations for the walk to work? Do you have any favorites? Like Keith I'm a huge fan of Chemistry in its element (http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcasts/). I'm thinking of using these when I go back to teaching Inorganic Chemistry I in Spring 2014.
As I was reading Kyle's post on the conversation on the Andre the Chemist blog, that go me thinking a bit about chemistry blogs and the fact that the academic year is finally over. Does anyone have good recommendations for "must read" (or even pretty good) blogs about chemistry and related subjects? I'd like to try and get in some good reading habits over the summer.