All VIPEr learning objects are supposed to include clear student learning goals and a suggested way to assess the learning. This "five slides about" provides a brief introduction to the "Understanding by Design" or "backward design" approach to curriculum development and will help you develop your VIPEr learning object.

At a recent SLiThEr workshop, a request was put out for an introduction to the Jahn-Teller effect. I had already prepared several slides showcasing single crystal X-ray data for my class this spring so I put this together with some additional examples from my lab and the literature.  Single crystal XRD data is presented to support the claims.

In the time of COVID-19, a need for additional PPE in the form of face shields was deemed required for safe laboratory work when in the presence of other students and faculty.  An inexpensive method was devised to convert standard laboratory safety goggles into a face shield through the use of commercially available plastic report or presentation covers (sometimes called binding covers). This LO describes the fabrication process along with chemical compatibility and flammability testing of the purchased plastic sheets.

This is a short set of slides I use to introduce aspects of coordination chemistry for my foundation level inorganic chemistry class. 

The article from The Journal of the American Chemical Society by M. Kanatzidis et al describes a new ion-exchange material (FJSM-SnS) that shows high selectivity for rare-earth metals (REE) and very fast adsorption kinetics.  A number of techniques are used to characterize the properties of the compound that students may not be very familiar with but the article presents in an accessible way.

A spreadsheet hosted on Pete Wolczanski's webpage for calculating (mu)effective

This Powerpoint presentation was developed to support diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the chemistry classroom. One of the challenges of modern chemistry (and other modern STEM fields) is that the history discussed in general chemistry textbooks often focuses on achievements by Western scientists. While the most prominent chemists in the area of modern atomic theory were privileged, Western white men, their ideas were influenced by centuries of chemistry practiced by peoples across the globe.

I have taught the book Uncle Tungsten: Memoirs of a Chemical Boyhood by Oliver Sacks in my Inorganic Chemistry course for juniors and seniors for a decade, but the way I teach the book has dramatically changed in recent years.

The book is a (somewhat nostalgic and bittersweet) recollection of Sacks' childhood and his early experiments in inorganic chemistry, and initially we read it on that basis. However, Sacks also talks (even in the first chapter) about his family's identities as "people who do science" and his identity as a Jewish child in 1940s Britain.