WebCSD Teaching Database
Hilary first higlighted this resource as a news item before we had a web resource category. I'd like to bring it back to people's attention as a web resource because of its value.
Hilary first higlighted this resource as a news item before we had a web resource category. I'd like to bring it back to people's attention as a web resource because of its value.
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.
Frustrated by the lack of inorganic textbooks that really fit my materials-oriented first-semester inorganic course, I embarked on a project with my students to create a free online textbook. The students did most of the heavy lifting, and I'm pleased to report that the next class to use the book rather liked it. It is still a work in progress, but I would like to encourage everyone to check it out and edit it if the spirit moves you.
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.
Groups of 3-4 students follow this handout to create models of the 7 crystal systems and the 14 Bravais lattices using DOTS gumdrops, bamboo skewers and wood toothpicks.
This community challenge was to come up with problems on solid state structures. Not exactly my area of expertise. In fact, I ofter turn to VIPEr for help when I teach this these topics. I think we received some really great contributions for this community challenge. I am honored to have co-authored a few of them with Maggie Geselbracht. I look forward to using the rest of these in my class in the future.
It is the classic game of telephone (or whatever local varient name you might use). Put a bunch of people in a line. Start by whispering something to the first person and then have them whisper it to the next. This process continues until the last person states out loud what they heard. Usually the starting and ending statements are quite different. When students are reading a paper, it is fairly likely that they feel anything the paper they are reading says about a reference is correct.
This in-class group activity provides several examples of varying difficulty for students to assign MLXZ classifications and electron counts to organometallic complexes. Though some of the problems are straightforward, some are really ambiguous, and the intent is for student groups to grapple with the issues raised by each one and present their findings to the class to spark further discussion.