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.
This is a great site for chemistry fun while you learn. They have multiple games, most free if you want to print your own.The card game that I am using is 18. It is played like 21 or blackjack but uses metal centers and ligands to get to 18. A fun way to teach 18 e- rule and familiarize students with ligands. My husband suggests using Dove squares instead of the optional benzene "chips" for "betting" which I think will make it very competitive.
Slap count also teaches counting 18 electrons.
We have developed a set of icebreaker activities that could be used at any course level, either in an online video chat or in a classroom. These are based on the popular Mad Libs game in which some words are left out of a story and players are asked to provide words to fill in the blanks without knowing much about the story. We've provided an introduction to the game, definition of typical parts of speech that are requested (ie, adverb, noun, adjective, etc), and three starter activities.
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.
The reciprocal interview is a first day of class strategy described by Hermann and Foster,1 centered around changing classroom norms. The instructor begins by interviewing students about their goals and expectations for the course, before later turning these around as reasonable expectations of the students. In essence, this is a strategy to invite students to think about the course in a business-like environment, and view their expectations and the instructor expectations as originating from the same set of motivations.
A spreadsheet hosted on Pete Wolczanski's webpage for calculating (mu)effective
This collection was created to compile the growing number of LOs related to diversity, equity, and inclusivity (DEI) in chemistry. It will be updated periodically as new LOs are created.
In addition to the LOs listed, here are some other resources on VIPEr that are relevant to DEI.
Forums:
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.
I developed this short class component in response to reading Saundra Yancy McGuire’s book, “Teach Students How to Learn.” One chapter focuses on the importance of mindset, a concept developed by Carole Dweck. Students with a growth mindset believe that they can learn how to learn challenging material, while students with fixed mindsets believe that ability is innate and unchangeable.