Organic Chemistry I and II (CHEM 343 and 345)
This two-semester organic chemistry lecture sequence is taught collaboratively by an instructional team that includes Brian Esselman, Mary Beth Anzovino, Julian Cooper, Jeff Martell and Ryan Stowe. Enrolled students are engaged in using disciplinary “Big Ideas” (e.g., energy, bonding interactions) to figure out mechanisms for increasingly complex phenomena. Emphasis on sensemaking is pervasive throughout all problem sets, group discussion activities and exams. Accordingly, 35-60% of points on most exams are dedicated to student using big ideas to engage in practices characteristic of work in science.
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Chemistry Education Research (CHEM 758)
An introduction to chemistry education research focused on the goals of chemistry learning and how (or whether) these goals are instantiated in formal chemistry courses. Readings will span policy documents that articulate national STEM education needs, research articles describing ways of improving chemistry learning, and accounts of how communities use science to take action against environmental injustice. This course will challenge conventional wisdom that chemistry learning makes one a better thinker, profits national competitiveness, and equips communities to better tackle daily life challenges. As these goals are explored, a more complicated and uncertain picture of chemistry-in-school will emerge. Working through these nuances will enable frank appraisal of the chemistry education we have and conceptualization of more useful and equitable approaches to chemistry learning. No prior experience with coursework in the learning sciences is assumed. Appropriate for students engaged in discipline-based education research as part of a graduate degree, those interested in pursuing academic careers, and those broadly interested in scholarship related to teaching and learning.
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