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Relevant and Inclusive Teaching in

Foundational Chemistry Courses

(Organic I and Biochemistry I)

Free, Personalized

Materials

No Stakes Homework

(feedback only)

Audience Awareness

Relevance-Forward Lessons

Connecting Chemistry to Everyday Phenomena

Showcasing Scientific Problems and Solutions

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Foundational

Chemistry

Courses:

Our Reputation Precedes Us

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First Project

  1. Stopped using textbook– or, did I ever really use one?

Replacement: Study Guides

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First Project

  1. Daily Problems Instead of Longer Problem Sets

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First Project

  1. Guided Notes

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First Project

4. Daily Discussion Topic (First 5-8 minutes of class)

  • Connection between current material and topic of interest

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The Organic Transformation

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Organic chemistry has literally placed a new nature beside the old. And not only for the delectation and information of its devotees; the whole face and manner of society has been altered by its products. We are clothed, ornamented and protected by forms of matter foreign to nature; we travel and are propelled in, on and by them. Their conquest of our powerful insect enemies, their capacity to modify the soil and control its microscopic flora, their ability to purify and protect our water, have increased the habitable surface of the earth and multiplied our food supply; and the dramatic advances in synthetic medicinal chemistry comfort and maintain us, and create unparalleled social opportunities and problems.

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-Robert Woodward

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First Project

4. Daily Discussion Topic (First 5-8 minutes of class)

  • Connection between current material and topic of interest
    • Chemical explanation for everyday phenomena or occurrence
    • Connection of chemistry to environmental, racial, or healthcare justice
    • Biography/contributions from a scientist from a group underrepresented in the sciences
    • Example of an interdisciplinary societal problem or issue “created” by science innovation
    • Example of a solution to an interdisciplinary societal problem or issue “created” being developed by current scientific research (science as living subject!)
    • Fun fact, comic, cartoon…

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First Project

4. Daily Discussion Topic (First 5-8 minutes of class)

  • Connection between current material and topic of interest
    • Biography/contributions from a scientist from a group underrepresented in the sciences

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Microbes as Sources for Molecular Drugs

Rosa Espinoza

Boiling River and extreme microbes

“In collaboration with the Boiling River Project, University of Michigan and Dr. David Sherman Laboratory, and Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Dr. Rosa is creating the first microbial map of the extreme Boiling River within the Peruvian Amazon. They are discovering novel microbes, elucidating their value for medicine and bioremediation, revealing the evolution of life in the Amazon, and more.” -- rosavespinoza.com/research

Ethnobiology Letters. 2019. 10(1), pp. 120-128

ACS Catalysis. 2020. 10 (22), pp. 13445-13454

With many scientists also directly involved in many interdisciplinary aspects of research themselves!

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Raisa Carmen Andeme Ela

Biobased Materials for Controlled Drug Delivery

Organic chemists study materials for the controlled release of drugs and pesticides to reduce toxic effects

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First Project

4. Daily Discussion Topic (First 5-8 minutes of class)

  • Connection between current material and topic of interest
    • Connection of chemistry to environmental, racial, or healthcare justice

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First Project

4. Daily Discussion Topic (First 5-8 minutes of class)

  • Connection between current material and topic of interest
    • Example of an interdisciplinary societal problem or issue “created” by science innovation

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First Project

4. Daily Discussion Topic (First 5-8 minutes of class)

  • Connection between current material and topic of interest
    • Example of a solution to an interdisciplinary societal problem or issue “created” being developed by current scientific research (science as living subject!)

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First Project

4. Daily Discussion Topic (First 5-8 minutes of class)

  • Connection between current material and topic of interest
    • Chemical explanation for everyday phenomena or occurrence

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First Project

4. Daily Discussion Topic (First 5-8 minutes of class)

  • Connection between current material and topic of interest
    • Fun fact, comic, cartoon…

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