When teaching mechanisms, I try to impress upon my students that the concepts tied to mechanisms are not confined to the chapters that they appear in within the Karty text, but rather, that they are a continuation of connected topics across the discipline as a whole. Today’s class focused on Sections 13.1-13.3, which elaborate on … Continue reading Everything Is Connected: Teaching Organic Chemistry as a Unified Story through Mechanisms
Asking Better Questions: When Students Become the Teacher
As teachers, we are expected to be the experts in our subjects. But the act of learning itself is a constantly evolving process, which is why I find it refreshing when my students ask smart questions and suggest alternative perspectives to keep me on my toes in class. We have recently transitioned from the electrophilic … Continue reading Asking Better Questions: When Students Become the Teacher
The Teeter-Totter Method: Helping Students Visualize Electrophiles and Nucleophiles
Chapter 11 of the Karty text focuses on electrophilic addition along pi bonds. This can be a tough topic to tackle. The terms themselves can scare students, which is why I've found that it is key to break down the words into smaller chunks, especially for elementary steps. In the text, a variety of electrophilic … Continue reading The Teeter-Totter Method: Helping Students Visualize Electrophiles and Nucleophiles
Essays in Organic Chemistry
The year is 2020. I have spent the majority of the year at home with my two kids managing Zoom meetings and PPE-clad trips to the (wastelands to scavenge for toilet paper) grocery store. An idea forms: what if I gave my organic chemistry students essay assignments? While writing in the sciences is nothing unusual, … Continue reading Essays in Organic Chemistry
What If Every Student Went to Office Hours?
Imagine a world where all of your organic students read their textbooks thoroughly, ask you questions, and come to office hours every week...the wildest of fantasy worlds, right? Well, I’m an optimist—what can I say? So when forced to create an all-online version of my mechanisms-focused organic chemistry course, I thought I would see how … Continue reading What If Every Student Went to Office Hours?
“Keep” vs “Toss”: Skills and Tactics to Consider As an Instructor
It should come as no surprise that teaching online has been a challenge this term. Across the board, both students and professors have experienced growing pains. I know that, amidst the pandemic, we haven't had our first choice of instruction style or teaching materials, but I still hope that this post can bring some clarity … Continue reading “Keep” vs “Toss”: Skills and Tactics to Consider As an Instructor
The Best Tactics for Learning the Elementary Steps of Organic Chemistry
I am a big advocate of the Karty textbook and how it presents mechanisms to the audience. However, mechanisms are not every student’s favorite topic. While some chapters are quite easy to present, others prove to be more challenging for students. I have found that Chapter 7 (“An Overview of the Most Common Elementary Steps”), … Continue reading The Best Tactics for Learning the Elementary Steps of Organic Chemistry
If I Could Turn Back Time
As a teacher, I try to remember what organic chemistry was like for me as a student. I know that to be effective instructors, we need to be able to see topics through our students’ eyes. After five years in academia, my list of main organic chemistry takeaways has grown to the following five points: … Continue reading If I Could Turn Back Time
Success Means That You Put Your Pen to Paper
Oftentimes in class, professors are asked, “What can I do to do better in class? Could you offer more practice?” To help answer this question, I was given some great advice by my senior colleague: if you aren’t putting your pen to paper, then you likely aren’t studying organic chemistry sufficiently. During my current semester … Continue reading Success Means That You Put Your Pen to Paper
Rules of Thumb (ROTs) for Chair Conformations and Substituent Stability
Regardless of the format of organic chemistry classes (e.g. online, hybrid, F2F), many students struggle with chair conformations. Because it is our job, as educators, to help convey challenging material as clearly as possible, I like to provide rules of thumb (ROTs) to my students, which are a major component of my teaching style. Below are … Continue reading Rules of Thumb (ROTs) for Chair Conformations and Substituent Stability