Learning organic chemistry is not a linear process; rather, it’s made up of many small cycles. Each cycle begins when we present students the basic ideas behind a new topic. Then we’ll show students how to apply those ideas toward solving a few initial problems, and we’ll follow that up with an assignment where students … Continue reading Smartwork online homework and written problem sets: A perfect marriage
Cultivating a Growth Mindset in Organic Chemistry Using Online Assessment and Group Exams
“I hated that class!” That’s what nearly every doctor and dentist I’ve ever had has said when I tell them that I teach organic chemistry. It’s no surprise that I was afraid to declare my undergraduate major at Mount Holyoke College until I had passed organic chemistry, given its notorious difficulty. Was I smart enough? … Continue reading Cultivating a Growth Mindset in Organic Chemistry Using Online Assessment and Group Exams
Emergent Remote Teaching
Here in Pennsylvania, class cancellations due to snow are the most challenging part of the spring semester. Days before our college closed due to the pandemic, I joked with a colleague that this could be the first semester without any snow days. Little did I know that within days, I would have a much bigger … Continue reading Emergent Remote Teaching
Online Teaching with Karty’s Text and Smartwork
In my previous post, I wrote about the benefits of teaching organic chemistry with a mechanistic organization. Now, with the COVID-19 virus crossing our country and universities going online in response, I’d like to share how I am using Karty's textbook, bundled with Smartwork’s online homework system, to move my organic chemistry course online. Several years ago, when the first edition of … Continue reading Online Teaching with Karty’s Text and Smartwork
2D Molecule Drawing in Smartwork5; Flash-free and Student Friendly
Smartwork5 is an intuitive html5 compatible online homework system which accompanies Organic Chemistry Principles and Mechanisms, 2e. It contains 3400 questions, all of which contain hints and formative feedback written by organic chemistry instructors. Nearly 2500 of these questions require students to draw an organic structure and/or write an organic mechanism. The drawing tools are … Continue reading 2D Molecule Drawing in Smartwork5; Flash-free and Student Friendly
Smartwork5: Immediate Formative Assessment Opportunities Help Students Work Smart
Here at Teach the Mechanism we are excited to introduce you to Dr. Christine Pruis, our full-time on-staff Chemistry Subject Matter Expert. In the following post, Dr. Pruis discusses her journey with authoring the Smartwork5 online homework and how this resource facilitates learning and understanding organic chemistry and mechanisms when paired with Joel’s text. Read … Continue reading Smartwork5: Immediate Formative Assessment Opportunities Help Students Work Smart
In Favor of Putting Pen to Paper
With the advent of increasingly sophisticated, convenient, and useful online homework programs, is there any place left for the classic pencil and paper textbook problems? I will have to preface this by going ahead and stating my general biases. Probably the most effective way to do this would be to tell you all that in … Continue reading In Favor of Putting Pen to Paper
In Learning You Will Teach
This is my 2nd year using the Karty text for Organic Chemistry Lecture (CHEM 3111). Based on my experiences as a student and as an instructor, organic chemistry has been typically taught in a traditional format of a chalk talk and PowerPoint combination. However, after speaking with those instructors, such as Joel Karty and fellow … Continue reading In Learning You Will Teach