Connected Chemistry Curriculum: An Integrated Inorganic, Organic and Biological Chemistry Approach

互联化学课程：无机、有机和生物化学综合方法

• 批准号: 1043566
• 负责人: Chris Schaller
• 金额: $ 19.96万
• 依托单位: College of Saint Benedict
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-07-01 至 2014-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1043566&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Connected; Chemistry; Curriculum; Integrated; Inorganic

This project is developing a novel series of courses on structure and reactivity in organic, biological and inorganic chemistry. Aspects of these three sub-disciplines of chemistry are being merged in order to develop three new lecture and three new laboratory courses. The first lecture course is an examination of Lewis acid-base principles in key reaction types in biochemistry, including carbonyl additions, carbonyl substitutions and alkene additions. The second course extends this approach to build a mechanistic view of associative and dissociative substitutions in metal complexes and organic compounds. The third course addresses metal- and organic-based redox and radical reactions in chemistry and biology, and offers an overview of biochemical pathways. Three separate laboratory courses allow students to develop an array of technical skills needed to tackle advanced problems. These three laboratory courses build skills in basic purification techniques, chromatographic separations, and synthetic methods, respectively. These six new courses are taken following a recently introduced entry-level course, Structure and Properties in Chemistry.Intellectual MeritThis integrated approach to organic, biological and inorganic chemistry is founded in theories of "connected knowledge," in which information is efficiently organized around core concepts linked together via multiple paths. As a result, thinking of one concept makes it possible to retrieve other related concepts, facilitating new applications of the material. In contrast, the traditional curriculum relies on division of material into clearly separate topics. Furthermore, the courses build connections to the students' experiences by highlighting applications of chemistry in biology, materials science, pharmaceutics and other areas. By offering relevant context for the material, the expectation is that students will continue to make chemistry-related connections with their own disciplines in later years.Broader ImpactThe expectation is that this revised curriculum may make these introductory chemistry courses more appealing and effective with a broader range of students. In addition, the project is expected to change the traditional process by which faculty introduce new curricula. Course development is being accomplished primarily through interdisciplinary teaching cohorts, historically used in the field of education for training new teachers. Instructors work in teams of three, with members representing inorganic, organic and biological chemistry. The cohorts become support groups that guide and develop each other's work in complementary areas. Summer workshops provide orientation for faculty working on each course and laboratory. In addition, a faculty guide, student workbooks, laboratory manuals, and online homework are being developed to support the new curriculum. Production of these supporting materials facilitates incorporation of the new curriculum at this institution and assists in exporting the curriculum to other institutions. Materials are being disseminated through the NSF National Science Digital Library, through presentations at regional and national professional meetings attended by chemists, and through journal articles.

这个项目正在开发一系列关于有机、生物和无机化学的结构和反应性的新课程。这三个化学分支学科的各个方面正在合并，以发展三个新的讲座和三个新的实验课程。第一堂课是考察生物化学中关键反应类型中的路易斯酸碱原理，包括羰基加成、羰基取代和烯烃加成。第二门课程扩展这一方法，建立金属配合物和有机化合物中缔合和解离取代的机械观点。第三门课程介绍化学和生物学中金属和有机的氧化还原和自由基反应，并提供生化途径的概述。三个独立的实验课程允许学生发展解决高级问题所需的一系列技术技能。这三门实验课程分别建立了基本的纯化技术、色谱分离和合成方法的技能。这六门新课程是继最近推出的入门课程《化学结构与性质》之后开设的。这种有机、生物和无机化学的综合方法建立在“连接知识”的理论基础上，在这个理论中，信息是围绕着通过多种途径联系在一起的核心概念有效地组织起来的。因此，思考一个概念使检索其他相关概念成为可能，促进材料的新应用。相比之下，传统课程依赖于将材料划分为明确独立的主题。此外，这些课程通过强调化学在生物学、材料科学、制药和其他领域的应用，将学生的经验联系起来。通过为材料提供相关的背景，期望学生在以后的几年里继续与他们自己的学科建立化学相关的联系。更广泛的影响期望修订后的课程可以使这些化学入门课程对更广泛的学生更有吸引力和更有效。此外，该项目有望改变教师引入新课程的传统过程。课程发展主要是通过跨学科教学小组来完成的，这种方法历来用于教育领域培训新教师。教师以三人一组的方式工作，成员分别代表无机化学、有机化学和生物化学。这些小组成为互相支持的小组，在互补的领域指导和发展彼此的工作。夏季研讨会为每门课程和实验室的教师提供指导。此外，教师指南、学生作业本、实验室手册和在线作业也正在开发中，以支持新课程。制作这些辅助材料，有助将新课程纳入本院校，并协助将课程推广至其他院校。材料通过NSF国家科学数字图书馆，通过化学家参加的区域和国家专业会议的演讲，以及通过期刊文章传播。