Inorganic chemistry is a diverse field with research areas ranging from understanding biological systems to making new materials and is critical to solving many STEM-related societal issues. So, improving student learning and interest in inorganic chemistry is a national imperative. Encouraging faculty to adopt teaching strategies that engage and inspire students to continue in STEM is the focus of a five-year, $1.11 million National Science Foundation grant to the Interactive Online Network of Inorganic Chemists (IONiC), a group co-founded by Harvey Mudd College chemistry professor Adam Johnson.<\/p>\n
Titled \u201cCollaborative research: Improving inorganic chemistry education through a community-developed student-centered curriculum,\u201d the project will improve teaching and learning\u00a0in inorganic chemistry by leveraging an established community of practice to develop a modular framework for teaching\u00a0inorganic chemistry grounded in active learning practices. New curricular materials based on the latest advances in inorganic chemistry\u00a0research and accessible at the level of the undergraduate classroom will be developed and shared via the\u00a0curricular repository VIPEr (the Virtual Inorganic Pedagogical Electronic Resource, www.ionicviper.org), IONiC\u2019s website and social networking hub.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur work will bolster\u00a0the population of chemists with the tools and critical thinking skills, developed through inorganic chemistry coursework, that are essential to\u00a0tackle emerging issues,\u201d says Johnson, one of the \u201cpit-vipers\u201d (leadership group) that develop and disseminate best practices for teaching inorganic chemistry. \u201cThe project will also contribute to our understanding of how to encourage faculty to improve their teaching\u00a0effectiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Interactive Online Network of Inorganic Chemists (IONiC) was founded as a community dedicated to advancing inorganic chemistry\u00a0education. It is organized and directed by a leadership council comprised of 11 faculty at primarily undergraduate institutions across the\u00a0United States. Two of the principal activities of IONiC are a series of annual Back to Grad School faculty development workshops and VIPEr.<\/p>\n
The annual workshops bring together faculty members, graduate students and facilitators to focus on one subdiscipline\u00a0of inorganic chemistry. Faculty are introduced to recent high-impact\u00a0research and are then develop teaching materials on the topic. A main focus is the incorporation of peer-reviewed primary\u00a0literature into the undergraduate curriculum. These teaching materials are hosted on the VIPEr website.<\/p>\n
VIPEr is a digital library and virtual community for sharing teaching materials, advice and evidence of student learning with more than 1,000 registered faculty users from six continents. Materials on VIPEr are\u00a0available as discrete \u201clearning objects\u201d (LOs), small pieces of curricular material adaptable to different classroom situations.\u00a0LO types include\u00a0classroom and laboratory activities, literature selections suitable for in-class discussions, short presentations on special topics, and problem set\u00a0and exam questions. Many LOs emphasize active learning, student\u00a0inquiry, and require higher-order thinking, including analysis, synthesis and evaluation.\u00a0Creative Commons licensing allows LO authors to\u00a0maintain copyright, while permitting other users to adapt LOs to their own classrooms. VIPEr uses a \u201cdynamic peer review\u201d model where\u00a0materials evolve after online posting. After initial review and publication, users adopt and adapt the LOs for their own courses, posting\u00a0comments about their experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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