Changes in society, technology, and the world economy are occurring at increasingly faster rates. College graduates need to be quick learners, critical thinkers, and problem solvers to survive. They need to be computer literate and skillful in communicating, teamwork, management, and assessment.
This book is intended for use in courses where faculty are responding to these demands through changes in teaching style and in curriculum. These changes engage students actively in learning and add skill development to the course content.
The lessons in this book can be used at each class meeting or in workshops, which are held once or twice a week, to supplement large-class lectures. Each of the lessons develops a fundamental chemistry concept, provides learning objectives and criteria for success, highlights the new concepts, and lists prerequisites and vocabulary. In a student-centered learning environment, students work on the activities in teams. The teams acquire knowledge and develop understanding through guided discovery by examining the models or examples in the lessons and responding to key questions about the model or example. They apply this knowledge in exercises, which are direct applications, and problems, which generally require some synthesis of knowledge. The results are presented to the class, and the teams assess how well they have done and how they could do better. Each member of a team has two learning objectives: to understand the material, and to assure that every other member of the team understands the material. The performance evaluation is based on how well these two objectives have been met and on the quality of the skills exhibited by the team in their work.
This approach to learning chemistry is designed for students who also want to develop their skills in learning, thinking, problem solving, communication, teamwork, management, and assessment. Students are expected to benefit by increasing the likelihood of success in college and in a career, by developing positive relationships with other students and faculty, by taking responsibility for their own education, and by gaining confidence to rely on understanding and thinking skills in examinations rather than on memorization.