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"That is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you've understood your whole life, but in a new way." —Doris Lessing My teaching philosophy is grounded in the belief that cultivating an appreciation for rational thought should be the ultimate goal of collegiate chemical education. A frank look at most chemistry curricula reveals that the content of chemistry courses is largely irrelevant to most non-majors' future careers. However, the mental processes that lead chemists from existing hypotheses, through the design and execution of experiments, and finally to the development of new hypotheses, can be generalized to any profession that employs the scientific method. My primary goal as an educator is to make students appreciate that scientific knowledge is the product of a generalized process that all observant, thinking human beings have access to. In my mind, chemistry is just one of many contexts to which the scientific way of thinking is applicable. In my first semester of teaching undergraduates, I came to the realization that the typical chemical education that students receive, which relies too heavily on the rote memorization of facts, concepts, and formulae, is worthless after at most a year. I then asked myself, "what will most students in my course be asked to do in their future careers? How can I, as a chemical educator, improve their ability to do what they will need to later in life?" I came to the conclusion that the interpretation of scientific data in the context of larger theories is the single task that unites all scientific professions. While planting the seeds of chemical theory takes some basic exposition of ideas through lecture, my courses are largely data- and question-driven discussions that depend on student input. I strive to create a learning environment in which rational thought and clear scientific communication are prized and rewarded. To do this, I introduce topics by providing a unique experimental result, set of data, or problem and ask students to attempt to explain the data by extending previously learned theory. The mystery surrounding a unique experimental observation often provides an interesting “hook” for students, and the exercise of interpreting data is highly transferrable to other contexts. I provide as much structure as possible for data-driven exercises so that shy students are not intimidated or able to hide behind particularly vocal students. I use informal team exercises to engage the entire class and hold students accountable for their ideas. Throughout these exercises, I strive to conduct myself as an “accessible expert”—a resource who can provide information to or ask questions of students in order to catalyze rational thought. With the understanding that the process, not the content, is the important thing to take away from my courses, students learn how to apply the scientific method in a general way. In my courses, I de-emphasize arriving at “the answer” as the deepest goal of scientific problem solving. Indeed, while getting to the correct answer might be the goal of a graduate student working on a particular problem, more important for the undergraduate is an understanding of the accepted method that produces the “right” answer, which is only correct because the method produces it! I attempt to frame problem solving in my courses as occurring through a series of systematic steps, each of which is related in a rational way to chemical theory. My hope is that students will be able to use their experiences in my courses to build logical problem-solving strategies based on whatever scientific body of theory they may confront in the future. Because I treat rationality as a general process, one of my most important teaching tools is the metaphor—the relation of chemical concepts to ideas or objects that students are already familiar with. Through the use of metaphors, I aim to rapidly familiarize students with chemical concepts by connecting them to pre-existing mental structures. For instance, I use role-play exercises in class to anthropomorphize chemistry. I also often ask students to map the characteristics of a chemical concept onto the characteristics of an analogous concept that I provide. These activities demonstrate to students that scientists often use very familiar ideas to frame the accepted canon of their discipline. I also use humor and enthusiasm to convey my passion for chemistry in conjunction with quirky or unique metaphors. In the end, all of the methods and tools I use have the ultimate goal of instilling in students a deep appreciation for rationality and the scientific method. In demonstrating that the method is accessible, natural, and logical, I hope to inspire students to use it in contexts other than chemistry and to engage chemistry majors to explore the subject in greater detail. |
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