Chemistry 131-133 Course Philosophy

Course Philosophy for General Inorganic Chemistry

Chem 131, 132, and 133

The following statements are my philosophy and expectations for this course. The purpose is to clarify how I view my role as a teacher, and your role as students in the classroom.

I should not have to "lecture" in this course during an entire class meeting. I view my role as the one that should help you learn and provide a format for your learning process. You, as students, are the ones doing the learning, and you can only do that by active participation in class, and by doing homework out of class. Each chapter we cover in class is your responsibility. I will do some lecturing (notes are available in the library or on-line), but realize that I may not talk about everything in the notes or in the chapters. I will concentrate on topics that are more important or more difficult for students to understand and you are responsible for all material. You are adults and can manage your own study time. I am planning on using a number of in-class activities with the idea that you can help each other learn. Most people learn by doing.

Many people resist memorizing. I am here to tell you that you must memorize some things. You can't learn to speak without memorizing words and what they mean, and you can't learn chemistry without the vocabulary (memorize those ions for naming). I will try to limit rote memorization in the class. The vocabulary of chemistry allows you to understand the question and therefore answer it correctly. You will find as you use names, formulas, etc. repetitively you will know them. Laboratory develops hands-on skills and is a significant part of any chemistry course. The concepts you learn in the course are applied in the laboratory, they are not independent of one another.

Nuts and Bolts

Most important is that you do problems with pencil and paper!!! Chemistry is not a subject you can read and understand by staring at the page; you need to write out your thoughts, outline chapters, and actively answer questions either verbally or in writing. Read each question and write down everything, don't try to organize the problem in your head or with your calculator. There may be Web sites both with your text and others that can provide assistance. Homework is generally due the next class day after we have finished the chapter. Exams are typically one or two days after we finish the material in class. I do push you to keep on a schedule and give a lot of assignments, generally dropping one homework score and one assignment score. All exams will count toward your grade.

Get help early in the quarter. To learn chemistry takes practice, practice, practice!

Below are links to other Pages

[return to top of page]

Updated Sept. 20, 2002. Questions or comments on this Web site should go to Robin Terjeson.