ChemConnections Activity Workbook

The ChemConnections activities—grown out of the popular ChemConnections modules—are each in the context of environmental and societal issues that are interesting to both faculty and students. These activities, influenced by chemistry education research, are written with attention to pedagogy and student learning styles. Faculty will be able to use a variety of activity styles including data analysis, labs, worksheets, and discovery.

Sharon Anthony earned a BA from Bowdoin College in chemistry and mathematics and a PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Colorado. She is an associate professor of environmental science at Northland College where she teaches courses in chemistry and atmospheric science and teaches in a learning community about sustainable agriculture. Prior to arriving at Northland, Sharon was on the faculty for ten years at Evergreen State College where she taught in learning communities about trash, the Olympic Peninsula, forensics and criminal behavior, biogeochemical cycles, climate change, and alternative energy. She coauthored the ChemConnections modules “What Should We Do about Global Warming,” “Why Does the Antarctic Ozone Hole Form in the Antarctic Spring?,” and “How Do We Get from Bonds to Bags, Bottles, and Backpacks?” Kevin L. Braun earned a BS in anthropology and chemistry from Beloit College and a PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Arizona. After a postdoctoral position at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, he joined the faculty at Beloit College, where he teaches courses in instrumentation and analytical and general chemistry. His research interests include forensic applications of electrophoretic separations and chemical archaeology. In the summer, he leads faculty workshops on integrating topics in renewable energy into the general chemistry curriculum through the NSF-funded Chemistry Collaborations, Workshops, and Communities of Scholars (cCWCS) program. Heather Mernitz has a BA in chemistry from Kalamazoo College, an MS in human nutrition, and a PhD in nutritional biochemistry and metabolism from Tufts University. Heather is an assistant professor of physical science at Alverno College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she teaches courses in chemistry and biochemistry and serves as a consultant on principles and practices of assessment. She coauthored the ChemConnections module "Would You Like Fries with That? The Fuss about Fat in Our Diet" and has led numerous workshops for college faculty on using active, collaborative, student-centered learning principles in real-world contexts to teach undergraduate chemistry.