Laurie Starkey (Cal Poly Pomona)
I have been teaching Organic Chemistry and Organic Synthesis at Cal Poly Pomona since 1996. Over the last 20 years, I have been immersed in SoTL research around the use of teaching with technology, such as developing animations and simulations for laboratory techniques (distillation, TLC and extraction), creating and assessing online pre-lab tutorials and quizzes, creating video lessons using a variety of apps, developing multiple-choice questions for classroom “clickers,” creating and implementing assignments for Calibrated Peer Review (CPR) and providing lectures for Educator.com. I recently recorded my first video lecture (hybridization and geometry) using a light board, and I look forward to finding more applications for this exciting new technology. I wrote a textbook for senior-level undergraduate students and beginning graduate students, “Introduction to Strategies for Organic Synthesis” (Wiley, 2012) and I published an expanded 2nd edition in March 2018. For ten years I served on the GRE-Chemistry Committee of Examiners, so I really know a lot about writing excellent multiple-choice questions! My community involvement includes providing a variety of novel, hands-on science demos at the local elementary school every year since 2009 (see videos on my YouTube channel, ChemistryConnected!).
I have not had the pleasure of attending any cCWCS workshops, but I have been fortunate to be involved in a series of CSU-sponsored course-redesign projects over the past three years. This had led to an exciting exploration of ways to promote better study skills and a growth mindset (e.g., Organic Learning Communities “OLC” study groups, exam wrappers, learning-centered redesigned syllabus). This past year, I created a publicly available online repository called LOCAL (Library for Organic Chemistry Active Learning) to house clicker questions, worksheets, problem sets and other useful materials to support in-class problem solving. It was while doing research for this latest project that I discovered the OrganicERs community, and I look forward to getting more involved.