Media
Putting research into practice
Bucat, R.,Tasker, R., & Mahaffy, P. (2009, 2014). Chemistry: Human Activity, Chemical Reactivity. Nelson Publishing Canada. Available in International and Canadian editions.
In Chemistry: Human Activity, Chemical Reactivity we present chemistry that is both contemporary and relevant. This example shows how we engage students using an interactive tool produced by the Kings Center for Visualization in Science to answer important questions about ocean acidification.
This video is Part 1 of 2 showing how we use Odyssey for molecular visualization. This part shows how to build a molecular simulation of a 1M NaCl solution, and challenges the viewer to build a simulation of 0.5M MgCl2 solution.
This video is Part 2 of 2 showing how colored electrostatic potential maps indicate polarity; molecular collisions in a chemical reaction can be productive or unproductive; and metal ions compete on size when binding to crown ethers.
Freely available animations, videos and learning activities are accessible from the VisChem web site VisChem.com.au
These have been used by chemistry educators, and in university-level
textbooks (view Atkins and Jones Chemistry Principles and Vollhartd Organic Chemistry) and high school chemistry textbooks (view ChemCom).
Tasker, R., Dalton, R., Sleet, R., Bucat, B., Chia, W. and Corrigan, D. (2002). VisChem Learning Design: Visualising Chemical Structures and Reactions at the Molecular Level to Develop a Deep Understanding of Chemistry Concepts.
The VisChem learning design is demonstrated in the YouTube movie above.
The VisChem learning design is described in detail on the web site above.
The aim of this Australian National Senior Teaching Fellowship entitled Research into practice: evidence-informed best practice visualisation for a deeper understanding of science is to lead a national conversation on visualisation in university science teaching, informed by the latest cognitive science research on the factors determining how the brain perceives, process, stores and retrieves audiovisual information. Go to the Fellowship web site at ScienceVis.com.au
View the website
Presented at the Australian National University Research School of Physics and Engineering, Director’s Colloquium, in Apr 2012
Presented at the Deakin University Teaching and Learning Conference 2012
