MOLECULAR MODELING IN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY COURSES. Alan J. Shusterman, Department of Chemistry, Reed College, Portland, Oregon, 97202-8199.
Recent developments in molecular modeling (falling costs, increasing hardware/software
power) have made these tools widely available to teachers and students.
Deciding which modeling activities are worth a student's time, and integrating
these activities into the organic chemistry curriculum is difficult, however,
because the traditional curriculum is "closed", i.e., the concepts
that are covered are largely self-referential and do not readily admit new
ideas and models. Nevertheless, the use and study of new models is rewarding
for students and teachers alike. I will describe some of the educational
benefits of molecular modeling, and some ideas for making the traditional
organic curriculum more "modeling-friendly". The limitations of
modeling as a teaching tool, and the amount and type of "theory"
a sophomore student needs to know in order to use modeling, will also be
discussed.
(last updated 4/15/97)