American Chemical Society
Teaching Chemical Information:
Tips and Techniques
— August 1998 —
In-Depth Course
Advantages
- Allows much more thorough coverage of tools and techniques than other forms of instruction
- Long-term assignments can integrate all the lessons of the course
- Learning chemical information becomes a primary goal, rather than a secondary goal
Disadvantages
- Getting approval for a full-term, especially credit bearing class, can be difficult at some institutions
- Motivating students to take the class in the first place can be a challenge
- Wide range of student interests may cause part of class to tune out at any given time
- Creating and maintaining an in-depth course can be very time-consuming
- Handling large classes, especially for hands-on training can be difficult
Considerations
- How long should the course be? Should you try to cover everything in one course?
- What level should you aim at?
- Should chemical information instruction be required? At what level?
- What instructor resources do you have? (Transparencies, presentation software, live online, etc.)
- Hands-on training with electronic resources: what are your options?
- How big a class can you manage?
- Are there opportunities for team-teaching?