Kristen L. Murphy

Designing Chemistry Practice Exams for Enhanced Benefits. An Instrument for Comparing Performance and Mental Effort Measures

The emergence of students using cell phones and particularly the photographic capabilities of smartphones to cheat on exams is noted. The specific threat this form of academic misconduct poses to the ACS Examinations Institute is addressed in particular.

A Computational Study of the Effectiveness of the Frontier Molecular Orbital Formalism in Predicting Conformational Isomerism in (p-RC6H4NC)2W(dppe)2

Ab initio electronic structure calculations on a series of ligands, p-RC6H4NC:, indicate, that the energy of the LUMO correlates with the electron-withdrawing/donating capabilities of the substituent group, which determines the relative pi-acidity of the ligand. Depending on the nature of the para substituent group on the aryl isocyanide ligand, bis(aryl isocyanide) complexes of tungsten-containing bulky bidentate arylphosphine ligands adopt either cis or trans conformations. The frontier molecular orbital formalism predicts that strong pi-acids, which contain electron-withdrawing groups, tend to polarize sufficient charge density away from the metal center to effect the formation of the sterically less favorable but electronically stabilized cis conformer. Density functional theory calculations on similar complexes containing phosphines which do not impose severe steric contraints indicate that the balance between steric and electronic stabilization can be effectively predicted by comparing the relative energies of the ligand LUMOs.

Flipped classroom use in chemistry education: results from a survey of postsecondary faculty members

The aim of this study is to offer a current snapshot of flipped classroom use in postsecondary chemistry education. Data from a national survey of chemistry faculty members in the United States formed the basis of an investigation into the instructional contexts in which flipped classroom pedagogies are employed in postsecondary chemistry education. Our results reveal an association between flipped classroom use and the level at which a course is taught; in addition, our results provide support for the utility of flipped classrooms as a means for incorporation of pedagogical practices focused on active and collaborative learning.