Goals

The Chemical Thinking curriculum represents an alternative way of conceptualizing the introductory chemistry curriculum for science and engineering majors. The curriculum has been designed with the following goals in mind:

• Present chemistry as a powerful way of thinking rather than as a static body of knowledge
• Use essential questions in the discipline to guide the presentation and discussion of relevant content
• Emphasize conceptual understanding of core concepts and ideas in chemistry
• Build student understanding through carefully designed learning progressions based on existing research in chemistry education
• Offer many opportunities for students to engage with core concepts and ideas through activities that ask them to analyze data, model chemical systems, and generate evidence-based explanations
• Create opportunities for students to demonstrate and self-assess their understanding via the application of their knowledge and skills to solving relevant integrated problems
• Engage students in thinking about important issues in four critical areas of interest for the science and technology of the 21^st century: energy sources, environmental issues, life and medicine, and materials by design
• Take advantage of diverse educational tools that allow students to explore chemical ideas and phenomena in interactive ways