R. Daniel Libby

Teaching Interests

During the academic years 1978 through 1980, I developed an "active learning" approach to teaching introductory organic chemistry. This method is based on the developmental theory of Jean Piaget. It uses three phase "learning cycles" to aid the students in developing and testing the accepted principles of organic chemistry. In this process, special emphasis is placed on the thought processes that are involved in analyzing data, designing new experiments, and predicting results.^1,2 I have used this approach in the introductory organic courses at Skidmore, Barnard, Colby and Moravian. It works well in both large and small classes. In the last four years, I have introduced group activities into my organic classroom. The addition of groups seems to facilitate student interactions on learning cycle problems both in and out of class. Although I developed this approach for organic chemistry, I am also interested in applying it to other courses.
 

REFERENCES:

1. "Piaget and Organic Chemistry: Teaching Introductory Organic Chemistry Through Learning Cycles", R.D. Libby, J. Chem. Ed.72, 626-31 (1995).
2. "Piaget and Organic Chemistry: The Equilibrium-Kinetic Approach for Teaching Introductory Organic Chemistry", R.D. Libby J. Chem. Ed. 68, 634-7 (1991).