The Drennan Lab originally developed this training on stereotype threat and unconscious bias for 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science and other Chemistry Department teaching assistants (TAs).

Diversity Training: Addressing Stereotype Threat in the Classroom

Prof. Drennan introduction on the TA Training program.

Diversity Training: Introduction Video

In this video, Catherine Drennan discusses the central role of Teaching Assistants in the course, and how she developed an application and training program to foster enthusiasm among incoming graduate students for teaching introductory chemistry.

Building a Team of Teaching Assistants

In this video, Catherine Drennan explains how Pizza Forums create opportunities in this large lecture course to get to know students on a personal level and to learn what's working and what's not working well in the course.

Pizza Forums: Connecting with Students

In this video, Catherine Drennan explains how she uses humor to engage students and to help them remember curricular content.

Using Humor to Engage Students

In this video, Catherine Drennan explains how she uses clicker questions and demonstrations to promote active participation during lectures.

Promoting Active Participation During Lectures

In this video, Catherine Drennan describes how introducing clicker competitions increased student effort and engagement in the course; it also seemed to foster a sense of community among students in this large lecture class.

Clicker Competitions

In this video, Catherine Drennan shares how she prepares for lectures. She reviews note-taking handouts, plans the sequence of activities, develops demonstrations, and coordinates her t-shirts with lecture content to infuse the course with a sense of fun.

Preparing for Lectures

In this video, Catherine Drennan discusses how she spotlights contemporary chemists in the course as a way to communicate to students that chemistry is a modern subject that can be used to make the world a better place.

Spotlighting Contemporary Chemists

In this video, Catherine Drennan notes that 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science is a class in which  students can discover their passion for chemistry, or plant the seeds for later understanding chemistry's central role in many fields.

5.111: A Space to Discover Your Passion for Chemistry

Best General  Chemistry Class

Principles of Chemical Science (2014)

Lecture 35: Applying Chemical Principles

Topics: Introduction to Oxidation-Reduction (Redox) Reactions; Balancing Redox Reactions; Electrochemical Cells

Lecture 25: Oxidation-Reduction and Electrochemical Cells

Topics: Spectrochemical Series: Geometry Makes a Difference; Crystal Field Theory: Tetrahedral Case; Crystal Field Theory: Square Planar Case; Other Geometries and Applications

Lecture 29: Transition Metals: Crystal Field Theory Part II

Topics: Solutions and Solubility; Classification of Acids and Bases

Lecture 20: Solubility and Acid-Base Equilibrium

Topics: Nuclear Chemistry: Radioactive Decay; Chemical Kinetics: Second Order Integrated Rate Laws, Relationship Between k and K, Elementary Steps and Molecularity

Lecture 31: Nuclear Chemistry and Chemical Kinetics

Topics: d-Block Metals or Transition Metals; Coordination Complexes (Chelate Effect, Shapes, Isomers); d-Orbital Counting and d-Orbitals

Lecture 27: Introduction to Transition Metals

Topics: Acid-Base Titrations: Titration of Strong Acids and Strong Bases, Titration of Weak Acids / Strong Bases &amp; Strong Acids / Weak Bases

Lecture 23: Acid-Base Titrations Part I

A buffer helps to maintain a constantTopics: pH of Salt Solutions; Buffers!

Lecture 22: Acid-Base Equilibrium: Salt Solutions and Buffers

Topics: Effect of Temperature on Reaction Rates; The Reaction Coordinate and the Activation Complex

Lecture 33: Kinetics and Temperature

Topics: Introduction to Catalysis; Types of Catalysts; Catalysts of Life and Enzyme Catalysis

Lecture 34: Kinetics: Catalysts

Topics: Investigating Reaction Mechanisms

Lecture 32: Kinetics: Reaction Mechanisms

Topics: Introduction to Kinetics: Rates of Chemical Reactions, Rate Expressions and Rate Laws

Lecture 30: Kinetics: Rate Laws

Topics: Introduction to Crystal Field Theory; Crystal Field Theory: Octahedral Case; Spectrochemical Series: the Ligand to the Metal Matters

Lecture 28: Transition Metals: Crystal Field Theory Part I

Topics: Relationship between Cell Potential and Gibbs Free Energy; Meaning of Standard Reduction Potentials; Nernst Equation

Lecture 26: Chemical and Biological Oxidations

Topics: Acid-Base Titrations: Titration of Weak Acid with Strong Base (cont.)

Lecture 24: Acid-Base Titrations Part II

Topics: Definitions and Relationships between pKw, pH, and pOH;  Strengths of Acids and Bases, Equilibrium Acid-Base Problems (Weak Acids and Weak Bases)

Lecture 21: Acid-Base Equilibrium: Is MIT Water Safe to Drink?

Topics: Chemical Equilibrium: External Effects on K (Le Châtlier’s Principle), Temperature Dependence of K, Applications of Le Châtlier’s Principle; Significant Figure Rules for Logs

Lecture 19: Chemical Equilibrium: Le Châtelier’s Principle

Topics: Chemical Equilibrium: Nature of Chemical Equilibrium, Meaning of the Chemical Equilibrium Constant K, External Effects on K (Le Châtlier's Principle)

Lecture 18: Introduction to Chemical Equilibrium

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Best Multi-Part Documentaries

The best philosophy podcast episodes. Asking questions about how to live a better life, what it means to be and do good, to the idea of God. This topic includes episodes that bring about important questions that everyone should be asking themselves. Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!