FUTURE PROGRAM
myIDEA
OVERVIEW
Chemistry in a high-school setting, particularly at the
general chemistry level, can often be a dry, abstract set of
seemingly superfluous concepts. This problem is only
compounded in disadvantaged high schools with poor
budgets for laboratories. This may often lead students
away from such the critical and beneficial subject of
chemistry. To rectify this, I joined the IDEA institute to
develop a crime-based three hour lesson plan teaching thin
layer chromatography (TLC). This involved teaching basic
theory, solving a crime in the lab, and expanding the
concepts with student involvement to more traditional
applications of TLC.
This plan was only possible through the generous help
and allowance of Mr. Rodwell Campbell, a general
chemistry teacher at Cass Technical High School who
allowed me to teach his 2-3 and 3-4 classes; Nikhil Iyer for
his lesson-plan help; and the IDEA institute for its teaching
advice and funds.
TIMELINE
Week 1: Introduction of the crime background, and teaching
of basic theory of electronegativity, polarity, solvent effects
and Rf of TLC.
Week 2: Completing the actual laboratory by comparing
each of the chromatographs of 5 suspect markers to the
evidence.
Week 3: Wrap-up with student analysis of how this process
worked as well as a small introduction to TLC in organic
chemistry.
The Great Diamond Heist: Crime Scene TLC
Apurba K. Chakrabarti, akchakra@umich.edu, Student of the MCDB Department –
Honors Cellular & Molecular Biology 2011
PROJECT SNAPSHOT
I approached the opportunity the IDEA institute
presented on two levels. The overarching goal was to
keep students engaged in chemistry and show students
the applications of chemistry that are interesting and
used in the work place. At the same time, I had a
genuine pedagogical desire to teach the chemistry
underlying TLC. By combining these two aspects under
the guise of a crime scene framework, the students,
motivated by the desire to solve this crime, learned the
concepts involved TLC such as polarity, solvent effects,
capillary action, and others. They then used these
concepts on chromatographs of markers and crime
scene notes. Ideally, they now have a practical
understanding of concepts such as polarity, how TLC
works, and why chemistry is exciting and important.
WHAT I LEARNED
I learned that there is an important distinction between the
mindsets of learning and teaching. In learning, one simply
has to figure out a way to grasp the situation, but for the
teacher, he must approach the problem from many different
angles in order to help more students. There was also
something about the power of application. Based simply on
a real-world application, I was able to greatly increase the
students’ desire to learn. I also found out that I enjoy
teaching enough to consider a career in academia.
School Information: Cass Technical High School
Teacher Information: Rodwell Campbell
Project Coordinator: Mary Starr
Project Support Staff: Cesar Delgado, Morten
Lundsgaard, Justin Lomont, Tracy Lent