Toward the above goals, my role in the classroom will be principally as a guide and resource, rather than as solemn lecturer. Thanks to the excellent organization and "readability" of Solomons' text, our classroom activities can be comprised of relative ly novel enterprises, rather than simple transfer of my notes to your notebooks. Our time will revolve around three principle activities, roughly one for each of the three days we spend on a given chapter. (We will cover approximately one chapter from t he text every three days.)

In-Class Written Problems and Discussion

On the first day for each chapter I will provide you with at least one 5-10 minute in-class exercise to be worked independently about some aspect of that chapter. My assumption is that you will have read the chapter in advance and be prepared to work wit h some basic concepts from that chapter in the problem I assign. We will evaluate and discuss this assignment immediately afterward, using it as the guide for our discussion that day. The exercise will be worth ten points, with the best ten scores of th e semester counted toward your point total. Papers will be shuffled anonymously among the class and graded by one of your peers during our discussion period. These exercises will generally help your class total, so long as you attend class faithfully an d read ahead. There will be no make-up opportunities for these exercises since there will be more opportunities provided than are counted in the total.

Requested Topics

On the second day for each chapter our class time will be spent on topics that you request in advance. You will forward your questions, problems, topics of interest, etc., to me in advance in person, by email, phone, or on paper. I will use your input t o shape my discussion so that it addresses material about which you have concerns or questions.

Learning Group Activities

Finally, on the third day, the work from two groups of 4-6 students will be presented to the class regarding their group's solution to a challenging problem I have assigned in advance. Four groups will actually be scheduled to present on each Learning Gr oup day, but only two of these groups will be chosen (randomly) for presentation.

• Each exercise will be worth 25 points and every member of the group will receive the same score on the exercise.
• The group will decide upon an individual to serve as the scribe for the exercise. The scribe will write the group's collective solution on an overhead transparency.
• The group will decide upon another member to serve as the oral presenter. The scribe and presenter cannot be the same person.
• The presenter will use the overhead transparency to explain the collectively agreed upon solution to the class.
• During work on the problem, neither the scribe nor the presenter can ask me questions about the problem. Group members other than the scribe and presenter must pose the questions.
• Each group will make two presentations during the semester.
• I will allow the first ten minutes of class on Learning Group days for groups to assemble their solution on the overhead transparency if you have not already done so. You are encouraged to arrive a few minutes early on your assigned day to get a jump on final organization of your presentation.
• Material pertaining to the Learning Group problems will appear on exams.
• If all members of a given Learning Group score above 80% on any single midterm exam, all members of the group will recieve a 15 point bonus on their course total.

Assigned Homework Problems

Implicit in the design of how our classroom time will be spent is the notion that chemistry can only truly be learned by the working of problems. The classroom and reading alone will not suffice. Thus, problems from each chapter will be assigned (but not collected). Problem assignments are given on the hard copies of the Study Guides for each chapter. Solutions to the assigned problems can be found at the back of the text and in the accompanying Study Guide. You must give each problem a good effort before consulting the Study Guide for an answer if you are to learn by the process. We will have the opportunity to discuss some problems in class. Again, however, you must give the problems solid effort in advance before asking for help. I am, of course, available for your assistance during my scheduled office hours, through email, and frequently during other times as well. In addition, approximately three problem sessions with Academic Assistance Center Tutors will be scheduled each week. Your attendance of at least one of these problem sessions is strongly recommended. Specific times will be arranged during the first week of class.

Student Board of Directors

A Student Board of Directors for Organic Chemistry will be elected by the class. This board, comprised of four of your student peers, will meet with me regularly to communicate concerns of the class at large. Anyone is welcome to discuss any aspect of the course with me at any time, of course, but as an alternate avenue you may bring concerns to your peers serving on the Board, who will then appraise me of the issue on an anonymous basis. I will consider advice from the Board most seriously. On the f irst day of class we will conduct a nomination process for candidates to the Student Board of Directors. On the second day of class I will accept write-in nominations, and you will vote on the slate of candidates.

Use of Computers

Email

A word about my intended use of email in this class. I expect that every one of you will arrange to have a computer account set up for yourself and that you will know how to use email. Terminals are available for your use in the Open Lab in Rieke Science Center and in the computer user rooms on campus. If you have a personal computer and it is equipped with a modem, you can access the university computers from the location of your own computer (the ideal situation). With your computer account comes access to email, library resources, Internet, and whatever else one can presently call "the information super highway". My plan is to receive by email your suggested topics for class discussion and problem requests, and also to send you information, assignments, and responses to your questions by email. I usually check my mail several times each work day, and typically once in the evening. Please send me a message saying that you are on board as soon as your account is set up. My preferred email address is fryhle@u.washington.edu, as noted above. (Please use this address rather than the one on pepper at PLU.)

The Organic Chemlist - An Email Discussion List

I expect that with establishment of your email account you will subscribe to the PLU email discussion list called the Organic Chemlist. To subscribe, send an email message to listproc@rainier.chem.plu.edu with nothing but Subscribe organic Your Name (italics only for emphasis) in the body of the message. Once subscribed through this message, all of your future messages to the list should be addressed to organic@rainier.chem.plu.edu. The Organic Chemlist will be used by me to post class-wide announcements, lecture clarifications, and replies to some of your questions. You are also encouraged to use it among yourselves to arrange impromptu study sessions, discuss organic chemistry with each other, and in general communicate about anything germane to Organic at PLU.

The Organic_Chemlist email group will also serve as the electronic medium for The Organic Journal Club (TOJC). TOJC will be a communal diary of the class's learning of organic chemistry. The goal of TOJC is to stimulate a ferment of class-wide d iscussion about current topics in organic and provide a living record of our learning process. Participation in The Organic Journal Club is a required part of the course.

• Ten email submissions to the Journal Club are required of each student during the semester.
• Each submission will be worth five points (for a total of 50 points over the semester) and will be awarded automatically based solely on participation, so long as the message content enhances the learning atmosphere of the course.
• There is no pressure to have your postings be especially insightful or pithy. Honest desire to learn and respectfully share your knowledge are the attitudes that should come forth from your messages. Postings to TOJC should be something like "What I learned about organic chemistry today.", or "Could someone please explain...", (a question posed to the group in expectation of an answer), or an answer to some posted question.
• Submissions should be brief (a few sentences to a paragraph will usually suffice). What you write should be grammatically correct.
• Responses to questions in TOJC should be provided primarily by other students in the class, and thus will typically not come from me.
• Any disrespectful posting will remove five points from the author's course total.
• The Subject line of the message header should mention "TOJC" as well as the specific topic, so as to allow sorting of messages pertaining to The Organic Journal Club from other generic postings to the Organic_Chemlist.
• Of the required 10 postings by each person, no more than 5 will be counted in each half of the semester (in order to spread out participation in TOJC over the entire term).

World-Wide Web

In order to increase your access to course information I have provided this course outline and other course information over the World Wide Web at http://rainier.chem.plu.edu/organic.html. You can also access it through links from my home page (http://r ainier.chem.plu.edu/fryhle.html). These pages include links to the software and Internet resources mentioned below.

Supporting Software and Data

There is a wealth of software and computerized resources available to support courses in organic chemistry. Much of this is available free over the Internet, including software for drawing chemical structures and importing them into formal reports (ISIS /Draw), software for viewing computerized molecular models in three dimensions (Rasmol), archives of organic structures for use with Rasmol, and spectroscopic data and processing programs. Links to this software can be found on my home page (http://raini er.chem.plu.edu/fryhle.html) and the Organic Chemistry Home Page (http://rainier.chem.plu.edu/organic.html).

I expect that all of your work for credit will be done strictly in the spirit of academic honesty. Any breach of the trust I place in your integrity will receive a severe academic penalty. There will be three midterm examinations given on the dates ind icated on the course schedule. Each will be worth 100 points, with the possibility of a Learning Group Earned Bonus (see below). Your best ten in-class assignments will add an additional 100 points to the potential total. Learning Group Exercises will be worth a total of 50 points. Postings to The Organic Journal Club will be worth 50 points. The final exam is worth 150 points, and will be on Monday, December 16th. No make-up exams will be given.

Grading

Each exam and graded exercises will be scored according to the point distribution given below. In order to encourage cooperative learning among all members of a Learning Group, all members of a Learning Group will receive a 15 point Earned Bonus on a gi ven exam score if every member of that Learning Group scores above 80% on any particular exam.

Point Distribution

Final grades will be based on the sum of all the points earned during the course. In order to reduce competition and encourage cooperative learning final grades will be assigned according to an absolute point scale. (If necessary, however, I may make in dividual or global adjustments to this scale.)

Absolute Scale for Final Grades

University Policy: If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, if you have emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an app ointment with me as soon as possible (Rieke 241, X8314). Students are also reminded that they are responsible for notifying instructors of any conditions that may impair their academic performance. Without advance warning, such difficulties can not be u sed later as the basis for requesting make-up course work or reconsideration of grades.

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