UC Santa Barbara chemistry and biochemistry lecturer Dr Kalju Kahn gave the Winter Quarter Instructional Division seminar on March 7, 2017.
In his seminar titled “Motivating and Engaging Students in Online Chemistry Courses”, Kahn spoke about the approaches he uses to create an “innovative and engaging learning environment” when teaching on-line courses and the resources available to the University of California, Santa Barbara, students when taking online classes. He discussed the experience of teaching the same course by the same instructor in three different settings – traditional face-to-face, flipped-classroom face-to-face, and flipped-classroom online.
The UC Santa Barbara Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry offers a sophomore-year Organic Chemistry (CHEM W 109C) and a junior-year Biochemistry (CHEM W 142) as quarter-long on-line courses. The Organic Chemistry course focuses on the chemistry of bioorganic molecules; the Biochemistry course covers the properties and functions of key biological molecules and systems.
Dr. Kalju Kahn during his Instructional Division Seminar.
About Dr. Kalju Kahn
Kahn completed his undergraduate studies in chemistry at the University of Tartu in Estonia under the direction of Prof. Mati Karelson where he received a B.S. degree in 1992 and an M.S. degree in 1994. He went on for his graduate studies in chemistry at the University of Missouri, Columbia, under the direction of Prof. Peter Tipton and received his Ph.D. in 1998. Kahn has been a lecturer at UC Santa Barbara since 2001. He was voted “Teacher of the Year” by UC Santa Barbara chemistry and biochemistry students in 2005. In 2008, he was promoted to tenured lecturer position.
To learn more about Kahn, visit his website.
About the Instructional Division Seminars
As part of our ongoing efforts to maintain world-class excellence in chemical education, the UCLA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry launched the Instructional Division Seminar Series in 2014 in order to bring to UCLA the leading experts in the art and science of the teaching of chemistry. Senior Lecturer Dr. Steve Hardinger organizes the series.
Mark your calendars for the following upcoming seminars:
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
Department of Chemistry
Michigan State University
“Evidence-Based Approaches to Curriculum Reform and Assessment”
4:00 p.m. in Young Hall 2033
Tuesday, May 30, 2017
Dr. Max I. Kopelevich
UCLA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
“Web-Based Instructional Tools”
4:00 p.m. in Young Hall 2033
