You have mass. You have volume. You matter.

In John's January Newsletter

Chalk Radio: Making Solid State Chemistry Matter (Prof. Jeffrey Grossman)

Layered molecular structure with a black background.

What happens when you put science in a goody bag? In this episode, Materials Science and Engineering Professor Jeffrey Grossman shares how he makes solid state chemistry relevant with hands-on learning and real-world applications. (Image by seagul from Pixabay.)

First-year students who already plan to major in chemistry don't require any special bells or whistles to motivate them to study the subject. But introductory chemistry is a required subject for all students at MIT, regardless of their intended major, and materials scientist Jeffrey Grossman has found that for many students in his course 3.091, Introduction to Solid State Chemistry, the subject becomes much more accessible if he takes conscious steps to make it real for them.

As Professor Grossman explains in this episode, it was by playing around with materials that the very first chemists began to learn about matter and its properties, and this kind of basic experimentation has an inherently multi-sensory quality that deepens and enriches students’ understanding of the concepts they learn.

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Recently on the "Community" tab of our YouTube page, every Friday we've been highlighting an OCW video. Here are a few favorites.

Check out MIT's 6.S191 Introduction to Deep Learning, with applications to computer vision, natural language processing, biology, and more!

Check out OCW's ChemLab Boot Camp series, which followed 14 MIT freshmen as they faced the challenges of learning chemistry the MIT way.

A close up of an Apple iPhone home page. Multiple apps are shown, like Chipotle, Starbucks, Target, and PayPal.

Mobile payment apps for smartphones have become increasingly popular among consumers and are replacing cash, checks, and credit cards. Payments are covered in Class #6. (Image by Jason Howie on Flickr. License: CC BY.)

15.S08 FinTech: Shaping the Financial World

This course about financial technology, or FinTech, is for students wishing to explore the ways in which new technologies are disrupting the financial services industry—driving material change in business models, products, applications and customer user interface. Amongst the significant technological trends affecting financial services into the 2020’s, the class will explore AI, deep learning, blockchain technology and open APIs. Students will gain an understanding of the key technologies, market structure, participants, regulation and the dynamics of change being brought about by FinTech.

"I Voted" printed stickers on a white surface.

Sheets of "I Voted" stickers handed out at the polls. (Photo by Element5Digital on Unsplash.)

RES.17-001 MIT Election Data + Science Lab

The MIT Election Data and Science Lab (MEDSL) supports advances in election science by collecting, analyzing, and sharing core data and findings. The lab also aims to build relationships with election officials and others to help apply new scientific research to the practice of democracy in the United States. By applying scientific principles to how elections are studied and administered, MEDSL aims to improve the democratic experience for all U.S. voters.

The MIT Election Lab is a founding partner in the Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project, which was developed to ensure that the 2020 election can proceed with integrity, safety, and equal access. The project aims to do this by bringing together academics, civic organizations, election administrators, and election administration experts to assess and promote best practices.

A teaching assistant stands in front of a clean chalkboard, speaking to a classroom of undergraduates.

A screen grab of a simulation from the course: Guolong Su, a teaching assistant, speaks to a classroom of undergraduates (Photo credit: MIT OpenCourseWare).

RES.21G-001 The User-friendly Classroom

The User-friendly Classroom video training series was created specifically for teaching assistants for whom English is a second language and the USA a second culture by A.C. Kemp, a lecturer in MIT Global Languages.

These videos focus on developing international teaching assistants' strategies for successful, student-centered communication in the interactive American classroom. These videos demonstrate best practices through authentic examples of successful teaching scenarios, interviews with undergraduates and advice from international teaching assistants.

These videos were created for use with the following courses:

21G.232 / 21G.233 Advanced Speaking and Critical Listening (ELS)

21G.217 / 21G.218 Workshop in Strategies for Effective Teaching (ELS)

"Special thanks to my mentor, Jane Dunphy, for her support and advice with this project." - A.C. Kemp

A spiraling layered molecular structure with a sandstone background.

Image by Dean Simone from Pixabay.

3.091 Introduction to Solid-State Chemistry

Course Highlights

Goodie Bags: mini-experiment kits allow students to explore a key concept and solve related problems, with video tutorials provided by the course TAs.
Why This Matters moments: a brief portion of each lecture focusing on how the topic relates to innovations in science and in life, real-world applications, and creative directions for research.
The CHEMATLAS: includes an overview and summary of the main topics in each lecture, the Why This Matters moment, a section on Why This Employs, and a few example problems with solutions.

In this course, we will explore what makes things in the world the way they are and why, to understand the science and consider the engineering. We learn not only why the physical world behaves the way it does, but also how to think with chemical intuition, which can't be gained simply by observing the macroscopic world.

This 2018 version of 3.091 by Jeffrey Grossman and the 2010 OCW version by Don Sadoway cover similar topics and both provide complete learning materials. This 2018 version also includes Jeffrey Grossman’s innovative Goodie Bags, Why This Matters, and CHEMATLAS content, as well as additional practice problems, quizzes, and exams.

Views from OCW Supporters

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

With OCW, I am always growing. I feel prepared to reach my goals— personal and professional.

-Paulo, independent learner, Brazil

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Thank you to everyone who supported OCW during our year-end campaign! Your contributions now are helping us invest in creating a more accessible OCW for the future.

And, with the start of 2021 we are officially in OCW's 20th anniversary year. If you haven't already, tell us what this milestone means to you.

We look forward to celebrating this exciting year in OCW's history together!

For free resources for high school teachers and students, check out: