TEACHING INTERESTS and PHILOSOPHY
I am a strong believer that students will only be as enthusiastic about a subject as their instructor is. Many of my students arrive to general chemistry with a fear of the material because of a poor experience in a previous chemistry course. I can certainly relate to their experiences. Ninety percent of my own past instructors have been non-enthusiastic, following uninspiring teaching regimes—and I can hardly remember any of their names or what I was supposed to learn from them. It’s been the other 10% that didn’t follow the norm that had the most impact on me as a student and an instructor.
I believe in representing Chemistry as the dynamic, engaging, and entertaining subject that it is. Often times, this is best accomplished through non-traditional multimedia aids such as high definition (HD) video content, popular culture examples (Chemistry in TV and movies), “Game Show” review sessions, and sometimes even references to Michael Jackson and David Hassellhoff in the classroom. Collaborative learning also plays a major role in my instruction. Students work together to solve problems both in and out of lecture. In the lab, typical “cookbook experiments” are replaced with guided-inquiry exercises that encourage students to think and work as a group rather than follow recipes with predetermined results. These activities mimic actual research and the skills developed will better prepare them for future work and give them the tools to help them retain knowledge long after the semester ends.
As Coordinator of our large (2700+ students) General Chemistry Program, I have also had the opportunity to impact all of our 100-level courses through collaboration with our other talented teaching faculty. We are currently in development of an ambitious Learner Centered Education (LCE) course redesign. The goals of this project are to increase the effectiveness and impact of our General Chemistry courses through new active-learning activities and technology. This new model of instruction will begin in the Fall 2008 semester and will be supported by a completely redesigned classroom (PS H-135) outfitted with over a half-million dollars in cutting-edge learning technologies.
ACADEMIC HISTORY
- Ph.D., Chemistry (Nonlinear Laser Spectroscopy)
University of California, San Diego and San Diego State University (2004)
- M.A., Chemistry, San Diego State University (1999)
- B.S., Chemistry, University of California, San Diego (1994)
TEACHING EXPERIENCE, AFFILLIATIONS, AWARDS
- Arizona State University (CHM 101, 113, 114, 235, 343, 348)
- University of California, San Diego (CHM 105A, B)
- San Diego State University (CHM 105, 200, 201)
- Summer Bridge, HCOP, Upward Bound (General Chemistry)
- American Chemical Society, Central AZ (Past Chair)
- ASU Centennial Professorship Nominee (2008)
- ASU CLAS Dean’s Distinguished Teaching Award Nominee (2008)
- ASU CLAS Dean’s Distinguished Teaching Award Recipient (2007)
- ASU CLAS Dean’s Distinguished Teaching Award Nominee (2006)
For full CV and research background, please visit: Dr. Briggs’ personal web site.
For general chemistry course materials, please visit: Dr. Briggs’ course web site.
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