Organic chemistry for the visually impaired

CHED 1581

Thomas Poon, tpoon@jsd.claremont.edu, Joint Science Department, Claremont McKenna, Pitzer, and Scripps Colleges, W.M. Keck Science Center, 925 N. Mills Ave., Claremont, CA 91711 and Ronit Ovadia, Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling, Northwestern University, 676 N. Saint Clair St., Suite 1280, Chicago, IL 60611.
Organic chemistry, as one of the most visual of all scientific disciplines, presents special challenges to the visually impaired. The representation of molecules, orbitals, reaction energy diagrams, and mechanisms are not easily handled through conventional technology (e.g. thermoform printers or text to audio translators) available to the sight-impaired. This paper discusses a tactile approach for illustrating organic chemistry concepts and molecular representations using relatively inexpensive molecular models and Wikki Stix, an acrylic, wax-covered product that is commercially available. Strategies and examples used in a first semester organic chemistry course will be presented.
 

Teaching Chemistry to the Visually Impaired
8:30 AM-12:15 PM, Tuesday, March 27, 2007 McCormick Place North -- Room N227A, Level 2, Oral

Division of Chemical Education

The 233rd ACS National Meeting, Chicago, IL, March 25-29, 2007