Teaching Materials that Matter: An Interactive, Multi-media Module on Zeolites in General Chemistry

This paper describes a two-week teaching module, based on the structure, properties, and applications of zeolites, that was taught in a general chemistry course. We chose to focus this module on zeolite science because of the beauty and versatility of zeolites as well as their many existing and potential uses in the chemical industry. The curriculum was centered around an interactive educational computer program about zeolites that we developed specifically for the module, entitled “Zeolite Explorer.” The module also involved class lectures by faculty, a guest lecture from an industry leader, homework problems, handouts, overheads, and demonstrations. The class outline, lecture notes, handouts, overheads, homework, and “Zeolite Explorer” software are included with this article. We believe that this interactive, multimedia approach to teaching zeolite science generated more student interest in chemistry and learning an extremely important subject.