Principal Research Interests
Director of General Chemistry Laboratory Instruction, and Lecturer in Chemistry, I
have designed and developed online web-based access methods for general chemistry content. As the result of this project, the hundreds of students who take the various sections of general chemistry now have constant, easy, private access to handouts, background material, and even their own grades at www.chem.umass.edu/genchem.
My major interests are in the development of effective strategies for teaching introductory lecture and lab practical courses, the use of online methodologies to deliver course content, and the promotion of interest in chemistry among all students. I have been host and major organizer for high school Chemistry Olympiads on campus, as well as being the coordinator of the department’s annual High School Teacher Symposium each spring.
Representative Publications
William J. Vining, Kara M. Stamm, Justin T. Fermann,
Thomas A. Whelan, Rachel R. Broudy, Beatrice Botch, "Designing
Interactive Instructional Software: Students as Educators",
The Chemical Educator, 4, 878 (1999).
William J. Vining, Thomas
A. Whelan, "Chemistry and Chemical
Reactivity", Saunders College Publishing, 1997.
Thomas A. Whelan, "General Chemistry Instructor's Survival
Guide", UMass College Publishing, 1996. |
