Unlocking Chemical Thinking

Vicente Talanquer is a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the UA. His research focuses on undergraduate chemistry education. He has published over 150 peer reviewed and invited papers where he has explored the conceptual difficulties that students face when learning chemistry and the effect of different teaching strategies on student understanding. He has also investigated prospective science teachers’ reasoning and practices. Dr. Talanquer has applied the results of his educational research to the development of innovative curricula for undergraduate chemistry education. He has received various awards during his academic career, including the James Flack Norris Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Teaching of Chemistry by American Chemical Society. In 2015, he was named Arizona Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation. In 2019, Dr. Talanquer received the Education Research Award from the Council of Scientific Society Presidents, and in 2021 he was awarded the ACS Award for Achievement in Research for the Teaching & Learning of Chemistry.

• Chapter 1 – The IntentChapter 2 – Focusing on Central IdeasChapter 3 – Foregrounding Disciplinary PracticesChapter 4 – Embracing Multiplicity of ThoughtChapter 5 – Recognizing Core Models and MechanismsChapter 6 – Thinking About Thinking and LearningChapter 7 – Recognizing Underlying AssumptionsChapter 8 – Controlling Heuristic ReasoningChapter 9 – Reasoning with Chemical RepresentationsChapter 10 – Scaffolding Chemical ThinkingChapter 11 – Humanizing Chemistry EducationChapter 12 – Attuning to DifferenceChapter 13 – Teaching with IntentionChapter 14 – Orchestrating Meaningful EngagementChapter 15 – Facing the Challenge