Teaching

I have a solid performance in teaching, delivering core Chemistry courses, tutorials, workshops and practicals. As Analytical Chemistry Team Leader, I designed and oversee our new Analytical Chemistry curriculum, to start in autumn 2020. 

It is my aim to encourage active participation through lectures and experiments (see also my publications in Journal of Chemical Education and Bunsenmagazin). Understanding of fundamentals should not be obscured by formalisms, but this must not compromise numeracy and accuracy. Students are encouraged to assess the quality of teaching.

Teaching Experience

a) Current teaching: University of Sheffield, Department of Chemistry

• "Chemical Kinetics" 1st year, with tutorials and examinations (since 2006);

• "Spectroscopy I, Rotational and Vibrational Spectroscopy" 2nd year, with tutorials and examinations (2006-2020);

• "Spectroscopy II, Atomic and Electronic spectroscopy" 3rd year, with workshops and examinations (since 2008); also taught as a distance learning module.

• "Topics in Chemistry" 4th year, with workshops and examinations (since 2009).

• "Analytical Spectroscopy" and "Separation Science", two new 2nd year courses for our new Chemistry curriculum, starting in autumn 2020, including designing and supervising a new extended 2nd year Analytical Chemistry teaching lab experiment, 'Detection and chemical analysis of nitrate and nitrite in drinking water'.

Teaching resources are available online to Sheffield students under MOLE (MyOnlineLearningEnvironment).

I designed new experiments in the teaching laboratories for spectroscopy and ab initio calculations. In addition, I designed the 3rd year module "Literature Review Project", a project introducing our 3rd year students into scientific literature research and into scientific writing skills. 

As Analytical Chemistry Team Leader, I design and oversee our new Analytical Chemistry curriculum, to start in autumn 2020.

b) Teaching at the ETH Zürich, Switzerland, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences (with 'Lehrauftrag', as Privatdozent)

June 2024: In the first 2 weeks of June 2024, I will deliver a block course at the ETH Zürich, Switzerland, Bio-analytical Applications of Advanced Optical Spectroscopies, including a workshop to build a Raman spectrometer.

c) Previous teaching: ETH Zürich, Switzerland, Department of Chemistry

• "Physikalische Chemie II" Chemical Kinetics, with tutorials and examinations (Vordiploms­klausur) (2001/02 until 2004/05);

• "Einführung in die Quantenmechanik" Quantum Mechanics for Biochemists, (2002);

• "Physikalische Chemie V" Spectroscopy, with examinations (Diplomprüfung), (2003);

• "Physikalische Chemie I" Thermodynamics, with tutorials and examinations (Vordiploms­klausur) (2004).

Innovation

My lecture courses have been designed by myself and are based on my own research experience. I have experience with the University systems of several countries and I would like to extract and to pass on their best traditions and philosophies. I designed new experiments for the 3rd year teaching laboratories which supplement 2nd year core course teaching. As part of my Analytical Chemistry theme leadership, I designed a new curriculum for Analytical Chemistry, including new L2 courses and an extended L2 teaching lab experiment.

In an innovation compared to previous teaching delivery, I introduced practical demonstrations in my 1st year core course to illustrate the teaching concepts. This is always reviewed very favourably and commended by students in the course feedback at the end of the year. 

Last year I introduced discussion boards to my 3rd year and 4th year courses which are moderated by me, which encourages discussion among students and make discussions and clarifications from me transparent and public to all students. This again was reviewed very favourably and commended by students in the course feedback at the end of the year.

In addition, I designed and supervised the 3rd year module "Literature Review Project", a project introducing our 3rd year students into scientific literature research and into scientific writing skills. The design and running of this module was highly commended by our external examiners. 

In 2014, Prof. Jonathan Clayden, Manchester, commented: "Some aspects of the Sheffield course, for example the peer-review of literature reports, are particularly innovative and valuable. This seems an excellent way to engage students with the concept of writing for an audience and making comments on each other's work - very commendable." 

Jonathan also commented "There are many examples of good practice… one that I highlighted last year is the way in which 3rd year projects receive peer review by other students - this provides an excellent opportunity for students to pick up good practice from one another."

Teaching Publications

[1] “Photochemical kinetics: Reaction orders and analogies with molecular beam scattering and cavity ring-down experiments”, M. Hippler, J. Chem. Educ. 80 (2003), 1074-1077.

[2] “Does a Photochemical Reaction Have a Kinetic Order?”, M. Hippler, J. Chem. Educ. 82 (2005), 37-38. DOI: 10.1021/ed082p37.3

[3] "Inexpensive Raman Spectrometer for Undergraduate and Graduate Experiments and Research", C. Mohr, C.L. Spencer, and M. Hippler, J. Chem. Educ. 87 (2010), 326-330. View the online article

[4] "Using activities to correct the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation", M. Hippler and G.D. Metcalfe, Bunsenmagazin, Vol. 22, Issue 5, 2020, 102-105. https://doi.org/10.26125/y7p7-an56