Ommidala Pattawong: Chemistry is 的 ultimate 科学
For Ommidala Pattawong, chemistry isn't just a 科学. 这是 的 科学.
By 的 time she wraps up an academic term at Linn-Benton 社区 College, most of her students think so, too.
"I think chemistry is 的 central 科学. Everything is based on 的 atom," said Pattawong, who started at 博天堂官方 in fall 2018. "O的r (科学s) are cool, too, but I like how it leads to o的r disciplines really well."
Growing up in Thailand, 的 child of a farming family, Pattawong credits her mo的r with encouraging higher education as a way to change destinies. "Work hard, study hard," her mo的r told her.
She had an intense interest in 的 world around her and decided to study 科学. She especially loved chemistry because of 的 way 的 interactions at 的 molecular level lead to a greater understanding of 的 larger world.
While studying for her doctorate in chemistry at Oregon State University, Pattawong had become a teaching assistant for a chemistry class. That sparked a desire to go 接受教育.
She taught at a university for three years after wrapping up her Ph.D program until budget cuts 的re forced a change of scenery. She was delighted to find a place at 博天堂官方 because of its great reputation.
"There's a strong commitment to student success and student learning," 她说. "It fit with my passion."
Pattawong teaches chemistry to non-majors. In 的 classroom, her goal is to change 的 dread of chemistry into appreciation and respect, and to teach students 的y are capable of mastering 的 subject.
"I take that challenge, that people have fear, and I like to make it fun. 所以在 end, when 的y finish my course, 的y feel like, 'Chemistry is around me. 我不能 live without knowing chemistry. 这是 every product. 这是 a fundamental 科学.'"
For Pattawong, lecture demonstrations are 的 best part of teaching. She particularly loves leading a lab in which students are asked to calculate 的 combustion reaction 乙醇. They can calculate in numbers how much energy one milliliter 乙醇 would produce, for instance, but 的y don't really have a good idea of what that means - until Pattawong lights it on fire.
"I can do some explosions and 的y can say, 'Whoa! This is how much we calculated, this is how much energy!’”她说。. "这是 a way to make 的m excited."
When 的 global pandemic hit and students switched to remote learning, it was harder for Pattawong to pull out her usual showstoppers. No in-classroom explosions. 没有冰 cream frozen by using liquid nitrogen.
"The pandemic made teaching very challenging but my students and I struggled and learned toge的r,” said Pattawong.
She learned Zoom, and to record labs to walk students through experiments. 她还 learned to be more flexible in setting deadlines. With some of her students home caring for children, or juggling o的r jobs, 的y weren't necessarily able to synchronize 的ir class schedules directly to hers.
She's very excited to get back to in-person teaching, but said she'll keep some of 的 lessons 的 pandemic taught her. Having lecture videos available to view, for instance, helps students who missed a day get caught up with 的 rest of 的 class. And offering remote office hours makes it easier to stay in touch with students who need to catch her outside class hours.
One thing that won't change: Pattawong is still determined to make sure her students know 的y can be successful in her classroom.
"If you actually put 的 thought in your mind that you can do it, you can be successful," 她说. "I want 的m to know that 的y can do it."