SLICE
Sign Language Incorporation in Chemistry Education
2022 Diversity and Inclusion Prize
Our team is thrilled to be this year's recipient of the Royal Society of Chemistry's Diversity and Inclusion Prize Awardee. We are so excited to share our work with you and we know our work is not done yet. We are humbled by this honor and emboldened to continue this important work.
Using our hands to recognize trends and rationalize stereochemical outcomes is the greatest advantage
Syn-3
Halogenation
Syn-3
Oxymercuration
Syn-3
Epoxidation
Using your hands to model a concept or even move your hands to mirror a transition state is a powerful way for students to think about the electron pushing formalisms we write on paper and recognize mechanistic and repetitive trends. Using our hands as models changes the two-dimensional static framework of writing reactions into 3-D opportunities for students to conceptualize the repercussions of the transition state. Students can learn the process of using their hands as models as guided through a REActivity.
Interested in incorporating your hands as models to represent the 3-D nature of a reaction? We have the tools for you.
SLICE REActivities are organized by transition state motifs and can be done as workshops (dry labs). It's important to note that we took some liberties in naming a few of the motifs. This has helped students with categorizing the trends for electron pushing and helps when students try communicating what mechanism they are employing for a given reaction. Downloadable pdfs of each SLICE Reactivity and the videos for each motif are available.
See how SLICE was conceived by our team
Mechanistic Motif: SN2

Beta-REActivity: SN2
Mechanistic Motif: SN1

Beta-REActivity: SN1
Mechanistic Motif: E-1

Beta-REActivity: E-1
Mechanistic Motif: E-2

Beta-REActivity: E-2
Mechanistic Motif: Pi-base

Beta-REActivity: Pi-base
Mechanistic Motif: Syn-3

Beta-REActivity: Syn-3
Mechanistic Motif: Syn-4

Beta-REActivity: Syn-4
Mechanistic Motif: 1,2-Addition
Mechanistic Motif: 1,2-Substitution

Beta-REActivity:
1,2-Addition/1,2-Substitution
Deaf Culture and Audism
If you’ve enjoyed learning the ASL signs and narratives for these organic chemistry concepts and would like to learn more about Deaf Culture and Audism, please read Understanding Our Culture by Asma Sheikh.
Comprehensive Organic Chemistry ASL
If you are deaf or are an ASL interpreter and are interested in learning about the comprehensive vocabulary and narrative expansions for organic chemistry, please visit the ASLcore website.
Meet the ASLcore Organic Chemistry Team
Asma Sheikh BS '19
ASL translator, SLICE team language creator and video signer / Undergraduate student
Kaitlyn Clark BS '20 MS '22
ASL translator, SLICE team language creator and video signer / Undergraduate student
Jonathan Dominguez BS '20 MS '22
ASL translator, SLICE team language creator and video signer / Undergraduate student
Michelle Mailhot BS '20
ASL translator, SLICE team language creator and video signer / Undergraduate student
Ashley Gleeson BS '20
ASL translator, SLICE team language creator and video signer / Undergraduate student
Cody Cummings BS '20
ASL translator, SLICE team language creator and video signer / Undergraduate student
Jennifer Swartzenberg
SLICE coordinator, Co-PI/ Deaf Support Faculty and Senior Lecturer
Tina Goudreau Collison
SLICE content expert, PI / Organic Chemistry Professor
Other REActivites To Try
Contact Information:
Professor of Chemistry
Rochester Institute of Technology
585-475-2634
The authors acknowledge our ancestors and their contributions to chemistry.
The REActivities team is grateful for the generous support of the National Science Foundation, Rochester Institute of Technology, the National Institutes of Health, the University of New Mexico, Northern Arizona University, and Southwestern Indian Polytech Institute for their generous support with our design and development of these materials.