Create Instructional Materials

REAL CHEM is online courseware that supports a full year of instruction in general chemistry. It replaces both the textbook and the online homework system, combining instruction and practice into a unified, engaging experience. A new version for General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry is currently in development.

REAL CHEM emphasizes active learning, with materials that integrate conceptual instruction, simulations, and scaffolded practice. Generative AI can be activated at key points to provide targeted support—ranging from conceptual explanations to metacognitive coaching and help with study strategies

Through tools like Torus, instructors and researchers can easily modify existing content or author entirely new activities. You might:

• Propose an alternative version of a specific module
• Add scaffolding to support students who struggle with a key concept
• Embed a new simulation or generative AI experience

Once written, your contribution can be submitted for peer feedback. Reviewed modules will be made available as alternatives within the system, discoverable and adoptable by other instructors.

We’d Love Your Input

• How can we make this better?
  What kinds of content or features would make REAL CHEM and its authoring tools more useful to you?
• Does this fit the kind of research or instructional innovation you’d like to pursue?
  Is there something you’d like to study that doesn’t fit well within this structure?
• How might this connect to what happens in the classroom?
  REAL CHEM is often used in hybrid courses, where in-class activities complement the online materials. As we expand the scope of the facility, we’re especially interested in supporting studies of what’s happening in the classroom itself. Do you have ideas for how this platform could help capture and improve the in-person side of instruction?

We welcome your thoughts! You can participate in the public discussion below or provide private feedback here.