“Thinking, Periodically: Poetic Life Notions in Brownian Motion” by Mala Radhakrishnan

This is Dr. Radhakrishnan’s second book of poems, which is as much about chemistry (the discipline, the field, the science) as it is about the chemistry between us (the people, the learners, the creative beings).

Dr. Radhakrishnan’s own words (which touch on so many aspects of queering science education) resonate deeply with me:

Too often chemistry causes groans and instills fear in students. In fact, now as a college physical chemistry professor I know all too well the inexplicable level of panic caused by our discipline. Why is this? Often it’s because the content we teach is made inaccessible, dry, or irrelevant…

The answer to helping our students better connect with chemistry may lie in the very things many people think are unscientific: creativity and humanity—or a little personification. As someone who has taught chemistry at both the high school and college levels to a wide range of students, I have consistently used personification and narrative storytelling. Electrons, atoms, molecules: They’re just like us. They simply want to be happy, though their happiness is measured in energy units, rather than in smiles or emojis.

I have found that educators can make the molecular world more accessible by allowing themselves and students to use creative expressions that relate the molecular world to our familiar world.

-Mala Radhakrishnan

[Link to article “Perspectives: The chemistry between us—A little personification is sometimes all it takes to create a teachable moment”]