Sara Madsen

Title

Senior Lecturer

Office Building

Avera Health and Science Center

Office

353

Mailing Address

Avera Health & Science 353
Chemistry, Biochem & Physics-Box 2202
University Station
Brookings, SD 57007

CV

Education

• Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry | University of Wyoming | 1998
• B.S. in chemistry | Central Washington University | 1988

Academic Interests

Teaching students how to use chemistry in all of aspects of life is motivated by my daily curiosities about the actions and reactions of molecules. With this, I am passionate about the professional quality and intellectual durability of the students I teach, and, perhaps, how this can assist them in their careers. Every person wanting to learn chemistry should get an intellectually stimulating delivery of chemistry principles. To some extent, aptitude in a student for a particular subject can be subtle and misunderstood, and my true feeling for the hope in students is to learn any subject. I would hope that my pedagogical methods, at the undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral levels, would be a fitness program for students to discover their investigative powers in chemistry and overcome any negatives or fears. Furthermore, this approach must cultivate diversity and attach confidence to students with any background to achieve their dreams in chemistry. However, students must be willing to apply themselves, seek at least a small amount of motivation and respect all persons who are trying to assist them in their education. If these are a challenge, never fear, they may learn in my classroom.

Throughout my professional and academic experiences, I have had to apply and seek my capabilities to personalize and contribute to the changes in chemistry education delivery methods. By teaching, mentoring and tutoring various individuals, I have developed various approaches that aid students in grasping concepts in chemistry. To this day, I regard my methods as being affective but keep the student captivated and can involve the student’s realization of how they process and connect many diverse concepts found in chemistry.

Chemistry is part of everything and students should be given every opportunity to enjoy discovering it through any means. Without losing focus, I would like to help students discover as much about chemistry as possible. I hope that in my classroom every student believes that they are getting infinite opportunities to learn the chemistry concepts, find the subject fun and they develop a positive attitude toward the chemistry discipline.

Academic Responsibilities

My instructional responsibilities for non-science majors are in the area of organic chemistry and biochemistry. My instructional responsibilities for chemistry majors, both undergraduate and graduate students; is in the area of inorganic chemistry. The courses that I currently teach for the former are Chemistry 108/108L, 112/112L and 114/114L. The courses that I currently teach for the later are Chemistry 452/452L and 654. These course descriptions can be found in SDSU's online catalog. I have taught organic chemistry for chemistry majors in the past. I am currently the lab coordinator for Chemistry 108L and 452L.