June’s newest legacy resource has been added to Learn Chemistry, although this time we’ve gone for a Higher Education direction. Communicating Chemistry is designed to help undergraduates develop a variety of communication skills in their degree courses.

Title of exercise	Key feature(s)
The Fluorofen Problem	Team problem solving
Scientific Paper Workshop	Comprehension/Problem solving
Computer Keyboard Skills	Basic computer skills
World Wide Web Treasure Hunt	Information retrieval
New Chemist Article	Writing a concise report
Dictionary of Interesting Chemistry	Information retrieval/Concise report wiring
Hwuche-Hwuche Bark	Team work/Problem solving
Annual Review Presentation	Oral presentations
Interviews and Interviewing	Interview skills
Poster Presentations	Preparing posters

 
There are two key themes underpinning the design of the book. Firstly, as communication skills are learnt rather than taught, the exercises provide students with many opportunities for first hand practice and experience. Secondly, the exercises are all set in a chemistry context, so students see the skills as interesting and relevant, and are encouraged to discover, explain and use chemistry. The aspects of communication skills identified in the pack are:

• information retrieval;
• written delivery; 
• visual delivery;
• oral delivery;
• team work; and
• problem solving.

Each section includes a summary, including background and proposed timetable, information for students and a detailed tutor guide.

The exercises typically require approximately two hours of contact teaching and ten hours total work from the students. A whole module could be run using some or all of the exercise, or each exercise stands alone.

Hopefully, these resources will help students grasp some important skills, not necessarily taught with chemistry in mind!