kimberley a. frederick
professor of chemistry

Professor Kim Frederick teaches chemistry, specifically this semester CH 125 (Principles of Chemistry). This is her 24th year of teaching and she still likes to try out new methods of instruction to help her students learn better. Her favorite part of her job is working with students and particularly loves working closely with students in her research lab. Their work together focuses on developing low-cost, low-tech testing devices that can be used for environmental testing or health care. One example is a device to let people who live near hydrofracking sites determine if their water has been contaminated.

Most recently, Prof. Frederick and her students adapted their research technology as a safe way to deliver chemistry labs for students studying at home. The labs they developed are being used by thousands of students across the country during the 2020-21 academic year including in the CH 125 labs at Skidmore

Professor Frederick is teaching remotely this semester: "I am trying to embrace the unique methods of engagement that are available with online instruction. For example, each student gets to choose the different ways that they want to demonstrate their knowledge. We don’t have any traditional exams. Instead students can choose to demonstrate their knowledge by making a video tutorial for a high school student, making an infographic, working a problem that they explain on a video or writing a letter to the editor explaining how what we are learning in class is related to an issue they care about. We still meet on Zoom to do problem solving in groups in order to foster a sense of community and interaction but I am trying to give students more autonomy and choice in order to get out of the course what is most important to them."