Dr. Julie Hyde

Teaching Interests

Julie has been teaching for a number of years and is keen to ensure the students gain the learning and understanding they need for their courses, that they enjoy the learning experience and make successful progress on their courses. As an experienced teacher, Julie has been involved with in house teacher training on a daily basis for teachers who are studying for their PGCEs. She also taught the chemistry on the PGCE in the Education department for 3 years at Sheffield. Julie is keen to inspire new teachers from our undergraduate programme which is possible by running a level 3 project on teaching and through our departmental outreach programme. She also trains teachers who are non-chemistry specialists on an RSC programme delivered in the dedicated schools laboratory in the chemistry department several times a year. "I am a chemistry teacher, I like to inspire others into the profession, teaching is what I enjoy."

Undergraduate Courses Taught

• Foundation Year Physical Chemistry This is a 12 lecture module delivering the foundations of Physical Chemistry and is equivalent to "A" level. Topics covered include Energetics, Equilibria, Acids and Bases pH and equilibria.
• Foundation Year Organic Chemistry
  This is a 12 lecture module delivering the foundations of Organic Chemistry and is equivalent to "A" level. Topics covered include bonding, nomenclature, functional groups, isomerism, properties and reactions of alkanes, alkenes, haloalkanes, alcohols, carboxylic acids, aldehydes and ketones.
• Second Year Laboratory: Organic Chemistry
  The level 2 laboratory builds on the experiences of the level 1 laboratories. In the organic laboratory the students work independently through a number of practicals that extend their skills and relate to their theoretical knowledge by carrying out for example reductions, oxidations, Grignard reactions, or Wittig reactions. These experiments enhance the students' skills in laboratory documentation, monitoring reactions, using separation techniques, flash chromatography, and instrumental techniques such as IR, NMR, GC, UV, OR. Upon successful completion of the organic segment of the level 2 laboratories, students will be expert in the basic organic chemistry techniques.

Tutorial & Workshop support

• First Year Tutorials.
• Second Year Inorganic Tutorials.

Laboratory Teaching

• First Year Organic & Inorganic laboratories.
• Second Year Inorganic Laboratory.

Outreach Activities

Dr Julie Hyde manages a small team who deliver the schools and colleges programme for the Chemistry Department. This section of the department, University of Sheffield Schools Laboratory (USSL), offers the opportunity for schools and colleges around the region to bring in groups of students to carry out hands-on chemistry which extends the students practical and theoretical abilities and gives them the opportunity to visit the University for a day or half a day and show that chemistry is fun at University. Some typical practical sessions we offer include preparation of paracetamol, extraction of a natural product from for example cloves, a murder mystery inquiry, acids and bases, and a dedicated spectroscopy session. The section also offer larger sessions through events such as the Salters Festival, Kroto day (delivered by Sir Harry Kroto and our team), Soams events, Aim Higher events, Revision events and competitions such as Reactiv8. Our undergraduates and postgraduates help out at these events gaining valuable experience for their future careers.

For more information see the Schools and Colleges programme