Use demonstration or simulation of how both forward and reverse reactions occur up to and at equilibrium in several mixtures. The PhET simmulation below shows both reactions are happening, even though concentration of reactants and products isn't changing.
You rarely see organic reactions split up into two half equations. You could show the link between redox and organic chemistry by getting them to write the half equations for reactions like the oxidation of an aldehyde, ketone or alcohol with permanganate, for example. You want them to realise that it goes from purple to colourless then they have to write it out.
Demonstrate a reaction that occurs within the time frame of your lecture. Start it at the beginning of the lecture, and then go back to it in the middle and at the end to show what has happened. For example, you can use copper in silver nitrate solution.
If you look at the resources - students’ have textbooks, they have electronic media, they have Sapling. They can do the problems in their own time in a guided way with something like Sapling. All we as lecturers have to do is give them the framework to solve the problems. If you set up the framework for them and let them go away and use that framework and learn how to solve problems they’ll teach themselves. So it’s a matter of giving them that framework and it’s the buffers that are the framework of it all.
If you look at the resources - students’ have textbooks, they have electronic media, they have Sapling. They can do the problems in their own time in a guided way with something like Sapling. All we as lecturers have to do is give them the framework to solve the problems.
Put zinc metal in copper sulphate solution and record it with the visualiser. Have it running as you talk about the push and pull of electrons. Then bring it up and say, ‘look what’s happened here, the zinc has rusted’. Students make more of a link when they see things being visualised. The oxidation of metal has a very visual impact on them. But then, they might forget about the reduction side, so you need to remind them of it.
If you put copper metal in a silver nitrate solution, the solution becomes blue and you get silver metal. Ag+ is becoming Ag and Cu is becoming Cu++. The students see both oxidation and reduction happening - and happening at the same time. If you do it close to Christmas you can use the copper filament to make a Christmas tree, and then you get a nice silver on the Christmas tree. They know that it was a colourless ion solution, but then they can see silver on the Christmas tree. So they can easily see the reduction.
Use a lot of demonstrations - actually doing reactions at the front of the class. You can't actually see the electrons moving when you're doing the reaction, but still it helps to use demonstrations. Beware of possible misinterpretations that could arise when doing demonstrations.
