d l b d by
WALTER A. WOLF Eisenhower College Seneca Falls, New York 13148
The Art of Observation James H. Swinehart University of California Davis, 95616 At what stage in the educational process should one relearn the art of observation; the ability to make an ohservation and formulate a problem to be solved from that ohservation? I t is mv oninion that the teach in^ of this "art" should be nart of the edGcational process from cindergarten right through the universitv. This asnect of education has been overshadowed by what fwould cail the fad-problem solving syndrome. The learnine of facts and their a . ~.~ l i c a t i oton the solution of problems seems to be the primary aim of many students, and much of the innovative teaching- by- universities s i m.~.l yaccelerates these processes. A question we should ask is: Are students learning too many facts and should part of the time allotted to fact-problem solving he allotted to the development of observational skills? The answer to this question should he a resounding YES! Many students cannot recognize or formulate a problem unless i t is pointed out by a teacher, a hook, or some other "reservoir." Why are so many incapable of recognizing a "prohlem" on their own? It is my belief that they have suppressed the power to observe, to ask why, and to formulate a problem from their observations. What we need is more time for a person to allow these supressed observational traits to develop rather than encouraging them to consume enormous amounts of time learning facts that are available from other sources. It is clear that a halancv is necessary, hut how do we generate within theerlw cariunal process a mechanism for teaching ohrervatitmal and nroblemformulation in cooneration with the reinforcement of factual material and problem solving? I suggest the followine mechanism which I have found successful in the freshman, general chemistry and junior-senior inorganic chemistrv classes. The student is nresented with a flow sheet (available from the author) outlining how a problem is formulated from an ohservation, and the methods by which problems are solved. After the contents of the flow sheet are discussed, the student is asked to make an observation, and when one is found that is puzzling, to formulate it into a problem. A wide latitude should he given with respect to observations to encourage the development of the traits of observation. The ohservation and the problem are written down and turned in. Relevancy to course material is not considered a prerequisite, but normally a number of observations fall within the scope of the course. The intention is to incorporate some observations and prohlems into the course to emnhasize ~rincinles. . . factual material. and problem solving. I t should be em~hasizedthat the aim is nbt necessarilv to solve the prohlem,Ahutto show how it can he solved. In many cases the actual solution is beyond the scope of the student, but often the lack of factual knowledge simply stimulates a search for the appropriate information.
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110 / Journal of Chemical Education
A Freshman Student Opinion Assignment: Attitudes Toward Scientists Bennett Hutchinson R. L. Hance, and Don Lewis Abilene Christian University Abilene, Texas 79601 In our freshman-level chemistry classes we try to present a realistic view of chemistry which gives the student not only factual knowledge but also shows ihemistry as a human activity practiced hy real people. One method that we have found to he effective in combining these goals is the use of the Chemical and Engineering News 16-part series "The Chemical Innovators" (Jan. 1970-Oct. 1971). This series stresses the social and cultural contributions of scientists in a wav textbooks usuallv do not. We have used these articles in our course in the followingway. Students are asked to write a two-naee tv~ewrittenresDonse analyzina and describing their aitZudks toward scientists and the reasons for these attitudes before and after reading one or more of the articles in this series. It is suggested they will need to examine their "hefore" attitude prior to reading the article so that they can evaluate any change. It is also emphasized that the assignment is not to write a summary of an article. The students are told their not affect the made. Good comwsition ~ - ~mint -~ ~ --of-view ~ will ~ and style, including correct grammar and spelling are demanded. A brief verbal preview of the 16 articles is given when the assignment is made. Our experience with this assignment has been that the students enjoy a chemistry assignment without numerical problems that allows an avenue for expressing their opinions and the justifications for them. The students' "before" views of scientists often are surprisingly stereotyped and one-dimensional, realizing little connection between their world and contributions of scientists. Most students write of some change in their attitudes. We, the instructors, feel that this assignment allows us a unique insight into what the student brings to the class and introduces students to chemistrv as a human activity. The more recent series of "Impact I n t e ~ e w s "in t h ~ s Journal has also been used to accomnlish the same eoals with similar results. A~
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Editor's Note: This cnlumn is devoted to brief announcements of new ideas in chemical education. These consist of succinct statements of the key ideas of the authors along with possible information on obtaining further material related to the subject upon request. Authors who wish to submit articles for consideration for publication should send the manuscripts (one double-spaced, typewritten page) and the supporting materials to Dr. Walter A. Wolf, Editor, Chem Ed Compacts, Department of Chemistry, Colgate University, Hamilton, New York 13346.
