Chemical Education Today
Editorial
Broadening Our Molecular Vision and matter tend to spread; there are barriers to reaction; there In preparation for Earth Day 2004, this issue contains are four types of reaction: proton transfer, electron transfer, more than a dozen articles that you can use to introduce or electron sharing, electron-pair sharing. Conference particiaugment environmental chemistry topics in the chemistry pants modified some of these topics and added new ones, curriculum at your institution. From the number and variety but it was clear that big, important chemical ideas can be of papers, it is clear that chemistry faculty at many instituidentified that would help tions are developing greener experistudents appreciate that ments, teaching students to analyze real The only possible answer is that chemistry is significant, excitsamples where the results are used in ing, and full of intellectual real decisions, and making students “covering the material” in the beauty. Unfortunately our more aware of the many ways that textbooks and courses too ofchemistry can be applied to improving traditional sense cannot be done. ten hide such ideas behind a everyday life. But much more can be blizzard of facts, examples, done—and should be done—in this and encyclopedic content. area, and in many others where Here are some other ideas that struck my fancy. Ron chemistry’s molecular vision is essential to progress. Breslow suggested that faculty could inform and inspire stuBroadening the molecular vision of all chemistry edudents by challenging them with interdisciplinary problems cators was the purpose of an invitational conference sponthat we have not solved or do not know how to solve. Harry sored by ACS’s Society Committee on Education (SOCED). Kroto felt that we needlessly turn students away from science The conference, titled “Exploring the Molecular Vision”, by not involving them in cutting-edge research. Terry Collins addressed former ACS President Eli Pearce’s challenge that noted that chemists must deal with ethical implications of the content of undergraduate and graduate chemistry science and technology, actively working to develop (and help courses be reinvented in light of the increasingly interdiscistudents learn to develop and maintain) an ecologically susplinary nature of chemical research (1). A summary of the tainable society. Dick Zare’s view was that the greatest chalconference by Tamara Nameroff and Daryle Busch appears lenge for teachers is to interest more students in pursuing in this issue (pp 177–179). Oral reports on the conference careers in science, and in chemistry, not to come to agreewere given at the fall ACS national meeting in New York ment on what would be an ideal curriculum. City, and will be given at the 18th Biennial Conference on But where do we find the time to do all of these things Chemical Education in July 2004. A full conference report and also “cover the material”? The only possible answer is is available on the ACS Web site (2). Here I report the that “covering the material” in the traditional sense cannot personal observations of a conference attendee—things I be done. We need instead to think much more seriously about found particularly interesting or striking. improving students’ abilities to solve real, complicated probTwo plenary speakers, Jay Labov of the NRC Center lems, to ignore or transcend disciplinary insularity, to be more for Education and Judith Ramaley of the NSF, set the stage aware of how science and technology interact with and supfor the conference. According to Labov, when B.S. physiport society, and to succeed in careers in fields that may not cists were asked what skills are most important for success yet even have been discovered. In such a milieu, specific in their jobs, they listed scientific problem solving, ability course and curriculum content becomes less important than to synthesize information, and computer skills higher than how students interact with teachers, content, other students, knowledge of physics. Ramaley’s opinion is that biology and and society at large. Pages 25 and 26 of the conference rechemistry are transcending their boundaries, and that inteport (2) list eight questions about academic issues and three gration of disciplines and ways in which research is conquestions involving professional and social issues that all of ducted are at least as important as any specific scientific us should consult as we revise existing courses, create new content. Taken together, Labov’s and Ramaley’s presentations courses, and enhance and update our curricula. Please conargued for changing science education so that it develops sider these questions and think about how you could change skills that transcend specific knowledge, is not constrained what you now do in a way that addresses them. by traditional disciplinary boundaries, better represents and exemplifies how scientific research is currently done, and encourages students to play an active role in learning—both in school and throughout their lives. In another plenary address, Peter Atkins of Oxford UniLiterature Cited versity elegantly described nine fundamental ideas that every chemistry student should assimilate: matter consists of 1. Pearce, E. Reinventing Chemical Education. Chem. Eng. News atoms; atoms have structure; atoms link by sharing electron 2002, 80 (49), 33. pairs; molecular shape is of paramount importance; there are 2. Exploring the Molecular Vision. http://www.chemistry.org/eduresidual forces between molecules; energy is conserved; energy cation/molecularvision.html (accessed Dec 2003).
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Vol. 81 No. 2 February 2004
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Journal of Chemical Education
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