Report from the
12th Biennial Conference on Chemiccrl Educcrtion Changing the Image of Chemistry Arlene A. Russell Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90024
Fred E. Wood Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, CA95616 The Deparhnent of Chemistry on the spacious University of California, Davis campus provided a beautiful, friendly site for the 1200 chemical educators who gathered for the 12th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, August 2 4 , 1992. Many participants brought along families and extended their time in California enjoying the surrounding sites and beauty: the mountains, the wine-country, San Francisco, the gold country, and Sacramento. The weather cooperated; no earthquakes, fires, or floods detracted from the multitude of papers, workshops, and informal birds-of-a feather sessions during the five-day conference. Mary Good (Senior Vice President Technology, Allied Signal, Inc.) off~ciallyopened the conference with a keynote-address challenge to teach modem chemistry, the chemistry of the 21st century. She urged the audience to give up their 19th century content and introduce students to the excitement of nanometer measurements, visual molecular modelling and new materials, to stop defending chemistry as a non-polluting industry and to charge students to develop reactions that have no waste hyproducts, to teach chemistry not as history but as a n endeavor with many opportunities for discovery. The program of contributed papers began in earnest on Monday morning. Twelve concurrent sessions and workshops presented difficult choices and left little time for play. The symposium and workshop on New InorganicMaterials introduced the participants to some of the exciting new areas of chemistry, which Good had mentioned the night before. Mid-day the ever-popular,five-minute lecture demonstrations provided a delighthl lunch diversion. In the afternoon, the Chemistry faculty hosted the first of three tours of the research facilities of the Department. Monday evening saw the conference reassemble in Freeborn Hall to hear Donald Woods (Department of Chemical Engineering, McMaster University; Feature Editor, Journal of College Science lkaching) give the plenary address "What's New About Teaching Problem Solving?" Many participants regretted that they had missed this dynamic teacher's preconference workshop. Tuesday started early. Over 100 runners assembled a t 6:30 am for the 3-K or l-K fun run that circled the scenic Davis campus before the heat of the day. The day continued with t h e Brasted plenary lecture hy Ernesto Giesbreeht (Department of Chemistry, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil). Gieshrecht implored chemistry educators
to address the societal needs of food, housing, and health care for the developing countries. His message was timely. The issues, in fact, apply to all countries. Many of the speakers throughout the week did discuss how they have integrated these topics into their courses or have developed new STS courses. Tuesday morning also saw the start of the controversial three-part symposium Revamping Geneml Chemistry, which provided fodder for many informal discussions, debates, and arguments during the rest of the Conference. In the afternoon, the ACS sponsored the first of two hands-on carnivals for children. Besides the conference children, the Davis Science Center sent a busload of kids. Tired, happy children were sent home with National Chemistry Week T-shirts, buttons, and the "fruits-of-their-labors".Those who remained, and anyone who claimed to be a kid-abheart, were then treated to Lee Marek, (Napemille High School) et al. in their wonderful presentation "Son of Weird Scienee-A Phenomenological Approach to Teaching." In contrast with the early Tuesday start, Wednesday accommodated the night owls. A full program kept participants busy from 8:30 a.m. until 10 p.m. Some respite was provided in the late afternoon when hundreds attended a wine tasting sponsored by 2YC3. Students from the campus' world-famous Enology and Viticulture DepartVolume 70 Number 7 July 1993
523
Report of the 12th Biennial Conference on Chemical €ducation cated modelling programs. Those who had not been a t recent ACS meetings or missed the Computational Chemistry session were introduced to this exciting and affordable development in visualizinc chemistri. Also in the exhibit hall, a-steady stream of inquiries occupied the staff a t the booths sponsored by the ACS, the Journal, 2YC3,and the National Science Foundation a s they distributed hrochures, pamphlets, and information on their programs. Following the conference on Thursday afternoon a capacity crowd participated in the highly successful NSF workshop on proposal writing. In fact, all the workshops were popular. Many filled during the registration period and even extra capacity and extra workshops after the conference still could not meet the demand on the waiting lists. Participants left UC Davis weary but revitalized, ready to im~lementnew ideas in their classrooms and labs. and eageriy looking forward to the 13th Biennial conference in 1994.2 ment served as hosts and knowledgeable advisers in the wine tasting. Then in the evening, J o h n F o r t m a n delighted an audience with his "Dazzling Demos and Video Bloopers in Chemistry". On Thursday, participants returned to the excitement of diswvery to which Good had alluded. I n the fmal plenary lecture. "Cm. The Celestial S ~ h e r eWhich Fell To Earth". ~arold &to (University o i Sussex, Brighton, ~ n g l a n d j described the fervor, challenge, and competition t h a t marked his participation in the diswvery and characterization of Cco.The standine ovation. which he received. acknowledgeithe appreciatyon the conference had to being shown the enthusiasm research can generate and the logic and beauty of the discovery process.' Throughout the week the Computer Applications sessions drew overflow crowds. J o e Casanova, Betty Lueeigh, and Steve Gammon organized the contributed papers into teaching themes-general, organic, and physical chemistry Working with the UC Davis Instructional Computing Facilities, the three organizers did yoeman's service in ., eettine all 58 sofhvare contributions runnine. .> The "five-minute talkdcmonstrati~m"format lcnt itself beautifully to these papers. Each session bexan with brief talks and demonstrations by each presenter. Then following the short formal talks the authors demonstrated their programs at the various workstations i n the computer lab for 1-2 hours. During this time the attendees tried out the programs for themselves at the individual stations and queried the authors with specific questions. The time was &ways shorter than necessary to iet everyone try all the programs that they wished to try. The symposia Computational Chemistry in the Curriculum, and New ikchnology for Chemical Education, complemented the hands-on com~ u t e ar ~ ~ l i c a t i o nsessions. s Innovation and creativitv Larked'che sessions; visualizing chemistry and bringing research-level com~utationaltools into the undereraduate curriculum pervaded the talks. The five-minute talWposter format, which was used for the computer-based presentations, also successfully cave exposure to the ''poster" papers, which occupied center stage in the conference. Physically located on the stage of Freeborn Hall, the posters drew large crowds as people moved easily from the exhibits on the floor of the Hall onto the stage. The exhibition was the largest ever for a Biennial Conference. As well as textbook publishers and equipment distributors, two exhibitors demonstrated sophisti~~~
-
524
Journal of Chemical Education
Program Highlights
The followina selected resider's notes and worksho~ listing demon&ate the di;erse activity that characterized the 12th Biennial Conference. For information on a specific symposium, we encourage you to contact the presider of the session. For information on the whole conference, microfilm copies of the abstracts are available through the ERIC resource^.^ Chemical and Engineering News listed the complete program in the May 11,1992 issue? The ca~acitv audience in Lecture and Learnine: Are Thev ~ o m ~ a t ; b l ei?~ i a n eBunce, Department of ?hemistry, The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC 20064) asked the speakers how to help students develop critical thinking skills in a lecture format, how to use macroscopic (real world), microscopic (particulate), and symbolic representations of chemical concepts, and how to incorpor&e these teaching strategies k evaluation. The panel suggested that teachers ask students to explain their understanding of chemical concepts. Responses, which reveal misconceptions can lead a n instructor to specific interactive demonstrations or technology to move &udents to a correct understanding. Evaluation must use open-ended questions, which require logical reasoning .with chemical concepts. ChemSource (Mary Virginia O r n a , Department of Chemistry, College of New Rochelle, New Rochelle, NY 10801) activities occurred each day. This project provided each participant with a CD-ROM of the ChemSource database. David Brooks (Center for curriculum and Instruction, University of PTebraska-~incoln, Lincoln, NE 68588) met the overflow demand for the six accompanying hands-on workshops in the Macintosh lab by setting up ~arallel.concurrent lecture demonstrations. Hundreds of participants left the conference with both materials and implementation strategies in hand.
out on the mailino list for the 13th Biennial Conference.contact M. ~ a s t n e r , en era- ha r. 13th BfenntalConferenceon Cnemca. Eacato on. BJcmeI Un versly. Lewlsb~rg.PA 17837 ERIC (Ed~catonalReso~rcesand Inlormalton Clear ngnoLse)
-- ----
-
*SF n5'7'77Q . .
'Chemical and Engineering News 70 (19) 67-73
The complex nature of Technology Education: Pathways to Chemical Technician Employment, (Kenneth M. Chapman, Education Division, ACS, 1155 Sixteenth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036) the quantity of new ideas, and the interest of the audience led this session to run overtime. The innovative program that Spille (University of Cincinnati) discussed may serve as a model for other programs by the end of the century. An unexpected benefit Strozak found a t City College of New York was that the overhaul of their chemical technician program revitalized the faculty. The standing-room only session for Releuant Chemistry for the Non-Science Major (Robert Ono, Department of Chemistry, Pierce College, Woodland Hills, CA 91371) augurs well for a revitalization of general education courses and activities addressing science illiteracy and societal issues in the wllege-educated population. Shank's (Western Kentucky University) paper presented a manageable way to give students hands-on experience in lecture-only courses. Whimant's (WoffordCollege) wmputer simulation also drew a large number of questions from the audience. Student involvement in experimental design and teamwork in the laboratory were recurrent themes in New Methods for Lab, (Arlyn Myers, Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720). Cooper (Clemson University) and Copolla (University of Michigan) emphasized having students learn techniques for the solution of problems; Arce (University of Puerto Rico) and Smith (Millikin University) involve students in experimental design. Team work provides the mechanism for Verner (Scarborough College, Ontario, Canada) to enable large (300) classes to analyze their data with just nine computers. The posters (Beth Pulliam, Department of Chemistry, The Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306) were a mix of general and upper level labs and demos. Authors took the point of view, "What works for me, might work for you too." The audience seemed to agree, particularly with the papers by Lewis (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology) on a student-discovery, equilibrium experiment and Wood (University of California, Davis), who reported on an inorganic qualitative analysis experiment designed to minimize hazardous waste. Questions on the nuts and bolts of Innovative Outreach Programs in which parents (Verner, Scarborough College, Canada) or graduate students (Gammon, P h a r r , University of Idaho; Koppang, University of South Dakota) work with elementary and high school students kept the audience well beyond the "bell". In response to Tobias' challenge to rethink testing in Chemistry, Berquist (BSCS, Colorado Springs) suggested using small-scale chemistry, Talesnick (Queen's University, Kingston, Canada) proposed demonstrations that challenge students to think, Pryde (Clemson University) described alternative testing formats, and Eubanks (Clemson University) offered new thoughts on computerbased assessment. In the two coordinated workshops (Breaking the Bubble: New Thoughts on Testing and Eualuation Lucy T. Pryde, Department of Chemistry, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634) participants developed "test items" based on suggestions. Four enthusiastic and dedicated teachers (White: Marsden? Noel,? Berrnan-Robinsons) presented specific ideas for extra-credit projects, suggestions for more methods of presenting difficult concepts such as Bronsted
acids and bases, unique testing methods. and an unusual approach to delivering a n AP c&rse. (V&U from My class: room F r a n k Cardulla. Niles North Hieh School. -~ ~- 9800 Lawler Avenue, Skokie, IL 60077). Despite many reports and symposia criticizing intmductory chemistry, there is no ev~denceo f maior change in the course. (ReuampingGeneral Chemistry Jdhn J. ~ o r t m a n , Department of Chemistry, Wright State University, Dayton, OH 45435). There is general agreement about what is wrong, but no agreement on a solution. Spencer (Franklin and Marshall) described the mission of the Task Force on General Chemistry to encouraee. identifv. .. develoo. and publish alternative curricula. chapman (University of California, Los Angeles) and Hawkes (Universitv of Ore~-~ gon) suggest throwing out the currentcourse; Susskind (Oakland Community College) wants to develop a core/modular curriculum with what is currently taught. Schwartz, (Macalaster College); Robinson, (Purdue), and Fortman (Wright State University) argued that what is necessary is a curriculum that teaches students to understand the major concepts, one in particular being the relationship between the microscopic and macroscopic nature of matter. Several speakers addressed the need to relate chemical principles to current issues, to decrease the quantitative dominance of the curriculum, and to relate the laboratory to the lecture. In the symposium Funding Opportunities in Chemical Education (Robert L. Lichter, The Camille and Henrv Dreyfus Foundation, 445 Park Avenue, New York, N? 10022) Kean (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) asserted that chemistry education, like other cultures, resists change. Yet it must. Fmdina agencies are lmkine for orepos& that will effect that cKaige. The agencies are seekingproposals that include the whole enterprise: senior and junior university faculty, two-year college faculty, high school teachers, and students (Lichter). Private foundations have less structure than government agencies and can be much more flexible in selecting projects that will further their objectives. Regional agencies such as The
-
A.
>
~
- .
5White,M. R. J. Chem. Educ. 1991,68,395. '~arsden,S.R. J. Chem. ~ d u c1991, . 66, 770. 7Noel, P. J. Chem. Educ. 1990,67,1004. 'Berrna~~obinson, S.J. Chem. Educ. 1991,66, 999. Volume 70 Number 7 July 1993
525
Report of the 12th Biennial Conference on Chemical €ducation Murdoch Foundation rThorpe) and State governments (Sachse, California Department of Education, have interest and influence in regional programs and provide an imponant source of resources fbr that limited audience. Even federal agencies, which address a larger audience, have specific goals for their programs (Sutman, NSF). Following the formal presentations, the attendees engaged in a spirited discussion with the speakers. There was much interest in what universities can do regarding pre-service teacher education, as well as the need to strike a researchteachine balance appropriate for non-doctorate mantine and research unive&ti&. Community colleges must participate. There was a strong feeling that chemical education is too important to be left only to chemical educators. Microscale Experiments Posters and Demonstrations (Patricia M. Noel, The Harvard-Westlake School, 3700 Coldwater Canyon. North Hollvwood. CA91604) attracted both high school and college-interkst, particularly the paper by Konisberg-Kerner (University of Michigan). - . who has interfaced t h e Macintosh to miiroscale experiments. Although few people tried the experiments, the "hand-outs" disappeared q&kly. Marsden (The Harvard-Westlake School) has countered the all too frequent lecture-only A.P. course. His Advanced Placement class is almost totally lab based. He presented a n overview of some of the more sophisticated experiments that combine several concepts and laboratory techniques. (Author's note: His students do more lab work than is done in the traditional general chemistry year.) (Enhancing the Role of the High School Laboratory Mary Johnson, Detroit Country Day School, 22305 West 13 Mile Road, Birmingham, MI 48010) Name that Compound: Old Rules, New Methods (Homer A. Smith, Jr., Department of Chemistry, Millikin University, Decatur, IL 62522) commemorated the 100th anniversary of systematic organic nomenclature that began a t the Geneva Conference of 1892: The panel discussion following the presentations in the symposium Empowering Student Success (Jim Bier, Department of Chemistry, Ferrum College, Fermm, VA 24088) focused on ways to have a positive influence on students. Debate developed on whether the coach model in sports was appropriate. Opinions depended on experience. Some coaches had been supportive, encouraging, and empowering; others had been critical, demanding, and verballv ahusive. The analow was amarent. How we treat our atudents in chemistr&luenck$ not only their learning hut also their attitudes about chemists and chemistry. Different and sometimes opposing views regarding the reasons and solutions for student difficulties in solvine problems were presented in Problem Soluing in Introdmy tory Chemistry: Why and How (Frank Cardulla, Niles, North High School 9800 Lawler Ave., Skokie, IL 60077). Discussion centered on student inability to read and understand a problem, on student lack of sound and accurate understandinp of chemical concepts embedded in a problem, and student attempts to treat chemistry problems as math problems. The utility and value of dimensional analysis t i solve problems was both criticized and defended. The second session ofMicroscale Ez~erimentsPoster Session (Sandra I. Lamb, ilepartment bf chemistry, U C U . Los Aneeles. CA 90024-1.569, focussed cxclusivelv un college applications. As in all the other poster session; it drew an attentive audience, which quickly began to discuss com-
-
'smith, Jr., H.A. J. Chem. Educ. 1992,863. 526
Journal of Chemical Education
-
mon problems and solutions with the presenters. RaynerCanham (Sir Wilfred Grenfell College, Newfoundland) presented many original ideas that had not been seen by the audience before. A recurring theme in New Courses in Chemistry (Jeff R i b y l , Department of Chemistry, Mankato State University, Mankato, MN 56002) involved students in proiects using practical, real-world applications. Many presenters spoke of the necessity of leaving out information traditionally presented in courses, in favor of generating student interest by the use of practical applications. After brief presentations, the panel of textbook authors in New lnrtintiws in Organic che,nistry (Sam Levine, Department of Chemistry, North Carolina State Umversity, Raleigh, NC 27695, resprmded to questions from the audience. Dominant themes emerged. Authors of orpanic texts have been slow to abridge or omit topics that are no longer relevant. At the same time, teachers have resisted including topics of significant importance such as polymers. A closer relationship should exist between general and organic chemistry. Common terminology and the use of mechanisms in both courses were suggested. Beginning Wednesday evening and continuing Thursday morning, the speakers in Implementing the World of Chemistry: A Symposium Dedicated to the Memory of Isidore Adler and Marjorie Gardner (Margot K. Schumm, Department of Chemistry, Montgomery College, 5 1 Mannakee St., Rockville, MD 20850) enthusiastically discussed a variety of uses for these films. Both college and high school uses were explored. A highlight of the symposium was the presentation by Nobel Laureate Roald Hoffmann (Cornell University). History in the Chemistry Curriculum (Geoff RaynerCanham, Department of Chemistry, Sir Wilfred Grenfell College, Corner Brook Nfld, CanadaA2H 7C9)took onnew meaning when Goode (University of South Carolina) described his experience with his general chemistry class which analyzed vials of viscous, colorless liquid recently excavated from the site of a Civil War train wreck. Friedm a n (Center for the History of Chemistry) and Marek (Naperville High School) described t h e high school teachers' workshops set up by the Beckman Center for the History of Chemistry. New Approaches to Difficult Topics (Karen A. Henderson, Department of Chemistry, Scarborough College, 1231 Abbey Rd., Pickering, Ontario, L1X 1V5 Canada) garnered a substantial following. Discussion and questions had to be curtailed in the interest of time following MacKay's (Providence College) paper, which revolved around simple demonstrations of discrepant visual events on the "macro" level that could only de explained by looking a t an appropriate model of molecular motion. Klein's (Creighton University) heretical subject drew debate and supporters for a "wave" presentation of electron delocalization in planar.. Dsystem8tructures. Over 100 people packed the room to hear ButlerKahle's (Miami University of Ohio) introductory talk in the symposium Bringing Women into Chemistry. (Jody Chase. Division of Human Resource Develonment. National Science Foundation, 1800 G Street., N6', washington, DC 20550) Butler-Kahle showed that the gains made by women in the 80's are eroding in science but not in mathematics, which should be used as a model for science. The subsequent talks on efforts to increase the participation of women in science had new relevance. ~~
~
L
Writing in the Curriculum ( H e r b e r t Beall, D e p a r t m e n t o f C h e m i s t r y , Worcester Polytechnic Worcester, MA 01609) m a v s e e m ~ a s s 6 h. u t a laree. enthusiastic audi/nce attentively I&: tened to the sneakers describe t h e Dedagogic s u p p o k for having student; articulate t h e chemistry they a r e learning.
Workshops Teaching Thinking; Donald Woods, Feature Editor, "Problem Solving Corner" Journal of College Science Teaching Chemical Engineering, MeMaster University. .. Hamilton. Ont., Canada. For the Love of Chemistry: Demonstrations, Discussions and Recipes; Irwin Talesnick, Faculty of Education, Queen's University, Kingston, Ont., Canada KIL 3N6. Microscale Laboratory for Inorganic and Advanced General Chemistry; Mono M. Singh, Department of Chemistry, Merrimack College, North Andover, MA01845. Chemistry in Context; A. P u m a n Schwartz, Macalaster Collew. 1600 Grand Avenue. Saint Paul. MN 55105. ~ a b o r i t o r ySafety ~ o r k s h o p ; J a m e s ~~.a u f m n Curry , College, Milton, MA 02186. Introduction ta Micrascale Experiments, Advanced Microscale Techniques; John Mauch, Pasco High School, Pasco,WA 99301. Transform Your Experiments into Real Word Contexts; Richard Baver and Bud Hudson. Carroll Calleee. Waukesha. WI 53f86, Jane Schneider,'~rookfield~ c d e m y~, m o k : field, WI 53005. Computer-Interfaced Chemistry Experiments; Donald L. Mannheim American High School, APO New York 09086, and Dan Holmquist, Frankfurt American High School, APO New York 09710. Microscale Oreanic Exoeriments: Kenneth Williamson. Mount Holyoke f?ollege, S. Hadley, b01075. GEMS: Great Explorations in Math and Science; Jackie Barber, Director of Chemical Education, Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley, CA 94720. Chemistry in the Toy Store: An Activity for Kids, Chemistry in the Toy Store: Teachers' Version; David A. Katz, Community College of Philadelphia, Philadelphia PA 19130. Fun with Polymers: A Workshop for Children, Polymers in Chemistry Experiments and Demonstrations; Marie C. Sherman, Ursiline Academy S t Louis, MO 63122. Getting Active Participation in Your Classroom; Jeff Pribyl, Mankato State University, Mankato, MN 56002 and Patricia Metz, Texas Tech University, Lubboek, TX 79409. New Inorganic Materials; Herbert Kaesz, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90024. New Methods for Testing and Evaluation; Lucy Pryde, ACS Div CHED Examinations Institute, Clemson University, Clemson S.C. 29634. Chemical Hygiene Plans; Russell Phifer, Environmental Assets, Inc., West Chester PA. DNA Experiments for Chemistry Students; Toby Horn, Thomas Jefferson Hieh School for Science and Technology, Alexandria VA 2%12.
ChemSource; David W. Brooks, Center for Curriculum and Instruction, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 665880355 and John I, Gelder, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078. Chem-Cam: Make the Chemistry Connection; Barbara Sitzman, Chatsworth High School, Chatsworth, CA A Tie-Dye Workshop; Elnore Grow, Horizon High School, Brighton, C 0 80601. Writing in the Chemistry C1assroom;Herbert Beall, Worcester Polytechnic, Worcester, MA 01609. Introduction to Two-Dimensional NMR and Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Maureen Scharburg, Department of Chemistry, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA 95192 and Gerd LnMar, Director Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility, UC Davis. Davis, CA95616. Ncw Allotn,pes ofcarbon: CtiLand Beyund; Rvbrrl I. Whellen. Ikpanrnmt of C h c m i s r ~ IJCLA. . Los .h&s, CAYU024. NSF Grant Writing Workshop: Curl,r '1: Smrc and John ,L Clercnger. NSF D~lvisimof Lnder&~aduate Scwnce, en^nwring a n d Mnthrrnnlirs Education. HyperChem; AutoDesk, Inc
Acknowledgment We t h a n k all t h e UC Davis Chemistry faculty, staff, and r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s for t h e i r ~ e r v a s i v e behind-the-scene , -gparticipation in t h e ~ o n f r r m k We . n p p c c i a t c t h c many
days both befbre a n d during t h e conference they dcvotcd t o t h e workshops, dcmonstratlons, a n d open houses, which r a n smoothlv, a n d cffectivclv We a r e also indebted t o Carolyn ~ o r l y kC,a m p u s conference Coordinator, K a t h l e e n Biaggi, Campus Housing Coordinator, a n d Johnson Lai, Campus Computing Services for t h e i r commitment t o ens u r e the success of this conference a n d to assist t h e participants. Finally w e t h a n k t h e chairs, whom w e depended o n throughout t h e planning stages of t h e conference: James Hill-Publicity, M a r k K u r t h - T r e a s u r e r , R. Bryan Miller-Exhibits, J o y c e T a k a h a s h i - W o r k s h o p s , William H. Fink a n d Ron R i e s - C o m ~ u t e r s . Linda Z a r z ana a n d D a n n y ~ h i t e - ~ ~ ~ ; ~ r o g &a imd ,Frank Cardulla a n d Ron Ulrich-High School Program.
Volume 70 Number 7 July 1993
527
