Chemistry Everywhere: A Brief Report on the 18th Biennial

Chemical Education Today

Meeting Report

Chemistry Everywhere A Brief Report on the 18th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education by Cliff Meints and K. A. Burke

photo by Paul Charlesworth

At the sound of the starting whistle, the 18th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education runners descended on the Iowa State University NCAA National Cross Country Course early Sunday morning July 18, 2004, opening the conference and setting the tone for a meeting that was fastpaced and lively from start to finish. The conference proceeded as smoothly as any BCCE. The 1440 registered participants from the United States and abroad thought the accommodations, and even the weather, were well arranged by the host committee. Conference Program There was a full slate of symposia from Sunday afternoon, July 18, through Thursday noon, July 22. Accommodating the large number of submitted papers necessitated 14 parallel symposium sessions on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The bulk of the sessions were held in the Scheman Conference Center at the south edge of the Iowa State campus. Because the Exhibits Area was also located in the Scheman Building, participants could conveniently visit 74 exhibitors and exhibit booths, a record high number. The many presentations, both poster and oral, encompassed a wide variety of topics. The program offered something of interest for anyone teaching chemistry at any level, thanks to the efforts of program co-chairs Mark Freilich (The University of Memphis) and Bill Harwood (Indiana University), general papers chair, Jeff Pribyl (Minnesota State University–Mankato), 2YC 3 chair John Kenkel (Southeast Community College), and secondary school co-chairs Jeff Hepburn (Des Moines Central Academy) and Ken Hartman (retired from Ames High School). Here are highlights of the technical program. While the most common focus was lecture demonstrations, the “Chemical Education Research” symposia set a new BCCE record with three dozen presentations. Another popular topic was Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning, POGIL, followed by sessions on theory or methods of chemical education. Chemical forensics was a new category, with two sessions on separate days. The number of institutions offering majors in forensic chemistry seems to have flourished since the previous conference in 2002, undoubtedly due to the resurgent interest of a new generation of students created by television programs such as CSI and CSI Miami. Several papers concentrated on the use of a forensics approach in programs for non-science majors to make those courses of more immediate interest. A variety of sessions over two days focused on aspects of nanotechnology.

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Figure 1. Welcome to the 18th BCCE! (From left, Tom Greenbowe, Mark Freilich, and Bill Harwood.)

Writing in the sciences is always of interest to chemical educators and this meeting was no exception. Applications of writing-to-learn strategies in undergraduate chemistry curricula included Calibrated Peer Review, the Science Writing Heuristic, and LabWrite, among others. Several papers focused on “The Use of Chemistry in…” areas such as dietary supplements, flavors, space food, entomology, insecticides, etc. One presenter talked about using gas chromatography with a “sniffer detector” (apparently the human nose). Another made the statement, “you can do chemistry without using biology, but you can’t do biology without using chemistry.” Participants had the opportunity to learn about projects that focus on student-centered active learning. Representatives from both the Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) and Multi-Initiative Dissemination (MID) groups conducted several multi-session symposia and workshops that provided informative overviews and updates, reporting on innovative and successful implementations across a variety of courses and a range of institutions. “Teaching Sophomore Organic Chemistry” had an excellent attendance. The ACS Organic Exam Committee presented data on what content knowledge is critical to a reasonable understanding of organic chemistry. Other popular presentations dealt with the benefit of integrating laboratory and research experiences with the classroom activity and describing successful strategies for achieving the implementation were popular. In “New Approaches for Teaching General

Vol. 82 No. 1 January 2005

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Journal of Chemical Education

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Meeting Report Chemistry” the topics ranged from the order in which topics are covered in general chemistry to discussion of some peer-led team learning strategies, to general chemistry being taught entirely in the lab. Another topic focused on those who are using the new general chemistry text, Chemistry (1), that was a project of ACS. While some were concerned about the book’s departure from “classic” ways of teaching general chemistry, they were also excited about using chemistry experiences to lead students to theory rather than teaching them the theory first. A symposium on “Chemistry Learning Opportunities for the Disabled” created a heightened awareness of the issues as well as potential solutions for alleviating specific challenging situations. Cary Supalo, a representative of the ACS Committee on Disabilities who is himself blind, helped attendees understand the classroom needs and challenges of a blind student. Another presenter detailed the implementation of an acid–base titration experiment using onion or garlic odor (rather than color) as an endpoint indicator. The ACS publication, “Teaching Chemistry to Students with Disabilities” (2) was made available to the participants. Two sessions about learning to teach chemistry were quite popular. Individual papers ranged from “Everything I Wish I Learned in Graduate School” to “Don’t Mistake My Kindness for a Weakness: Surviving Your First Year and Keeping Your Sanity”. Sessions on “Effective Teaching and Learning for College Chemistry Instructors” had standing room only. A Women in Science symposium was coordinated with “Her Lab in Your Life: Women in Chemistry”, a Chemical Heritage Foundation display that was set up in the exhibits area. Plenary and Keynote Speakers Plenary and keynote speakers provided an eclectic overview of chemical and science education topics. Firouz Naderi (Director of the Solar System Exploration Program of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab) returned to his undergraduate alma mater to open the BCCE with a multimedia presentation that gave participants an intriguing glimpse of the Mars Lunar Lander program. John Gilbert (Institute of Education, University of Reading, U.K.) presented a rationale for including modeling in chemistry instruction. George Boggs (President and CEO of the American Association of Community Colleges) spoke at the culminating session of a symposium supporting cooperation between two- and four-year college faculty. Charles Casey (2004 President of the ACS, University of Wisconsin–Madison) shared his ideas for educating graduate students so they are able to meet the diverse needs of employers. Paula Herron (University of Washington–Seattle) outlined progress in physics education research to teach difficult-to-understand topics. Another physicist, Lillian McDermott (University of Washington–Seattle), contributed a particularly convincing set of arguments for conducting discipline-based education research. Roy Tasker (University of Sydney, Australia) demonstrated the integration of technology in the chemistry classroom. As the final plenary talk on

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Thursday morning Bassam Shakhashiri (University of Wisconsin–Madison) conducted an interactive discourse on motivating chemistry teachers to get involved in more that just teaching and research. There are other aspects of the 18th BCCE that should also be mentioned. In addition to jam-packed technical sessions, more than 60 workshops offered a variety of venues for refreshing old ideas and skills or learning about completely new strategies in chemical education. Undergraduate Chemistry Clubs from Creighton University and Iowa State University each presented highly effective chemistry demonstration shows, incorporating inspired use of music and story lines. Conference Organization In addition to a frequently updated conference Web site maintained by general chair Tom Greenbowe (Iowa State University), the organizers implemented significant technology upgrades. John Gelder (Oklahoma State University), developed a Web-based tool for submitting symposia/workshop proposals and abstracts and for conference personnel to manage and track the submissions. Steve Heideman (Iowa State University) developed and implemented a new method for submitting PowerPoint presentations at the conference. Participants were asked to upload their electronic presentations via a Web site, and technicians on site downloaded them to the computer in the room where the speaker would talk. Presentations could be modified and resubmitted as often as necessary. This proved to be a timesaving factor for speakers and participants. Submitted papers were made available on the 18th BCCE Web site in an electronic “trading post” format. With minor site-specific modifications, the Gelder-Heideman system should be able to be used at future biennial conferences. Social Events Much professional interchange and networking takes place in the relaxed surroundings of biennial conference social events. On Sunday evening there was a welcome reception for all participants that followed Firouz Naderi’s plenary talk. At the end of a productive day of technical sessions on Monday, collegial spirit continued. That evening McGrawHill sponsored a Sci-Mix with a Hawaiian Island theme. Exhibitors and participants alike wore shirts with a tropical theme, and attendees mingled with colleagues, poster presenters, and vendors at their exhibit booths. They listened to the “Green River Valley”, a three-piece power trio band, and jazz tunes from the bass guitar–piano duo of Doug Sawyer (Scottsdale Community College) and Walt Trahanovsky (Iowa State University). They enjoyed a tropical dessert buffet with a chocolate volcano fountain—no leftovers here!— and were regaled by a Hawaiian Hula Dance contest with Dale Hammond (BYU–Hawaii) as master of ceremonies. Tuesday evening’s conference banquet was attended


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by nearly 1000. It was followed by a demonstration extravaganza organized by John Fortman (retired from the University of Dayton) and his colleagues from the U.S. and Canada. A highlight was a demonstration that had been developed by Bill Hutton (retired, Iowa State University) (1). Bryon Stump, Jefferson High School, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, did a reprise of his role as Kermit the Frog from the 7th BCCE in 1982, singing the “Rainbow Connection” while Gayle Johnson (Iowa State University undergraduate chemistry major) performed the Rainbow Connection demonstration. Activities began on Wednesday at 6:02 a.m. when 140 participants attended the Mole Breakfast, recited the Mole

Pledge, and sang the official 2004 Mole Day song. That evening the Galileo Players (Chicago, Illinois) entertained the crowd with clever skits and comedy routines centered on science themes, followed by the Ice Cream Social, sponsored by 2YC3 and the Journal of Chemical Education. Then, music by Al D. Hyde and the Key Tones, a 14-piece rock-androll band featuring a horn section, capped the evening. This group of talented musicians disguised as chemical educators sang and played for more than two hours as a “groupie” crowd tapped their feet, clapped their hands, and even line-danced to rock-and-roll songs from the 1960s and 1970s. Tours and family events varied from visiting the Amana colonies to exploring the nanotechnology laboratories and

Scenes from the 18th BCCE photos by Ron Sindric and Paul Charlesworth

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Meeting Report chemistry research laboratories at Iowa State and visiting the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Animal Disease Center. The most important component of a successful BCCE is an enthusiastic, interactive group of participants. Attendees at the 18th BCCE were all of that and more. We encourage one and all to make fruitful the ideas that originated during the 18th BCCE experience! It isn’t too soon to mark your calendar for the 19th BCCE. The theme is “The Bridge between Teaching and Learning”; the dates are July 31–August 3, 2006; the place is Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Learn more at http://www.chem.purdue.edu/bcce/ (accessed Oct 2004).

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Literature Cited 1. Editorial/writing team. Chemistry: A Project of the American Chemical Society; W. H. Freeman: New York, 2004. 2. Teaching Chemistry to Students with Disabilities: A Manual for High Schools, Colleges, and Graduate Programs, 4th ed.; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2001. 3. Hutton, W. J. Chem. Educ. 1984, 61, 172.

Cliff Meints is in the Department of Chemistry, Simpson College, Indianola, IA 50125; [email protected]. K. A. Burke is in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011; [email protected].


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Chemistry Everywhere: A Brief Report on the 18th Biennial

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