Chemistry Everyday for Everyone
A Chemistry Workshop for Secondary School Science Teachers
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Addressing Multiple Laboratory Issues
Suzanne R. Carpenter* and Todd J. Hizer Department of Chemistry, Physics and Engineering Studies, Armstrong Atlantic State University, Savannah, GA 31419 Julia P. Baker Department of Chemistry and Physics, Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC 29733
The Summer Chemistry Workshop at Armstrong Atlantic State University is a popular graduate course for area secondary school science teachers. Science teachers face unique challenges because teaching science requires expertise in laboratory management as well as in the content areas. Running a science laboratory involves selecting safe and meaningful experiments, acquiring and storing the chemicals according to state and federal regulations, and properly handling and disposing of the waste generated in the laboratory. In addition, science teachers frequently “inherit” chemical stockrooms containing a wide variety of chemicals, some of which are likely considered too dangerous for use with students according to today’s standards or which have decomposed to form toxic or explosive mixtures. These issues are collectively referred to as the “comprehensive laboratory” component of science instruction. The workshop was designed to meet the needs of secondary school science teachers and focuses on the comprehensive laboratory component of science instruction. The needs were assessed through a survey of 60 teachers in southeast Georgia and through our informal interactions with science teachers. Needs assessment was continued through interactions with science teachers and surveys conducted before, during and after each workshop. Other workshops or courses described in this Journal have addressed related issues such as preservice science training (1–3), science for in-service elementary school teachers (4–6 ), and chemical safety instruction (7 ). Our workshop addresses a broad spectrum of laboratory-associated topics for in-service secondary school science teachers. These include: Keeping chemistry content current and highlighting its universal relevance. Learning (usually for the first time) how to safely store and dispose of hazardous chemicals. Establishing a synergistic relationship between secondary school and university science faculty.
It has been shown that secondary science instruction is most effective when it is made relevant to the lives of the students (8). This requires that teachers remain current on chemical discoveries and applications that have an impact on everyday life. Toward this goal, the workshop provides teachers with hands-on experiments and information involving current topics such as the vitamin C content of soft drinks, isolating cholesterol from human gallstones, cloning DNA, MRI, and molecular modeling. Tours of forensic and U.S. Customs laboratories reinforce the applications of science. W Supplementary materials for this article are available on JCE Online at http://JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu/Journal/issues/1999/ Mar/abs387.html.
*Email:
[email protected].
Secondary school science teachers also face the daunting task of safe chemical storage and disposal. Several authors have documented the general lack of safety training for secondary school teachers (7, 9) and at least one proposed a vehicle for communicating this information to them (10). The fundamental problem is that many teacher education programs do not include preservice instruction on topics such as safe storage and disposal of hazardous chemicals. Knowledge in these areas is ethically and legally required of all science teachers (11). The workshop provides information and reference materials, which teachers use to evaluate and redesign their own stockroom as one of the assigned projects. Finally, the workshop facilitates the development of a relationship between the university and secondary science teachers. As a part of the workshop, each teacher’s secondary school science class is visited by the workshop coordinators. This gives the teachers the opportunity to share innovations and receive support in dealing with the challenges associated with laboratory instruction. Throughout the school year following the workshop, Saturday reunions provide a forum for discussion of experiment implementation and the revision and application of safety information. The dialogue often continues for many years and is strengthened through collaborative laboratory activities. We have observed, as have others, the synergism possible when high school and university efforts combine (3, 12–14). During the past six years the workshop has been taught four times and has been a popular graduate-level science course, of which there are very few (15). Funding for the workshop and the development of curriculum materials 1 has been largely through the Eisenhower Education Act for Improving Mathematics and Science Education. The teachers who have been involved in the workshop range from middle school science teachers to AP chemistry teachers. That such a diverse population has expressed interest in the workshop attests to the extent of the need in this area. As we have discovered through offering the workshop, science teachers of all types have similar instructional challenges and we must work together to address them. Note 1. Copies are available from the authors for the cost of duplication, postage, and handling.
Literature Cited 1. O’Haver, T. C. J. Chem. Educ. 1997, 74, 522. 2. Kelter, P. B.; Jacobitz, K.; Kean, E.; Hoesing, A. J. Chem. Educ. 1996, 73, 933. 3. Duerst, M. D. J. Chem. Educ. 1990, 67, 1031–1032.
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Chemistry Everyday for Everyone 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Jasien, P. G. J. Chem. Educ. 1995, 72, 48. Davis, A.; Speer, H. L. J. Chem. Educ. 1990, 67, 497–498. Carlson, G. L. J. Chem. Educ. 1989, 66, 325–326. Mandt, D. K. J. Chem. Educ. 1993, 70, 59–61. Ball, J. J. Chem. Educ. 1993, 70, 656–657. Moore, J. T. J. Chem. Educ. 1990, 67, 166. Yohe, B.; Dunkleberger, G. E. J. Chem. Educ. 1992, 69, 147– 149.
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11. Gerlovich, J. A. J. Chem. Educ. 1992, 69, 643–644. 12. Koppang, M. D.; Webb, K. M.; Srinivasan, R. R. J. Chem. Educ. 1994, 71, 929–931. 13. Heinze, K. F.; Allen, J. L.; Jacobsen, E. N. J. Chem. Educ. 1995, 72, 167–169. 14. Tracy, H. J.; Collins, C.; Langevin, P. J. Chem. Educ. 1995, 72, 1111–1112. 15. Watson, F. H. J. Chem. Educ. 1992, 69, 903.
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