view from my ck//room
edited by DUANESELL wi11imPalatine. Mney Illinoiscollege 60067
Arousing Student Interest Through Thirty-Five Years of Changes in Chemistry Keith a n d Lyndall Hunnings New Haven High School. New Haven, IN
Is Science Education using the scientific method or just stumbling around? Maybe a review of the changes in my classroom covering a period heing shortly before Sputnik I through the late 70's will give a new outlook to this question. "Traditional" I n the late 40's and early 50's. textbook materials had reflected verv little social and economic chance. Texts were filled which used with c h e i s t r y of a descriptive nature. these textbooks have been classified as "traditional."The need for updating was obvious. Electron arrangements were not onlv listed with shells = K. L. M.N . 0. P,9: hut also nowhere coild he found a reason for calcium (#20) having the arrangement of 2-8-8-2 and scandium (#21) heing 2-8-9-2. The "pat" answer was "Nature has not chosen to reueal itssecret as vet: therefore, memorize the facts." (Memorizing names, symbols, and oxidation numbers of common c a t i ~ n ~ a nand ions was, and still is, required of those students who happen t o iall into my domain.! Class size was ideally composed of 15-20 students who had a hackeround of rural influence and/or vivid curiositv. Thev found 'descriptive chemistry exciting. Attending class an2 oerforming laboratorv. exoeriments were not labor but a . pleasure for these students, and definitely a pleasure for the insrructor. (Ex-students still love M reminisce with me about the experiences of the classroom whenever we meet.)
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1957 Sputnik I changed the outlook of the politicians and shook the people of the community into realizing that science was more than a college prerequisite. The result was the allocation of federal grantsfo~suppliesand equipment, as well as summer fellowship training programs for science instructors. Both class size andnumberir&hroomed. As the size and numbers outgrew the usual daily workload of the teacher, new ideas
KeHh Hunningr has received Bachelm's and Master's & p e r from India= State Univev~ityin the disciplines of Chemistry. Physics. Mathematics. and Education. He has also taken postgaduate stdiesat the Vniversiryof New Hampshirg. Denver. Pacific and Wash ington. teacher f w He has been a him 3 2 years: the last 27 at New Haven High School. New Haven. Indians. For many of these years he has been the ?den& Dapanmen! Cha rman n aoonl on, he has ta.gh~ at the Fon Wayne campus ol Pura.e .,nwersw. as a Dari+me Maln. em~tics.~hemihry.physics Instructor. Mr. Hunnings has spent 25 years as a
were introduced that were meant to relieve the situation. Our high school chose to place 58 students in a single chemistry lecture, which was manageable by one teacher (even sometimes fun) hut hair-raising in the laboratory! Lucky was any science teacher that had a helper, of any size or description! Textbook content and e m ~ h a s i swere changed to 75% theory-25% descriptive. The background and environment of mv students also chanced and now was about 50% urhan and 50% rural. This was due in part, to my moving closer to a large metropolitan area. A decline in the imagination of the average student was now apparent. In my opinion, many of the urhan students lacked the interest or creative ability to work with their hands, which was commonplace to the rural students. The early background, knowledge, and ahility to keep farming equipment operational required improvision and creative thinking of the agricultural or rural student. This was often transferred into the classroom. To increase the creativity of the urban student and overall ability of others, science projects were inaugurated. These projects were mainly "collection" type, but interesting prohlems did arise. As an example, a chemistry student who wanted to clean and mount a chicken skeleton considered three wavs to remove the flesh from the bones; namely, (1) Bury thechicken in an a n t hill. (The ants would remove the flesh. but where dovoufind ants in the wintertime?) (2) Bury the ehicken in lime, but the student ran into a problem of finding a way to stop the reaction before the bones were also dissolved. (3) Soak the chicken in water, let the flesh decomDose and fall off of the hones. The last method was used hut h a s found 1,) ir: a rather rnnrid distraction M the normal atmospherr of the home. The container used contained a green, slimy gel as well as tho remainsof Lhechicken.This wasliving proof of 1 he a h ~ "anything o for samce*' (her lahuratory was i n d e r her b e d . ) ~ h mounted e bones were perfect! Lab experimental sessions during evening hours were held for those-who wanted to do extra exploration. A high per-
juat local and r e g i m l science fairs and has had 14 stdents participate in the International Science Fairs (over 5 0 % have won additional awards). Mr. Hunnings has been quite active in all levels of education. He has been a member of the Indiana Junior Academy 01 Science for 20 yedm and has served as its s m e dwctor ~ l o wrn q 1n.s. he IS also m e d w c l o r of tnc Youth Acfivity Comminee. ~~~
Mmt appropriately Keilh has received various awards for his excellence in teaching-"Who's Who in Education'' in 1951-52. Regional CMA award winner In 1975, andthefirstannual winner
of the Award for the Outstanding High School Chemistry teacher in the State of lndma (1976).He was also recognized by the North Eastern lndrana Section of the ACS as the Northeastern Indiana Outstanding High School Chemistry Teacher 1980.
Volume 58. Number 1, January 1981 1 63
centaee attended these sessions which included fun. wlentv . . u of work, and homemade treats brought in by the students to be enjoyed after the lab had been restored to order. (Having a key to the present-day high school to carry on evening scientific research and exwerimentation is a luxury very few teachers and students aie afforded.) Another change of the times has had to do with numbers and types of safety hazards. Consideration of attire and hair styles become pertinent. A bushy, topknot hairdo became a "flaming crown of glory" when the student leaned over a lit Bunsen burner. Damage was minimal and confined to the outer edges of the topknot. Naturally, long hair on either sex is now confined. What Happened to the Laboratory By the late 60's and early 70's the teacher influx had caught up, hut the size of the classes had reached beyond the maximum point to he confined within the building. Thirty-five students would typically he assigned to classrooms that were designed for a maximum of 30 students. This made "safe" laboratory work impossible. Requests by the teacher to administrators to improve these situations were ignored. By necessity, a reduction in the number of laboratory experiments resulted, with more lectures presented to replace the loss of actual laboratory experience. The greatest solution to the laboratory problem was the switch to semi-micro equipment. The fact that less chemicals were needed for semi-micro meant less time used dispensing materials; replacing equipment was also a t a minimum as hreakaee became almost non-existent, in comparison to the former'method. Another aid was the resurrection of the "outcast cookbook." These two modifications made it possible for the instructor to observe the student more and thereby increase the safety factor. When "open-end" experiments replaced the traditional chemistry experiments, a stigma was implied that caused beginning teachers to refrain from using them. The experienced teacher adapted "cookbook" experiments into modified "onen-end" wrocedures hv suhstitntine" an eauivalent chemical or piece of apparatus in place of what was listed. This caused the student to review the purpose of the experiment andlor devise a new setup. I t is interesting to watch students sneak looks a t each other to try and find a clue on how to proceed. By the years' end, copying had almost disappeared and the student or students with the most ineenuitv devised a method of solution generally complimentedby the others. ~
The 70's
thinkine for five to six weeks. As the school vear neared completion, the knack of thinking creatively hkcame more prevalent. Extra time on the part of the student and the instructor was needed, as more explicit training on the use of available lihrarv materials had to he taught. The added burden of night cla&es was well worth the effort, as the students gained the "know how" of perusing scientific literature, was apparent. Science fairs can he compared to the topping of an ice cream sundae; not all students will receive toppings, but if the ice cream is delicious, who will notice or care. In answer to the original question, the 70's saw new ideas beine fostered in the hieh school, and it has encomwassed man; of the science students as well. Many junior andsenior students no loneer feel that thev have time for research he" cause of the great idea-"released time." The logic of students leaving the school early in the day to earn financial sustenance for further education before they have finished their present level is a little beyond comprehension! Another insidious idea, in my opinion, that grew and grew, like Pinocchio's nose, into unruly giants is the thought that "all things are for all people." Consolidation of the small schools into one larger school had the nice philosophical basis that more choices of subject matter for the students would be available. Diversification of a wide range of suhject matter was created, and to accommodate the weaker student, courses on a lower level and minimum skills were developed. This also created the chance of students that were cawahle of learning
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earn good grades, but a t the same time, they lost the opportunitv to take positive advantage of classes which they were acad&nically capable of handling. This in turn caused the aeneral level of subiect learning to slowly downgrade. Due to the selection made- by some OF the students, &If-discipline required to master any subject matter was thus weakened by this wide range of courses. I t seems students rebel and resist any form of an attempt to scientific knowledee. If the same trend continues. who is going to achieve the outstanding science of the future? Even the hiehlv motivated students are eoine. to become more scarce and l&kadaisical. In My Classroom I h a w tried t u tnaintain ~ruclentintereat i l l chemisrrv 18). presrr~tinginterrslinz, dewriplive chemistry. In at~talllareas mrmoriziitim o i~ hasi,. -k ~ i o-\ ~ l e~di.w>till ~ ~ -~~~ ~ ~ reouired and drilled thoroughly in order that the basic fundamentals are well established. This assists the more highly motivated student to plan hisher further education more adequately, so helshe can move on into the levels of higher learning, and into the "work-a-day" world as a useful citizen to help solve whatever wroblems the next several decades mav. wresent. Even the . average science student can benefit accordingly by availing himselflherself of what I. or anv other dedicated science assist himher in facing the future. teacher tries to As a member of the science teaching profession, to do less by my students would he a disservice on my part! ~
At the start of the 70's. the whole structure of the class had changed from a rural to city-urban background, The textbook was 99.99%theory, and "modern math" had been revived and was running rampant. Almost 100 years of sleeping had not improved its worth and the combination of "modern math" and "theory" almost made the students need a psychiatrist in place of a teacher. Excitement normally found in chemistry classes almost followed the way of descriptive chemistry. After about three years of using this type of text, some changes were again made. Old textbooks that contained the "living" chemistry were dusted off and placed hack on the reference shelf. Theory chemistry was cut in half and the student's interests revived. Feedback from the schools of higher learning indicated that certain areas of chemistry needed to he stressed. If students were well versed in these fields and felt that chemistry was interesting, then their high school courses had supplied the essential ineredients for maximum knowledee to tackle Freshman &llege Chemistry without failures. By now science "projects" had evolved into science "research." A problem was now being ascertained, developed, and a conclusion reached. The decline of creativity and imagination that was obvious in the 60.'s, by now, was highly evident. Locating, creating, developing-whatever-a "prohlem" was itself a prohlem that became insurmountable after looking and 64 1 Journal of ChemicalEducation
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High school chemistry teachers W a n around the country open their classroom, through this feature, far all to see. Teachemare invited to share heir techniques. memods, and ideologies. Contributions should be sent to the feature editor. Duane Sell is the new editor of "View from My Classroom." He brings with him to this position, experience at both secandary and tertiary levels. Mr. Sell received his BS in 1968 from HuntingtonCollese and his MS from Purdue Unfversln, in 1974 he presontt) teaches Genwal Cnemmy and Oant at $o Analp s al W loam Ra ne, harper Co ege
