Chemical Education Today
Report
CHED Outreach Efforts by Morton Z. Hoffman
CHED extended its outreach program to two conferences this spring: the First-Year Undergraduate Chemistry Education International Conference (FYI) (held at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) and the Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exposition (CCC) (in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan). At both conferences I served as the CHED representative, participating in the programs and hosting a display table at which materials from the CHED Outreach Office and describing the Division and its activities, the Exams Institute, and the Journal were on view.
CHED Chair, Morton Hoffman, at the Outreach display table at the Canadian Chemical Conference and Exposition.
photo M. Z. Hoffman
CCC Conference The 88th CCC of the Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC) and the Chemical Institute of Canada (CIC) attracted approximately 1,500 registrants and offered sessions in a broad range of subdivisions of chemistry. The chemical education program, organized by Richard Cassidy (University of Saskatchewan), ran for all four days of the meeting and included plenary lectures, symposia with oral presentations, and poster sessions. Among the symposia were those on cultural
Morton Z. Hoffman is in the Chemistry Department, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215;
[email protected]. He is the 2005 Chair of the ACS Division of Chemical Education.
photo Richard Cassidy
FYI Conference This conference drew approximately 170 participants from the U.S., Australia, Argentina, México, Chile, South Africa, and Spain. The theme was “The Richness of Difference,” reflecting the different ways in which first-year chemistry is taught at colleges and universities internationally. Plenary lectures were given by Gabriela Weaver of Purdue University, “Chemistry Education for Global Citizens: The Responsibilities of Scientific Knowledge,” and Gabriel Pinto of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain, “New Trends of University Education in Europe: Real-World Applications for Encouraging Critical Thinking in Chemistry Students.” Symposia in global perspectives, peer review of teaching, laboratory issues, social justice and responsibility, educational technology, and student placement were offered; there were general oral and poster papers and breakout sessions on the topics of the plenary lectures. The conference was organized by the International Center for First-Year Undergraduate Chemistry Education (ICUC) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Paul Kelter, Director). CHED was among the financial supporters of the conference.
influences on the chemical enterprise, ancillary content in chemistry programs, best practices at the biology–chemistry interface, technology tools in chemical education, alternative pedagogies, and the teaching laboratory. Three award addresses were given within the program of the Chemical Education Division: the CIC Award for Chemical Education to Ron Martin (University of Western Ontario), the Montréal Medal to Margaret-Ann Armour (University of Alberta), and the Clara Benson Award to Mary Fairhurst (Dow Chemical Canada). ACS President Bill Carroll attended the conference and spoke at the CIC Chair’s Event on the theme, “Chemistry for the Future”.
Montréal Medalist, Margaret-Ann Armour (at left) with Judith Poë (University of Toronto), the incoming chair of the Chemical Education Division of the CSC.
photo M. Z. Hoffman
photo M. Z. Hoffman
ACS President Bill Carroll flanked by Stan Brown (at left), CSC President and CSC Vice-President Yves Deslandes.
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
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Journal of Chemical Education
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Vol. 82 No. 9 September 2005
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www.JCE.DivCHED.org
