Chemical Education Today
Editorial
Faculty Responsibilities Recently I received from the ACS Education Division a copy of the second edition of A Guide to Classroom Instruction for Adjunct Faculty (1). Prepared by the ChemTechLinks project with support from the NSF, this publication was originally aimed at industrial chemists who were teaching chemical technology courses in two-year and community colleges, but a much broader audience found it quite helpful. That’s because it lists in its 64 pages a wealth of well organized information about teaching and learning. The guide consists of five chapters: Introduction to Classroom Instruction; Fundamentals of Learning; Methods of Delivering Instruction; Course, Lesson, and Classroom Preparation; and Evaluation and Feedback. Seven appendixes present case studies of classroom situations, a tool to determine preferred learning styles, a sample course syllabus, a sample lesson plan, a glossary of education terms, a topic review guide that outlines all of the topics in the five chapters and can be used for review or as an index to find specific topics, and a reading list for those who want more information. Even those of us who have taught for many years will find that the guide provides much useful information in a compact format. It is convenient to browse and can be searched using the index in Appendix Six. For those who have limited teaching experience, it should be an invaluable introduction to teaching and learning and a supportive companion throughout their first semester in the classroom. During the past decade there has been considerable discussion of the increasing reliance on adjunct faculty in twoyear and four-year institutions. Limited budgets and increasing enrollments often translate to insufficient regular faculty to handle all of the courses that need to be taught. This leads to increasing numbers of adjunct faculty or part-time faculty, most of whom are paid significantly less than regular faculty. This has spawned a good deal of dissatisfaction and at least one magazine (2). One of the arguments for different remuneration is that regular faculty have many responsibilities in addition to teaching: research, course and curriculum development, service on committees, and community outreach. That argument is valid as long as regular faculty actually carry out those responsibilities. Granted, many adjunct faculty also participate in such activities, but it is not a requirement of their jobs nor a basis for their evaluation. That sometimes we may not be carrying out our responsibilities in the area of curriculum is suggested in the Commentary “Completing Our Education” (p 1126). In it a group of graduate students who attended the third annual ACS Green Chemistry Summer School calls for incorporating green chemistry “as an inherent component of the chemistry and chemical engineering curriculum”. An increasing number of institutions are doing so already, but there is plenty of room for improvement. The student authors of the commentary point out that “chemists and chemical engineers must be equipped with the tools necessary to support and promote global sustainability”, and that green chemistry principles constitute an important tool. Green chemistry also makes www.JCE.DivCHED.org
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connections between Students trained in green classroom material and the real-world environment that can enhance chemistry principles will be students’ motivation and better able to carry out achievement. Like any curricular their duties as industrial, innovation, green chemistry is subject to the fagovernment, or academic miliar argument that the curriculum is already scientists and engineers. bloated. How can anything be added? The Commentary points out that very little would need to be added because green chemistry is a way to conduct science and technology in a manner that shows responsibility toward the environment and to future generations. It is important that students recognize the objectives of green chemistry, its ways of analyzing environmental impacts and sustainability, and how those objectives and methods can lead to creativity in solving scientific and technical problems. These can be applied to existing content and merely require a different approach to many things we already teach. But we will need to educate ourselves in green chemistry principles in order to weave them seamlessly into the curriculum. This Journal is attempting to aid in that regard. Since 2000 we have printed nearly 50 articles that have been assigned the keyword “green chemistry”. We regularly publish articles in the Green Chemistry column, edited by Mary Kirchhoff, that develop new ideas and laboratory procedures in support of green chemistry principles. We also publish reviews of books that deal with green chemistry, and the Commentary article has an excellent bibliography of materials that the interested reader can access. Any change in curriculum or in our approach to teaching chemistry requires time and effort on our parts, but incorporating green chemistry is a change that needs to be made, is being made by many, and is supported by the chemical industry (p 1133). Students trained in green chemistry principles will be better able to carry out their duties as industrial, government, or academic scientists and engineers. Students who do not aspire to scientific or technical careers will better appreciate that chemistry, other sciences, and engineering can and must be applied to issues of sustainability and that scientists and engineers are personally concerned about such issues. All of these outcomes benefit science, society, and our students. Literature Cited 1. Reed, John H. A Guide to Classroom Instruction for Adjunct Faculty, 2nd ed.; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2005. 2. Adjunct Advocate. For subscription information see https:// www.adjunctnation.com/ (accessed Jun 2006).
Vol. 83 No. 8 August 2006
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Journal of Chemical Education
1111
