Chemical Education Today
Especially for High School Teachers by Diana S. Mason
Gap Analysis The first part of the Journal this month is devoted to the annual Waters Symposium at Pittcon. Even if you are Secondary School Featured Article not interested, take time to flip through the pages… 䊕 JCE Classroom Activity: #67. Flame Tests: Which Ion Causes OK—what did you see? Acronym city? Pictures of the Color? by Michael J. Sanger, p 1776A instruments that appear to be from a sci-fi movie? A number of plots that present deviations from the median values? So did I. Before you close this issue and wrong with this. Over the broad spectrum of scisay, “It’s not for me.”— think. ence, things change faster than anyone can adapt. I know I don’t have the backMany have tried to help this situation by develground that gives me the oping Web-based supplements that can be knowledge I need to fully comchanged and more easily distributed. Also, there prehend this symposium, but is are always suggested laboratory activities in the it of little value? No! Use it as a Journal that can help us take what is available to Flame tests for potassium chloride (left) means to identify the gap that us at present and give our students new abilities and boric acid (right). These are from exists between what we typically to bridge some of the gap. Why not use a major this month’s Classroom Activity on teach and where we need to be conference, like the upcoming ChemEd 2005, to pages 1776A–B. going. On pages 1796–1800, begin a major “gap analysis” between where we Ball et al. discusses how a “comare and where we need to be? prehensive” university explores the relationship between research and teaching and how a “whole new arsenal” (p 1797) Upcoming Events is needed. So, how do we contribute and proceed? Colleges devoted to chemical technology had the foreThe International ChemEd Conferences started in sight to collaborate with industry and perform what is known Canada in 1973. ChemEd 2005, the 18th in the series, will as a “gap analysis”. The assessment identified what colleges be held in Vancouver, Canada, July 31–August 4, 2005 at emphasized and what industry needed. After hours of curthe University of British Columbia. For more information riculum revisions, what resulted was a common document see the cool and inviting home page at http://nobel.scas.bcit.ca/ that satisfied both interested parties. chemed2005 (accessed Oct 2004). Proposals for presentations What knowledge and skills do we need to teach our stuare due February 1, 2005. This biennial meeting is designed dents to prepare them to enter the work force? First, we teachprimarily for teachers of high school chemistry; every meeters need to look at our own knowledge and skills—we cannot ing thus far has exceeded its predecessors. More than 1000 teach what we do not know. Then, we need to identify the chemistry teachers and their families are expected from evknowledge and skills necessary to guide our students from ery province in Canada, every state in the United States, and today’s typical textbook-suggested curriculum to where they at least 50 countries from around the world. Hundreds of need to be to succeed in this technologically oriented world. symposia and workshops will be offered. Start making plans, As is pointed out by Miller et al. (p 1801) and Cancilla’s arnow! ticles (p 1809), the use of instrumentation in the lab impacts conceptual understanding and attitudes, fosters the construcFeatures Especially for You tion of new knowledge and skills, and improves instruction. On pp 1814–1816 find out about remote instrumentation The JCE Web site “Especially for High School Teachthat you might take advantage of to bring cutting-edge iners” can be found at http://www.JCE.DivCHED.org/HS/ struments to your students. index.html. From here you can get to some very useful feaChemistry is said to be built on a foundation of “change”, tures such as the new and improved Digital Library, the but how do we change and adapt to the new knowledge and High School CLIC (Chemed Learning Information Censkills needed to succeed? We need the help of textbook auter), and other online Journal items. thors to do this. Have you ever wondered how articles get selected for As pointed out by Jensen (pp 1772–1774), once an inpublication in the Journal? Do you know that you have a correct or incomplete idea gets into a textbook, it is easily wonderful idea and that others could benefit from your perpetuated. The majority of us who primarily teach do not ideas? Why not take advantage of your winter break and have the time to keep up with cutting-edge research. We desubmit your ideas to JCE. The instructions for contributing pend heavily on this Journal and textbook authors to help us an article can be found at http://www.JCE.DivCHED.org/Confill the gaps in our knowledge and skills. There is nothing tributors/Authors/Submissions/guideTo.pdf.
www.JCE.DivCHED.org
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Vol. 81 No. 12 December 2004
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Journal of Chemical Education
1689
