G. 5. Hammond* V. Ramokrishnaz C. N. R. Roo3 and M. Tamres4
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Indo-U.S. Conference
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on Chemical Education
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Design for innovation
T h e ~ndo-U.S.Conference on Chemical Education is an outgrowth of scveral years of cooperation between government agencies and interested scientists in the two countries. One of the major areas of joint effort was the Summer Institute Program for teachers of science, patterned along the lines of those developed in the U.S. in the 1950's. From a very modest beginning in 1963, the program grew rapidly in numbers and in scope. By the summer of 1968, the program had involved most of the major universities in India, its leading scientists and engineers, thousands of secondary school and college teachers, and hundreds of American scientists. The result was a broad base of people in the academic community and in government thinking in terms of change, with some already acting to introduce it. The chemists were particularly active in this regard. It was clear that the change would have to involve all levels of education, through the graduate program. The Conference was called to consider the question of undergraduate and graduate education. The goal of the Conference became not merely the identification and listing of the problems, but also the preparation of a working document for solving the problems, development of plans of action directed to specific agencies and departments, setting a timetable for implementing the action, and establishing a means for continuous review and evaluation of progress. The deliberations of the Conference reflect the fact that this is a time of great turmoil and emerging struggle for self-renewal in educational systems throughout the world. Not surprisingly, attention has focused on the deficiencies in chemical education and little effort has been made to extol those features of the system that may be sound and viable. Discussions were centered on the problems in India, but the conferees were aware that many of the same faults can be found in chemical education in the United States as well. There are two basic problems with chemical education in many parts of the world, probably more so in India. First, graduates in chemistry, especially at the Bachelor's level, are ill-prepared to fill any useful role in the chemical professions. Second, the industries and
The Cover This photograph of five young Indian students tells its own story. I t expresses, perhaps even more than the thoughtful prase of Professors Hammond, Ramakrishna, Rao, and Tamres, the spirit of the Indo-US Conference on Chemical Education and the promise of its design for innovation. We are grateful to Dr. D. R. Pant of Nationel Council of Educational Research and Training for providing this interesting picture.
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other institutions of the nation are not prepared to fully utilize the talents of chemists who have had good training. As such, the chemical profession in India itself has suffered greatly by the lack of opportunities and challenges. Defects in the graduates can be directly related to the defects in the educational system. The entire educational system is so highly oriented toward examinations as to impose a real impediment to both students and teachers. I t is difficult to pay attention to the coherence of chemical thought and the challenge of unanswered problems when the only matter of immediate consequence is the preparation to answer small, answerable questions set in the examination papers. This examination-oriented system has acted as a deterrent against experimentation in instruction by individual teachers or institutions. The students are normally expected to listen and absorb knowledge rather than develop their own creative faculties by reacting to things that they hear and read. Unifying principles of chemistry are rarely taught at either undergraduate or graduate level; chemistry remains a collection of isolated facts to most students and teachers in India. A typical Indian graduate has little flexibility of attitude and does not show the kind of coherent conceptual view of chemistry that will enable him to analyze and solve new problems met in the real physical world. I t must he admitted that chemical education in India has seen little change in the last two or three decades. The fact that chemical education has almost become ritualistic is a shocking discovery to many chemical educators. To a considerable extent the same criticism can be made of the graduates from American universities. There is a worldwide movement to undergo self-evaluation and find .ways of change, and the chemical educators in India are a part of this movement. The internal organization of universities everywhere is essentially paternalistic. For better or worse, this paternalism is being questioned throughout the world, This paper is a report on the conference held in India at Srinagar and Bangalore during June 17-July 5, 1969. The Conference was sponsored by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the National Council for Science Education(NCSE) of India and the US. Nrttional Science Foundation. 'Address: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109. %Address:Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, India. $Address: Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India. 'Address: The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Dr. D. 5. Kothori, Chairman, University Grants Commisrion; Professor 1. R. Sclhodri, University of Dolhi; Honorable V. K. R. V. Roo. Union Mini,ter of Education; Dr. Donold Horning, former Preridenliol Science Adviseo and Profesmr N. V. Subbo Roo, Choirman, Chemistry P o d , Univenity Grants Commis4on. Osmonia Univer.ily, dvnng Dr. Hornig's opening address.
even in the United States which has often been regarded as a nonhierarchical system. In India, paternalism is especially strong. Faculties have little input to university administration. Most chemistry departments are organized and administered by one professor, the junior faculty having little influence in the departments. An added problem arises from the total dependence of affiliated colleges on the central university. Most of the conferees were of the opinion that' university organization in India should undergo drastic change. To many academicians the prospect is frightening and some can see only chaos as a result of increasing the involvement of faculty, students, and possibly even the public in policy and decision making. What is clearly required is more expertise than we now have in advisory consultation without dissipation of the responsibility for decision making. The great changes badly needed in the Indian instructional system will surely fail if the teachers, students, and administrators are not continuously involved in a dialogue to clarify the objectives of such changes. Indian chemical educators face a special dilemma when they try to educate students for the world in which they live. The teacher knows that answers to many of man's pressing problems are chemical answers. Medicine and nutrition are ultimately chemical sciences; population explosion, the world's most urgent problem may reach its climax first in India and will almost surely be solved through chemistry, if a t all. Chemistry among all of the physical sciences is outstanding for its direct and profitable contribution to a productive industrial economy. I n a developing country like India, discoveries of new materials or import substitutes are particularly important; chemistry is obviously the only way to make new materials. However, the Indian teacher would have some misgivings in stating these facts to his students enthusiastically because the chances are meager that he or his students can or will ever participate creatively in the solution of these problems of national importance. Only a handful of Indian chemists enter industry and those who do mainly spend their lives in the necessary but dull chores associated with chemical analysis. The rate of expansion of industrial chemical research and development in the country is painfully slow in comparison with the growth rate for production. The Indian teacher has thus the right excuse if he stresses the charms of playing intellectual games in chemistry, rather than the challenge of making chemistry work for man.
Plans for Change
Discussion of fundamental problems a t the Conference has led to truly inspiring plans for change. These plans can be separated into three categories 1) Changes that can he instituted within the educational system by self-initiative of faculties in chemistry. In some instances these plans will involve collaboration with other departmental faculties in the same institution. 2) Changes and development projects which will require special financial and orgtlniaational assistance from national agencies such as the University Grants Commission. 3) Changes that lie entirely outside of the authority of the Conference which must depend upon review of national economic planning.
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Journal of Chemical Education
The intra-institutional programs can be initiated immediately by individual university faculties where there is a will to do so. The conferees recognize the need for imaginative cooperation of the administrative authorities, but presume that this will be forthcoming in view of the urgency of the problems facing chemical education. The national programs for support of chemical education are desperately needed because lack of physical facilities such as teaching aids, laboratory equipment, and libraries are now a crippling handicap to those who are ready to experiment. The economic planning review is mandatory if chemists are to have a realistic appreciation of the real significance of their educational efforts. The conference calls for a review of the relationship between indigenous research and development and overall industrial investment economics. There is need for the involvement of chemists in the national planning not only for the sake of their expertise but also to acquaint the chemical community with the philosophy of planning. Design for Innovation
The Conference enunciates three basic principles in its design for innovation. 1 ) A system flexibility which affords freedom far educational experiments. 2 ) A series of educational experiments which provides a continuous but probably changing pattern in chemical education; (a) a t individual institutions, ( b )with groups of affiliated colleges, and (c) collaborative projects and interdisciplinary programs. 3) A number of educalional landmarks of a semi-permanent nature in the changing educational pattern such as ( a )regional instrumentation ( b ) an Indian Journal of Chemical Education, ( c ) workshops and institutes designed to overcome specific deficiencies in various a r e a such as electronics and instrumentation, theoretical chemistry, and various interdisciplinary subjects.
The success and rapidity with which any innovation can be introduced in an educational system ultimately depends on organizational flexibility. This aspect was emphasized in all the deliberations of the Conference. The need for a faculty- and student-conscious administration is, therefore, an important criterion for the success of the educational experiments. This organizational flexibility extends to departments where the head of the department can be rotated whenever possible. This will, of course, mean that we would need more than one professor in a department. It is important that a faculty council advises the department heads in matters such as promotion and recruiting of faculty, development of curricula, and even in some aspects of routine administration. There is need to review the existing policy of promotions and recruiting of faculty; a system of merit promotions and contract appointments would go a long way in bringing hope and quality to the teachingprofession. Plans for Action
Important steps that can be taken immediately to promote better trends in chemical education in India are highlighted below in the form of action plans. Programs That Should Be Offered by Central Agencies (UGC/NCSE)
Innovation Grants to Colleges and Universities. Special grants will be given to colleges and universities
involved in educational experiments such as teaching general chemistry and integrated laboratory courses, electronics, and instrumentation. Grants to Encourage Interdisciplinary Areas. Grants will be made available for teaching interdepartmental extracurricular courses. Grants for recruiting faculty at all ranks will be made available to institutions who want to initiate teaching and research in interdisciplinary areas such as chemical physics, solid state chemistry, and molecular biochemistry. Optimization Grants. A number of post-graduate teaching assistantships and post-doctoral fellowships will be made available to centers to optimize faculty time. Teaching assistantships will be awarded to PhD students who will devote 3040% of their time to laboratory instruction, lecture demonstration, and tutorial work. Workshops and Instrumentation Centers. Budgets will be granted to colleges and universities to create these facilities on an interdepartmental basis. These facilities are important if chemistry students in India are to develop laboratory skills. A users' committee will be responsible for the administration and organization of these centers. National Lecturerships in Frontiers of Chemistry. Several national lecturers will be appointed each year to deliver a course of lectures on modern topics in chemistry in a number of colleges. Visiting Faculty Program. Universities will have funds available to invite visiting professors either from abroad or within the country. Research Participation Grants. These grants will be made available to teachers in colleges and universities to encourage research participation by teachers of junior rank in colleges (even where there are no formal PhD programs). Short-term Courses and Workshops on Special Subjects, Laboratory Techniques, and Instrumentation. These specialized schools and workshops will be encouraged in the future to strengthen the teaching and research programs in chemistry. Educational Material. Special grants will be made available to colleges and universities for making films, prototype kits, etc., required for teaching. The central agency should be able to assure, if not provide, a minimum number of recommended books to college laboratories; the same thing would hold for laboratory equipment. Most of the above programs can be accommodated within the existing framework, but considerable coordination and optimization of efforts would be necessary. It is important that the various programs become available to chemistry teachers and departments only on application. Other High Priority Recommendntions
College Development Programs. A number of universities should immediately initiate cooperative programs for the development of affiliated colleges. The university departments should establish the optimum needs of these colleges for a fruitful conduct of chemistry courses. The program should include provision for bringing laboratory and library facilities t o acceptable standards. Regional Instrumentation Centers. At least two
regional centers with sophisticated equipment (such as ir, nmr, and esr spectrometers, X-ray diffractometers, etc.) and other analytical services should be established in two different regions of the country. These centers will provide the badly needed facilities for teaching and research a t the post-graduate level. These centers will also train students, teachers, and technicians in the use of modern instruments. The centers may also engage themselves in innovation of instruments and initiation of research programs involving refined instrumentation. "Regional Centers" is the only economically feasible solution open to India for providing instrumentat,ion facilities to a larger group of institutions. Recognition of Post-Graduate Research Centers. Chemistry departments with adequate facilities and faculty should be given greater support for research; here again, it is important to encourage research in the frontiers of chemistry and interdisciplinary subjects. Action Plan for the Chemistry Advisory Panel o f the NCSE
1) Organize regional conferences of chemistry teachers. 2) Prepare lists of recommended books, indigenous equipment, and teaching aids. It may be noted that India does manufacture a considerable amount of electrical, electronic, and other types of equipment required for teaching. 3) Prepare a directory of post-graduate teaching and research. 4) Prepare brochures and form applications to invite proposals from individuals and institutions and then review them with the help of specialists. 5 ) Start an Indian Journal of Chemical Education. 6) I t would be good if this panel (or some other group) can get an accrediting body to rate college and university chemistry departments. 7) Prepare periodical progress reports on the important recommendations of the Conference. Acfion Plan for Universities, Colleges, Chemistry Departments, nnd Teachers
1) Initiate experiments in chemical education that demand little extra budget or change in organizational structure. 2) Respond to the various programs offered by the central agency. 3) Introduce a flexible semester system and internal evaluation of students. 4) Wherever there are PhD and MSc programs, introduce a system of courses and seminars. It is most important that students at the post-graduate level develop originality, experimental ingenuity, and habits of scholarship. 5) Even if major changes in curricula or the examination methods are not possible, many of the important aspects of the teaching of chemistry can be introduced into the present system itself. For example, general chemistry can be made the first course in chemistry; principle-based experiments can be introduced in the laboratory courses. The chemistry that is taught to chemistry majors, engineers, agricultural, medical, or other science students should also be based on the general principles of the subject and should not be a collection of facts. Volume 47, Number 1 , January 1970
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