Ethelreda Laughlin Ferris institute Big Rapids, Michigan
Organic Chemistry in Ohio High Schools
0rganlc .chemistry .
.
.
h ~ g h school is important since the majority of materials with which the laymen has daily contact are organic in nature and because it is so interesting and stimulating to the student. The purpose of the present study is to determine the status of organic chemistry in Ohio high schools. The data was obtained from answers to a three-page questionnaire sent to the high school teachers listed by the Ohio Academy of Science as teachers of chemistry. Of this group, 312 teachers from 300 high schools responded. Data from the questionnail~swas divided into four categories according to school enrollment in grades 10-12: (1) enrollments of 1-199, (2) 20W99, (3) 50&999, and (4) 1000 up. Approximately twothirds of the responses are from schools with enrollments below 500. The school population range was from 4 to 3400 students. One of the questions asked for the number of weeks devoted to organic chemistry. The responses are summarized in Table 1. Note that the responses vary from none to almost one semester (sixteen weeks), with a mean of 4.3 weeks. Taking into account the actual time spent in class, the smallest school group devotes 12.4 per cent of the high school course to organic 111
Presented before the Division of ChemiealEduultion at the 142nd meeting of the American Chemical Society, Atlantic City,September, 1962.
Table 1.
Number of Weeks of the Chemistry Course Devoted to Organic Chemistry School Size 1-199
Weeks
KO.
~ otabulateda t 1 Totals 95 Mean 4.7
200-499
No.
1 98
500-999
KO.
1000 up
Total
No.
No.
...
59 4.1
4.1 4.3 4.3 "Answers such as "varies" or "very little" could not be tabulated.
chemistry; the three larger groups spend 11.3,11.4, and 11.8 per cent, respectively, of the course time. The mean for the four groups is 12.0 per cent. The percentage of laboratory time spent on organic chemistry varies as follows: It is highest in the 1-199 school population group, 15.0 per cent; 7.9 per cent in the 200499 group; 10.6 per ccnt in the 500-999 pupil schools; and 12.6 per cent in the largest high schools. The mean for the four groups is 11.5 per cent. The teachers were asked how many weeks of organic chemistry they would offer if time and facilities permitted. The answers indicate that they would like to allot five to six weeks. The averages follow: (1) 1-199 school sine, 6.1 weeks, (2) 20W99, 5.3 weeks, (3) 500-999, 5.3 weeks, (4) 1000 up, 5.3 weeks, (5) mean, 5.5 weeks. Many reasons were given for not presenting as much organic chemistry to the classes as desired. Time to include everything considered important is difficult to find. A textbook or laboratory manual is usually used as a guide as to what should be included in the course. The teacher soon discovers that, no matter how conscientiously he allots class time to each topic, it is virtually impossible to " s q u e c ~in" everything. Lack of necessavy tools and materials is said to limit the offering of much, if any, organic chemistry in some schools. Inexperience is the excuse of some of the respondents. The chapters on organic chemistry are usually the last in the textbook and the new teacher, plodding through chapter after chapter, finds the school year ending before he reaches the section on organic chemistry. Educatimal backgrounds in organie chemistry vary greatly among the teachers. Of those who commented, some teachers said they had had no course ~vorkin organic chemistry. One reported having a master's degree in the field and another said he is working toward a doctorate in organic chemistry. Abililu and interest of the students decide how much organic chemistry will be covered in the class. What may be a mere taste in one section may reach the saturation point in another. The kind of school, and in some cases its location, may also help to determine the interests of the students. A check list of 25 topics in organic chemistry was given in the questionnaire. The number of teachers who present the topics to their chemistry classes is shown in Table 2. Instead of including totals in Table 2, the topics are arranged in descending order of choice in Table 3. The choices of the high school chemistry teachers do not correspond very closely to suggestions made by 110 Ohio college chemistry teachers in answer to another questionnaire about which topics in organic chemistry Volume 40, Number 4, April 1963
/
209
should be offered in high school. The college teachers would consider aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons under one title, hydrocarbons, whereas the high school teachers place most emphasis, evidently, on alkanes. The biochemicals concerned with foods are recommended by the college teachers for inclusion in the high school course, although only the carbohydrates are given important consideration by the high school chemistry teachers. Asked whether organic chemistry should be an important part of high school chemistry, 78.3% of Table 2.
Topics on Organic Chemistry Included in the High School Course School sisea No.
Alkanes Alkenes Alkynes Halogen derivatives Alcohols Aldehydes Ketones Acids Esters Acid Anhydrides Aromatic compounds Soaps Explosives Ethers Amines Carbohydrates Fats Proteins Textiles Plastics Ensymes Vitamins Hormones Paints Othen: Agrieulturd chemistry Chemothera.peutics Cyclic Compounds Dienes Dws Dyes Fuels Insecticides Medicinals Paper Petroleum Rtshher
No.
-
-
89
96 89
79 75 79 88 80 54 82 83 47 63 74 58 70 33 77 65 57 55 65 35 42 23 30 ... . .
... ... ...
...
81
86 03 84 59 85 90 33 65 70 48 -r
Ranking of Organic Chemistry Topics Included in High School Courses Topic
64 55 52 47 56 37 38 21 24
... ... 1 I
... ... ...
...
...
...
1
...
... ...
:i 2
:Journal o f Chemical Education
Table 3.
I3
" T h e total number of respondents was apportioned as follows according t o school size: 1-199, 89; 2W-499, 96; 500-999, 59; 1000 up, 56.
210
The high school chemistry teachers were asked if they felt a need for more course work as a background for organic chemistry. "Yes" answers were given by 174 teachers or 55.8y0 and "No" answers by 102, or 32.7%. What the future for organic chemistry in the high school will be is uncertain. With more and more high schools using the Chemical Bond or CHEM study approach, less may be presented in the future. I n the meantime, a t least in high schools in Ohio, how much organic chemistry is offered to the students depends pretty much on the personal taste and background of the teacher.
34
2 2
No.
the teachers answered "Yes." Their reasons vary considerably. Some feel that high school chemistry should present an over-all picture and that omission of organic chemistry would simply mean not telling the whole story. A few stated that the field is simply too large to ignore. Others believe that interest demands inclusion of some organic chemistry-that it is a stimulus for the students. For every teacher who believes that organic chemistry should be reserved only for the college preparatory student, there is another who takes the opposite stand, that it should be presented only to the terminal student.
a. e. i. h. h. d. f. c. n. 1. p. k. g. q. t. m. r. s.
v. o.
Alkanes Alcohols Esters Alkenes Acids Halogen derivatives Aldehydes Alkvnes Ethirs
Total number of votes
Per cent of total (ROO)
300 293
100.0 07 7
275 272 271
Soaps
Carbohydrates Aromatic compounds Ketones Fats Plastics Explosives Proteins Textiles Vitamins Amines
228 227 200 195 195 175 173 165 I33 125
