Book and Media Review pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Review of Organic Chemistry Principles in Context: A Story-Telling Historical Approach Stephen R. Pruett* Department of Chemistry, Jefferson Community and Technical College, Louisville, Kentucky 40202 United States argues that a similar model is successful in teaching organic chemistry. The storytelling approach occurs on two levels in this book. First, each chapter focuses on a particular problem in chemistry. Differences in the properties of starch and cellulose serve as the context for the introduction of stereochemistry, rules governing organic structures, formal charge, and aspects of carbohydrate chemistry in the first chapter. Catalytic cracking of hydrocarbons is the context for the discussion of carbocations, nomenclature of alkanes, and acid−base chemistry. Note that this approach leads to the inclusion of topics in a single chapter that normally would be treated in separate chapters in a traditional textbook. For example, many common organic reactions that are commonly dispersed throughout an organic text appear in the final chapter on synthesis, which uses Woodward’s synthesis of cholesterol and Corey’s synthesis of prostaglandins as examples of their uses. The Wittig reaction, the application of Grignard reagents, the Robinson annulation, hydroboration−oxidation, and the Williamson ether synthesis are among the reactions presented here. Green’s storytelling, however, extends to the histories of the scientists involved in the development of the chemistry presented within a chapter. Chapter 1, for example, contains references to over 20 different chemists and includes their photographs as well as references to each one’s contribution. Subsequent chapters contain similar references, although the number per chapter is generally smaller (ranging roughly from 6 to 19). Anecdotal information about each chemist ranges from a single sentence (a simple reference to his or her contribution) to longer vignettes. (Robert Woodward has almost a page devoted to his “sense of the dramatic” in the last chapter.) Details include stories of “scooped” chemists, conflicts of personality between famous chemists, and meetings between chemists and historical figures, e.g., Louis Armstrong. Consideration of Organic Chemistry Principles in Context: A Story-Telling Historical Approach as a textbook raises several questions. Does the narrative effectively engage students as Green claims, or will they view its inclusion as a digression? Certainly, there is precedent for the successful use of storytelling in teaching chemistry. The ACS’s Chemistry in Context2 project is an example of the use of context for creating interest in chemistry. I have found popularizations that focus on history or common objects and substances can be successful “hooks” for students; I have used them as textbooks in survey courses (i.e., “chemistry for poets”)3−5 and as supplemental readings in general chemistry6 and organic chemistry5 courses. However, one wonders whether the narrative in this shortened text compensates for the absence of traditional content. Does
Organic Chemistry Principles in Context: A Story-Telling Historical Approach by Mark M. Green. ScienceFromAway Publishing: New York, 2012. 454 pp. ISBN 978-0615702711 (paper). $25.00.
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ark Green’s book piqued my interest during his presentation of its contents at the Biennial Conference on Chemical Education (BCCE) in 2012. In addition to offering a resource for the history of organic chemistry, it is a textbook that challenges the status quo of how we teach organic chemistry. Indeed, the book is nearly Pythonesque: one could introduce it “and now, for something completely different...”. As Green mentions in the “About the Author” section, his goal is to offer a textbook that motivates students and is available at a low price. Clearly, at $25, Organic Chemistry Principles in Context: A Story-Telling Historical Approach accomplishes the latter. Note, however, that it is half the size of current organic textbooks, both in pages (fewer than 500) and chapters (13 or, arguably, 14, due to the length of the last chapter on synthesis). It is also printed in black and white. There are questions for students after each section in the chapters and the answers to the text’s questions are available online, as are video presentations for each chapter.1 There are not, however, supplemental questions at the end of each chapter as in a traditional book.
Cover image provided by Mark M. Green and reproduced with permission.
The merits of the book’s presentation of organic chemistry are described in the four pages of testimonials from an international group of chemists and from Green’s former students, each lauding the text’s contexts. I do wonder how many chemists have taught from the book and the demographics of their students. Green mentions that the book was developed for second-year chemistry and chemical engineering students at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University. In his introduction, Green offers the use of historical context in the presentation of material in classes in the arts and © 2014 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
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dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed5001679 | J. Chem. Educ. 2014, 91, 624−625
Journal of Chemical Education
Book and Media Review
the focus on specific examples actually allow students to apply the principles under discussion to a broader range of situations? Also, I found myself imagining students’ reactions to certain anecdotes; for example, how, exactly, does one put a positive spin on a three- to four-hour “chalk talk” by a chain-smoking Robert Woodward? The double-edged sword that comes with this textbook is the work and time that instructors would have to invest in order to use it effectively. The advantage of a briefer textbook is that instructors can expand the coverage to include what they believe is critical for students to know; this textbook would require an instructor to compare the contents of this book with those of a traditional text and determine what is and is not crucial content. In contrast to most textbooks, where we find ourselves cutting material, this book may require an instructor to add topics. If instructors question the relevance of a particular context the author has chosen, they can provide an alternative that they feel is more valuable to students. Instructors would also likely have to generate additional assignments to supplement those in Organic Chemistry Principles in Context: A Story-Telling Historical Approach. I like to believe that an instructor, willing to conduct an experiment with this textbook (or any nontraditional textbook) and to invest such preparation, will see students benefit from his or her efforts.
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AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected]. Notes
The authors declare no competing financial interest.
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REFERENCES
(1) Textbook Web site. http://organicchemistryprinciplesincontext. com/ (accessed Feb 2014). (2) Middlecamp, C. H.; Keller, S. W.; Anderson, K. L.; Bentley, A. K.; Cann, M. C.; Ellis, J. P. Chemistry in Context: Applying Chemistry to Society, 7th ed.; McGraw-Hill: New York, 2012. (3) Emsley, J. Molecules at an Exhibition: Portraits of Intriguing Materials in Everyday Life; Oxford University Press: New York, 1998. (4) Le Couteur, P.; Burreson, J. Napoleon’s Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History; Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam: New York, 2003. (5) Hickam, H. October Sky: A Memoir; Dell: New York, 1998. (6) Gray, T.; Mann, N. The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe; Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers: New York, 2009.
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