Chemical Education Today
Especially for High School Teachers
by Laura E. Slocum
Playing on the Periodic Table All of us have had students whose passion for chemistry has both surprised us and encouraged us. There is almost nothing more rewarding than having students we have taught go on to study chemistry. This is especially important to me as I hear more about the comparison between the number of chemists retiring and the number coming into the workforce. Unfortunately, the number retiring is larger. However, it is the students with a strong interest in music that have always intrigued me. The question both they and I have wondered about is, “What does chemistry have to do with music?” Nothing, is the usual answer we finally agree upon. But is that really true?
Secondary School Featured Articles ◭ JCE Classroom Activity: #93. Aluminum–Air Battery by Modesto Tamez and Julie H. Yu, p 1936A. ◭ Using Denatured Egg White as a Macroscopic Model for Teaching Protein Structure and Introducing Protein Synthesis for High School Students by Paulo R. M. Correia and Bayardo B. Torres, p 1941.
tic article (1) to help me set up several of my inquiry labs this year. The teacher template that Poock, et al. shared in that issue has been particularly helpful to me Chemistry and Music and in this issue, Rudd, et al. (p 2007) discuss specific ways to use the Science Writing Heuristic to Improve I thought a lot about those discussions Students’ Understanding of General Equilibrium. I as I read Kumbar’s Musical Chemistry article know that many of my students, probably yours too, (p 1933). The connections he shares between either really like equilibrium or they just want it to the two disciplines had never crossed my Another way to visualize end. I am looking forward to trying some of the ideas mind. Throughout the entire article all I overall protein structure. Rudd shares here in my class when I teach equilibrium could think about were the various students this coming spring semester to see whether my stuthat I have taught who had a strong passion dents find equilibrium less difficult. I especially liked the sample for music and also fell in love with chemistry. I just could never lecture exam question that they shared in Figure 1 (p 2011). figure out “Why?” As their teacher, I always chalked it up to It helped me to think of other places—thermochemistry and just being lucky. kinetics—that I could use a similar type of question on my exIn the past three years, two of these students really touched ams. I believe that the students’ previous exposure to the Science my life and continue to remind me about the important role we Writing Heuristic ideas that they used this fall will be beneficial play in our students’ lives. One of them, a music theatre major, for them. I’ll keep you posted! continues to remain in very close contact with me. The other is an opera major in Texas and continued to take some chemistry Experimenting with Experiments classes in college. Both of these students were passionate about The experimental descriptions and guided discussion ideas their study of chemistry and were my students in a variety of that Correia and Torres (p 1941) share in their article on protein courses over their last three years of high school. structure and synthesis really intrigued me. I have been looking For both of them, their strongest connections to chemistry for a different lab activity to use with this topic in my Introduccame in the Introduction to Organic Chemistry class, and we tion to Biochemistry class next semester and this one closely often talked about why that would be so, but never settled on a meets my needs. It will help students see the bigger picture view “real” reason. The only thing we agreed on was all the nomenof proteins. It is not just about the actual atoms involved in the clature “patterns”, but the students thought that did not seem bond formation, but it is also the overall structure and shape strong enough. When I read the Musical Chemistry article and of the protein that allows it to have its particular function. My shared it with the student who just graduated, he said, “WOW, students always want a hands-on approach rather than a picture maybe we finally know why I liked the material in your class approach. Correia and Torres’ ideas allow the students to see that so much and I became so connected to chemistry. He [the auit is more about the whole protein and its formation, rather than thor] even has musical properties on the periodic table.” In his just the individual atoms that make up the protein. introduction, Kumbar hooked me to this article by his list of Just as I have gleaned some encouraging ideas for the spring commonalties between music and chemistry—“use fundamental semester from the articles in this issue, I know you will too. I also units as building blocks (chemical elements in chemistry and know that each of you have some wonderful ideas that you have musical notes in music); …time dimensions that are meaningfound that work well in your classroom. Please share them with ful; …find expression in the language of mathematics.” I am also us. The Journal is a GREAT place to start, and Erica and I are looking forward to hearing the sound files that are part of the here to help you share your ideas in any way we can. Just ask!!! Supplemental Material for this article. Science Writing Heuristic
Literature Cited
In Laura’s Take in the August column, I noted that I would be using information gleaned from the Science Writing Heuris-
1. Poock, J. R.; Burke, K. A.; Greenbowe, T. J.; Hand, B. M. J. Chem. Educ. 2007, 84, 1371–1379.
www.JCE.DivCHED.org • Vol. 84 No. 12 December 2007 • Journal of Chemical Education 1897
Chemical Education Today
Especially for High School Teachers, continued Erica’s Take on the Issue One weekend each month brings a new stack of papers to my desk, the preview version of another JCE issue. Laura and I read it through to decide which articles to mark with a triangle, ◭, to brainstorm for this column, and perhaps to do a bit of proofreading along the way. As I near the bottom of the stack, I tend to take a quick peek at the final page number to figure out how many pages there are left to read. My surprise for this December issue? That number breaks 2000, a new achievement for JCE. The huge quantity of material doesn’t sacrifice quality, either. As Laura says, you’ll find useful ideas. Congratulations to our published authors and thank you to everyone on the JCE staff—they work hard to put together each issue. Carter’s article (p 1937) on the development of effective permanent paper hits home too. He states “A student pointed out to me that some of my papers published in this Journal were already starting to turn yellow.” I know that’s true as I leaf through my collection of back issues. However, I take heart in the fact that this year’s pages,
along with all JCE issues, also live on in an additional format, as scanned PDF files on JCE Online. Occasionally, last minute additions for the issue arrive and find their place in the stack. One of those appears on this page. I was previously unaware of the Hach Scientific Foundation and its strong support of K–12 chemistry education. Hach (p 1896) describes two scholarship programs, one for chemistry majors pursuing education at land grant universities across the U.S., the other for degreed chemists who wish to pursue chemistry teaching as a second career. Profiles of scholarship winners are on the Hach Web site under “Universities/Scholars”. I enjoyed reading several scholars’ comments and know that they will be a welcome addition to the profession. There are even two scholars at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the home base of the Journal. Information on other opportunities for high school chemistry educators and students is in this month’s News & Announcements (pp 1921–1924). These include the Einstein Fellows program, the Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision Awards, and Chemistry Olympiad mentors. Take advantage of them!
1896 Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 84 No. 12 December 2007 • www.JCE.DivCHED.org
