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THE CHAIR OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION AT THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY NEILE. GORDON, THE JOHNS
HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, BALTIMORE, MARYLAND
The numerous inquiries about the Chair of Chemical Education, provided by Francis P. Garvan, President of the Chemical Foundation, seem to warrant a few preliminary remarks a t this time. This Chair is located in the Chemistry Department of The Johns Hopkins University and has for its primary objective the promotion of chemistry through chemical education. There are two principal projects being developed a t the present time-one is connected with the regular chemical work of the scholastic year and the second is associated with the summer session of the university. Graduate Work in Faculty of Philosophy During the scholastic year, there is a program of study in the selection and education of prospective leaders in the field of chemistry. In the study to be pursued, equal emphasis is to be laid upon the selection bT men to be trained and the training of men selected. In order to limit the project and, a t the same time, place it upon a truly national basis, the plan adopted makes ultimate provision for one student from each of the forty-eight states. Selection is to be made from the sophomore, junior, or senior classes of the colleges and universities of the respective', states. The time of@electionis indicated by the desirability of obtaining students as soon as possible after they have had reasonable opportunity to determine the field in which they desire to specialize. It is, furthermore, in harmony with the present plan of the Johns Hopkins University, which affords the student an opportunity to acquire the Ph.D. degree in a minimum of four years after the completion of the sophomore year. The selection is accomplished through state committees which evaluate the student's complete previous scholastic record and the followingpersonal qualities as rated by his instructors. (1) Health (2) Ability to ca6p:perate (3) Creative ability (4) Intellectual honesty
(5) Persistency (9) Reliability (6) Faculty of observation (10) Conduct
(7) Enthusiasm (8) Initiative
(11) Morality (12) Scholarship
As an assurance that men of unusual promise shall not be debarred by lack of funds, a four-year fellowship of one thousand dollars annually will be offered in each state. Among the fellowships to be thus offered are those established by: The Eli Lilly Company of Indianapolis, Indiana; The J. T. Baker Chemical Company of Phillipsburg, New Jersey; The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company of Akron, Ohio; Dr. H. A. B. Dunning of Hynson, Westcott,
and Dunning, Baltimore, Maryland; The Bill Raskob Foundation, Wilmington, Delaware; The Kewaunee Manufacturing Company, Kewaunee, Wisconsin; Francis P. Garvan, New York, New York; Brown Company, Portland, Maine; Brown Company, Berlin, New Hampshire. In the training of these selected men, fundamental courses in mathematics, physics and English, as well as the four major branches of chemistry (inorganic, organic, physical, and analytical), will be emphasized. There will be no attempt to specialize in the various applications of chemistry. The elective system of study for the student is under an advisory committee of the Department. An explorative opportunity will be offered in the teaching of chemistry and in industrial work to determine the line of work for which the student is best fitted. Those who choose teaching as a profession will have the opportunity of taking four subjects in addition to the regular curriculum for a Ph.D. degree in chemistry. The subjects are: Educational Psychology, Philosophy of Education (or History of Education), Theory and Practice in Chemil' cal Education, and Comparative Study of Chemical Development. These subjects will be presented with a view to fitting the candidate to teach in colleges or universities. The satisfactory completion of these subjects will be rewarded by a certificate, which will be given in addition to the Ph.D. degree in ,chemistry. As well as pursui~g the fundamental curriculum above outlined, the students will have the opportunity of coming into personal contact with leading European and American chemists through a series of special lectures, means for which have been provided by Dr. A. R. I,. Dohme of Sharpe and Dohme, Baltimore, Maryland. Summer Courses in School of Education In addition to the work in the Faculty of Philosophy, summer courses in Chemical Education are being worked out with a view to applicability to aU phases of chemistry, including high schools, colleges, universities, and industries. A few of these courses are listed below. Those starred will be offered in the summer of 1929. Any others listed will be given if there are sufficient applicants for them before May 1st. Earlier applications will be highly appreciated. All applicants will be notified on May 15th whether or not tentative courses which they have elected are to be presented. 1. Chemical Education.*-This course will cover theory, observation, and practice in the teaching of chemistry. It is especially designed for students who are planning to teach chemistry in universities, colleges, or large high schools.
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2. Comparative Study of Chemical Development.*-This course will follow the development of chemistry in both Europe and America, with special attention to the comparative values of the various theories and their interlocking in the advancement of chemistry. Emphasis will be given to the personalities connected with the various developments. 3. Recent Advancements in Chemistry.*-This course will cover those phases of chemistry in which the most recent progress has been made. On certain topics the lectures will be given by specialists in the respective fields covered. course will endeavor to show the 4. Chemistry in America.-This part America has played in the development of chemistry. The lives of those men who have made the greatest contributions to America's chemical development will be stressed. 5. The Influence of Environment on Early Chemistry.-This course will aim to give the student an understanding of the political, economic, social, and philosophical theories which exerted the greatest influence on the origin and early development of chemistry. of the influence of chem-" 6. Chemistry and the World War.-Study ical factors in the European political movements which led to the World War. The part played by chemistry in the World War and the development of the science during the war period. Post-war developments attributable to war-time impetus. Some consideration of probable relations of chemistry to the p'revention, occurrence, and prosecution of future wars. 7. History of C h e d a l Economics.-Interrelations between the development of chemistry and the economic results of such development. Influence of chemical industrial evolution upon the political and economic histories of nations. 8. Contemporary Chemistry Teachers.-Some of the great teachers of chemistry will be studied with special attention to their personalities, methods of presentation, mental habits and attitudes; their intellectual culture and preparation; types of lessons and sources of material for them; selection and use of current literature. Methods of illustration and sources of illustrative material; lecture delivery. 9. The Preparation and Delivery of Lectures.-A study of the technic of preparing lectures, followed by a study of effective methods of delivery and practice in teaching. Educational principles as they affect the audience. There will be personal criticism of content, style, and delivery. 10. Chemical Literature in Teaching.-How to study the current chemical journals to secure new material for courses, and to stimulate the imagination in teaching and research. Reading and interpretation of representative masterpieces and studies in biography for use in teaching.
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JOURNAL on CHEMICAI. EDUCATION
FEBRUARY, 1929
11. The Teaching Value of Chemical History-A study of the expansion of chemistry in ancient and modem times, the development of chemical institutions and the growth of chemical ideas and ideals with special reference to the use which the teacher may make of such material in the presentation of general chemistry to students. 12. Tests and Measures in Chemical Education.-The place of tests and measures in chemical education. Measurable results in chemical education. The development of new tests and measures for chemical education. 13. Psychology of Chemical Education.-A study of the educational psychology of the adolescent period, with reference to its specific application in attaining the objectives of elementary chemical instruction. 14. Content and Organization of Chemical Curricula.-Principles involved; types of material; critical and constructive evaluation of the courses now commonly used in high schools, colleges, and universities. 15. Advanced Principles of Chemical Education.-In this course there will be a study of theories with special attention to those factors which support a dynamic theory of chemical education. ' 16. Contemporary Industrial Chemists.-A study of American and European industrial chemists who have distinguished themselves for their unique leadership. Their personalities and public addresses, inventions, and scientific publications. 17. 'Patents.-The requirements of a good patent. Procedure in applyingfor patents. When apatent should bensed. How to defend apatent. 18. History of Chemical Industries in the United States.-A critical study of the development of chemical industries in the United States, with special reference to the economic development of the country. 19. Future Development of Chemical Industries in -the United States.-The United States will he studied from the standpoint of its undeveloped chemical resources, and the problems which are to be solved before these chemical developments can take place. 20. Chemistry in Countries Other than the United States.-European and other foreign countries will he studied from the standpoint of the influence of their chemical development on the chemistry of the United States. 21. Chemistry in Medicine, Health, and Disease.-A survey of those discoveries which have done most for the advancement of medicine, and a critical analysis of the chemical problems which now stand in the way of further medical development. 22. Chemistry in Agricu1tnre.-A survey of the applications of chemistry to agriculture with a view to determining in what ways chemistry can he applied to the solution of existent agriculture problems. 23. Seminar.-Discussion of research problems in chemical education.
