THE TUFTS APPROACH' M. KENT WILSON Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts CRITICISMS OF PRESENT CURRICULA
For several years the Tufts Chemistry Department has been distressed by the fact that many promising students beginning the freshman chemistry course either did not perform as well as expected or actually became completely disenchanted with chemistry as taught a t the college level. The department undertook a complete review of the curriculum. It soon became apparent that there were a number of criticisms which could be leveled a t the Tufts program and college curricula in general. ( 1 ) There amears to be much needless repetition in 'Presented as oart of the Svmnosium in the . ,~~ on New Idpan -
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Four-l'mr Ch~mwtryCurricuom before rht. I)ivi-ion uf Chemiral I < h m r i o r r X I thr I3Ltlrl Mvrting of rhe American Chemirsl Society, New York, September, 1957.
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the college general chemistry course of the material previously covered in the high school. It is sometimes argued that, since the material given in the general chemistry course in college is at a higher level of sophistication than that given in high school, the student really is being exposed to considerably more chemistry. Although the college teacher realizes the level of instruction is higher, very often the student does not realize this until he is hopelessly behind in the course. (2) This repetition between high school and college is followed by needless repetition in the various college chemistry courses. The modern general chemistry course has become essentially elementary physical chemistry. Many of these concepts are repeated in a course in quantitative analysis and finally given in
more rigorous form in the regular physical chemistry course. One wonders if this repetition is defensible in view of our modern educational needs. (3) College curricula contain too much analytical work. Very often the student spends considerable time carrying out specific analytical procedures which will not be used in the future and which will not contribute greatly to his understanding of analytical techniques and procedures. (4) The usual college curriculum contains relatively little inorganic chemistry. It has become painfully clear since World War I1 that inorganic chemistry is extremely important. At the same time very few inorganic chemists are being trained. (5) A major criticism of the American university educational system is that the student tends to learn his information in small boxes which are laheled by course numbers. He soon learns that after passing a course in analytical rhemistry, he can very nearly forget most of the material because he will not be called upon in his undergraduate career to use or reproduce this material in detail. The student thus studies "organic" or "physical" rather than the total science of chemistry. (6) The problem of what to do with a student of advanced training from high school is a troublesome one. One very convenient solution to this problem is to offer several freshman chemistry courses which are of varying difficulty. The well-prepared student can be accelerated in this manner. Another approach to this problem is the one which has been adopted by Brown University, that is, to give a sufficiently different course in the freshman year such that no student feels he is repeatine: work he has had before. (7) Many science curricula have one or more service courses appended to them. One finds general chemistry for nonchemical engineers, or physical chemistry for premedical students. Since there really is only one science of chemistry, one wonders if courses deliberately slanted in a given direction perform a useful p ~ r p o s e . ~More often than not they give the students subjected to them a completely false idea of what chemistry is and little ability to use chemistry in new situations. An additional reason for dispensing with these service courses is the lack of manpower to handle multiple offerings. To see if the above opinions were shared by the students, the undergraduate chemical society was asked to poll the present students in the department from freshmen through graduate students on the above questions and any other aspect of chemical education or student-st& relationship the society wished to include. At the same time a brief questionnaire was sent to chemistry department majors who had graduated within the last ten years. In general it was found that the student opinion coincided rather closely with the opinion held by the faculty. Most of the freshmen did not feel they were bored by the conventional general chemistry course in college nor that material was being repeated. However, when the present seniors were asked about the =For further data summarising opinions on this question, readers are urged to refer to the paper presented by Jack Vanin derryn as part of this Symposium (to appear in THIS JOURNAL May, 1958).
freshman course, they admitted they remembered nothing from the course and had the feeling that all the material had been covered a t least twice since then. Many of the conventional organic laboratory experiments were criticized by our junior and senior students as being mere "potboiling." However, it was suggested that the beginning student might well find these experiments fascinating. The staff felt rather strongly that our present premedical students, who make up a considerable fraction of our enrollees, were not getting sufficient training in physical chemistry. This opinion is shared by many medical schools. University Requirements. As is usual in a liberal arts college, the university requires certain general foundation credits of all students. At Tufts, the following requirements are in effect: English. 6 credits in English composition or in English literature according to needs. Foreign language. 6 credits above the elementary level or a satisfactory reading knowledge of one of these languages as determined by examination. Literature. 6 credits in one department. Soeial studies. 6 credits in one department. Seienees and mathematics. 6 credits in one department. In the student's department of concentration he must take at least 36 credits but not more than 50.
For many years a t Tufts there has been a special degree leading to the Bachelor of Science in Chemistry which did not come under the general requirements of the College of Liberal Arts. Thus, a student by taking this special degree in chemistry could obtain considerably more training in the sciences and mathematics than would be possible under the simple B.A. program with a major in chemistry. The department felt that although the special degree of Bachelor of Science in Chemistry had served well in the past, the changing educational picture now dictated a more liberal approach to course electives. Therefore i t was suggested that this special degree be dropped and all chemistry majors be bound by the distribution requirements of the College of Liberal Arts. CHEMISTRY CURRICULUM
First Year. With the abme degree requirements in mind and the impression that the Brown program bad been quite successful, the department eventually evolved a program that has some similarity to the Brown approach. The first course in chemistry for all those students whose professional interest dictates some familiarity with the subject contains about an equal amount of inorganic and organic subject matter. No attempt is made to make this general chemistry. This is the first example of the department's policy to attempt to lead a student deeply into a narrow aspect of the field rather than to give a series of omnibus courses. All beginning students, whether they have had high school chemistry or not, register for this course. The uneven preparation of the students is compensated for by using some of the early laboratory periods as drill sessions to acquaint those who have had no previous high school chemistry with nomenclature, the elementary facts of atomic theory, formula and equation writing, and other simple operations of chemistry. When this has been accomplished, a start is made in elementary aliphatic chemistry and continued through JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
unsaturated compounds with some time spent on the examination of petroleum and polyene and vinyl plastics. Alcohols and ethers are then considered along with reactions of water including hydrolysis and acids and bases. The chemistry of H2S, including mercaptans and disulfides, is then investigated. Some consideration is given to the ammonia system of chemistry, including reactions in liquid ammonia to indicate to the student that water is not the only solvent in the universe. Some nonmathematical aspects of equilibrium are introduced in the commercial synthesis of ammonia and nitric acid. The concept of oxidation-reduction is introduced, which leads to a discussion of aldehydes, ketones, and organic acids. Sulfur chemistry is revisited in the form of some of its oxides and sulfuric acid. This leads to a discussion of esters with the attendant elaboration of equilibrium concepts and some discussion of weak acids and pH. The last few lectures of the course are intended to indicate the behavior of some typical metals and some properties of metallic bonds. This course is consciously made nonmathematical. Second Year. The beginning mathematics course now gives some work in integral and differential calculus which enables our second course in chemistry t o be beginning physical chemistry in which calculus is used with no apology. Third Year. The junior year is taken up with a full course of inorganic chemistry which has the physical chemistry course as a prerequisite and is based heavily on the experimental approach to molecular structure. At the same time the students in the fall term take a course in organic chemistry which begins where the freshman course left off and includes topics in stereochemistry, the reactions of polyfunctional compounds and the behavior of aromatic systems. This course coincides rather closely with the second semester of a standard course in organic chemistry. In the spring term the students take a one-semester course in analysis which includes both volumetric and gravimetric methods. No attempt is made to teach the students specific analytical schemes, but to acquaint them with the use of an analytical balance and various volumetric equipment. fllectiues. A concentration in chemistry is rounded out with the election of a t least three semesters of work on the senior-graduate level. The original intention was to initiate a comprehensive examination
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a t the end of the senior year for all chemistry concentrators. This would give an impetus to study all aspects of the science thoughout the college career. This request was tabled by the faculty a t large while a university-wide study of the desirability of the comprehensive examination is under way. In addition to the chemistry course indicated, the students are required to take two years of mathematics and three semesters of physics, in addition to a foreign language, preferably German or Russian. The above program cuts down considerably on the number of required courses over what was included in the special degree of Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. However, by diminishing repetitive work and regrouping much of the material, it is believed that more course content is included in the new program than was present in the old. The new program gives considerable freedom for electives in other fields, but also requires the student t,o take some advanced courses in chemistry. PREMEDICAL PROGRAM
Tufts University has a special field of concentration (chemistry-biology major) which students with medical intentions can take. Under this program with the new curriculum the premedical student takes one year of elementary mathematics which now includes the calculus, one year of elementary physics, the freshman chemistry course, the first semester of the elementary physical chemistry course which includes work in thermodynamics, the one semester course in analysis and one semester in.organic chemistry. Thus he is required to take two and a half courses in the chemistry department. We feel rather strongly that requiring the chemistry-biology major to take the first semester of the regular physical chemistry course will be much more useful to him than the previously elective onesemester course in physical chemistry for premedical students. CONCLUSIONS
Since this program just started in the fall of 1957, only limited experience has been obtained with the freshman course. Obviously it is much too early to tell just how successful the program will be. The staff members are very enthusiastic about the program and we have every reason to expect that some of this enthusiasm can be transmit.ted to the students.
