Chemical Education Today
Especially for High School Teachers
by J. Emory Howell
Ideas and Resources in This Issue
photo by Jerry J. Jacobsen
Secondary School Feature Articles This issue contains a broad spectrum of topics of potential 䊕 JCE Classroom Activity #23: Magic Sand, p 40A interest to high school teachers, including chemical safety, history, demonstrations, laboratory activities, electrochemistry, 䊕 Determination of the Fundamental Electronic Charge small group learning, and instructional via the Electrolysis of Water by Brittney Hoffman, Elizabeth Mitchell, Petra Roulhac, Marc Thomes, software. In his report on articles puband Vincent M. Stumpo, p 95 lished recently in The Science Teacher, Steve Long includes annotated references from that journal, and also from of the model’s use on student learning in both high JCE, that provide timely and practical school and introductory college chemistry information (pp 21–22). The chemical courses. Particularly encouraging were the learnsignificance of several anniversaries that ing gains made by students with weak academic will occur in the year 2000 are discussed backgrounds. in an article by Paul Schatz (pp 11–14). Water droplets on a surface of An action research project focused on student Scientists and inventors mentioned in- Magic Sand. perspectives of small-group learning is described by clude Dumas, Wöhler, Goodyear, JoliotTowns, Kreke, and Fields (pp 111–119). Although Curie, Krebs, Pauli, Kjeldahl, and Haworth. Several discovthe project involved upper-division undergraduate university eries are also discussed, including development of the voltaic students, action research can be useful to any chemistry teacher pile, the use of chlorine to purify water, and the discovery of who wishes to systematically examine and improve instrucelement 97, berkelium. This is the fourth consecutive year tional methods and strategies. This article may be especially that Schatz has written an anniversaries article (1–3). Alinteresting to readers who frequently employ small-group though most readers probably do not plan to be teaching in learning techniques in their classroom. the years 2097–3000, these articles can make a nice addiAdvances in the technology of multimedia delivery are tion to your file of readily available historical information having an impact on the format in which new JCE Software for use now in meeting NSES Content Standard G (4 ). In releases are available. In particular, CD-ROM and Internet contrast to the short historical summaries, an in-depth acbrowsers are becoming increasingly important as the medium count of the work of Herman Boerhaave is provided by Trinand method of access respectively. To better understand what ity School (NY) teacher Damon Diemente. You cannot reis available for use in your classroom, read the article by Jon call having heard of Boerhaave? Diemente explains in deHolmes and Nancy Gettys (pp 135–136). tail how Boerhaave’s scientific observations, imperfect though Congratulations to Winners of ACS Regional Awards they were, contributed significantly to the understanding of temperature and heat by scientists who followed him. The winners of the 1999 regional awards in high school Chemical demonstrations attract the interest of most of us, chemistry teaching are listed on page 26. Our congratulations and Kathy Thorsen discusses several that appeared in Chem go to each of these individuals who, as stated in the announce13 News during the past year (pp 18–20). Included are demment, have “demonstrated excellence in teaching, exceptional onstrations relating to LeChâtelier’s principle, electronegaability to challenge and inspire students, extracurricular work, tivity, and the synthesis and reactions of carbon monoxide. and willingness to keep up-to-date in the field”. Additional Ideas for investigating the hydrophobic nature of Magic Sand information about the awards and the nomination process are given in JCE Classroom Activity #23 (pp 40A–40B) and through which the regional awards and the national James in an article by Robert Goldsmith (p 41). The 1999 Nobel Bryant Conant Award are selected can be found at http://www. Prize in chemistry and the research that led to the awards acs.org/awards. are discussed in an article beginning on p 14. An account High School Day Program at San Francisco in March of the 1998 winners appeared in last January’s issue (5), providing the basis for another convenient resource file. If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area be sure to circle For many students electrochemistry is among the least Monday, March 27, on your calendar now. Carolyn Abbott favorite of the topics included in first- or second-year high school and her organizing committee have planned a full day of inchemistry—despite the many interesting applications that stuteresting activities. The full schedule of the day’s activities dents encounter every day. There are many reasons why stuwill be published in the March issue of JCE. dents find the topic difficult, but misconceptions about curLiterature Cited rent flow seem to present the largest obstacle to developing a conceptual understanding of electrochemical processes. Two 1. Schatz, P. F. J. Chem. Educ. 1997, 74, 12. university faculty members and a high school teacher, 2. Schatz, P. F. J. Chem. Educ. 1998, 75, 23–25. Huddle, White, and Rogers, have developed a teaching model 3. Schatz, P. F. J. Chem. Educ. 1999, 76, 8–11. to help students confront and overcome their misconceptions 4. National Science Education Standards, National Academy Press: (pp 104–110). They have conducted studies of the impact Washington DC, 1996; pp 200–204. JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu • Vol. 77 No. 1 January 2000 • Journal of Chemical Education
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