edited by
J. DUDLEY HERRON Purdue Unlverslty
West Lafayette. lndoana 47907
High School Chemistry: A Vehicle for Learning Basic Objectives
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E d w a r d L. Waterman Rocky Mountain High School 1300 West Swallow Road Fort Collins, CO 80526 Many teachers feel that the recent trend toward "hack to the basics" has compromised the integrity of high school chemistry courses for college-bound students. Perhaps this is because substantial amounts of subject matter have been replaced by less challenging material having to do with hasic skills. However, Iview teaching chemistry as an opportunity to integrate challenging ideas and concepts with basic skills. Thus, integrity is maintained. Chemistry at Rocky Mountain High School emphasizes the masterv of three -general objectives: 1) The student communicates effectively.
The student demonstrates a working knowledge of mathematics. 3) The student applies his or her acquired knowledge (thinksand S solves problems). 2)
I use chemistry as a vehicle to teach these objectives. The H subject matter of chemistry is relatively unimportant com0 pared with mastery of communication, mathematics, and
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problem-solving skills. Once these skills are developed, the content of chemistry can he learned in colleges and universities all over the country. My students have a wide range of interests, abilities, and goa!s. Some are college-hound future pre-med, pre-vet, and eng~neeringstudents. Others have no desire to go to college. Some will need a formal knowledge of chemistry; others will not. They all have one thing in common-they need to master communication, mathematics, and problem-solving skills in order to function effectively in today's educated society. The subject matter of chemistry lends itself to the teaching of fundamental skills. Chemistry is sufficiently challenging for students a t all levels. There are topics and concepts that make it an excellent vehicle for teaching basic skills. I teach these skills in the following ways: (1) The Student Communicates Effectively Three types of exercises are used in the development of communication skills: essays, reference papers, and laboratory notebooks. Durine the earlv. Dart . of the vear. the students are given a weekly ql~otatiun1,) a notable pwsonality, usually n scientist. The uuule.~generally contan ideas whirh arr relevant to science and are used, when appropriate, in conjunction with subject matter. The students are asked to write a short essay expressing their ~riginalideas concerning the thought behind the quote. Examples are ~~~
"Imagination is mare important than knowledge."
The students respond with a surprisina number of different themes from a singlt: qtwte. Ilc~wwer,nmtrnt is not gr&d. Essavs are designated "satisfactory" if they contain nu mishose with snellinz" snelled words a i d no sentence fraements. " mistakes and sentence fragments are graded "unsatisfactorv." '?his system allows the student to develop his communication skills and enables me to identifv those students who have problems. I have learned that students will live up to my expectations, and it is important to establish standards early. Too often teachers tend to become lackadaisical about requiring students to write and spell correctly. This is reflected in their communication skills. After two years of this program, student evaluation is generally favorable. Students with good communication skills like it because it is a chance to excel a t something they do well. Students needing help in witing generally recognize this need and appreciate the opportunity for help. Of course, there are some students who dislike it entirely, but learning isn't always fun. Twice during the vear, each student is asked to write a formal reference pap& on a topic of personal interest that is related to current chemistry. These projects help students apply their writing skills in a formal paper. Students generally have no trouble finding current topics which specifically interest them. I have received papers on topics ranging from the nutrition of athletes to recombinant DNA. One of the best wavs to i m ~ r o v ewritten communication skills in chemistry is to requiie each student to keep a permanent laboratory notebook. The emphasis here is on the efficient organization and interpretation of data. The importance of accurate record keeping and the ability to communicate data in a logical, meaningful way is essential to science. Thus, the laboratory notebook is an excellent vehicle for teaching communication skills. l.alxmtorirs nn. ma~nlyntart:vatiunal i n nature. 1 llsr them to actiwtr the itudenta' interi,;ts in the application tr) to e\.eryday life. For example, we do ,I col~rimc.tri( detern~inationof'ph
