rwms and laboratories, with a concomitant emphasis on learning by doing rather than by listening. There will be extensive computer utilization for allowing interactive independent study and self-testing, and for nomenclature, cbkmical bonding, etc. Appropriate uses of information technolo~ieswill reduce dramatically the amount of time needed f i r convcntlonal rlassroom l&turinR, and provide, instead, time for identifying and understanding the unity, coherence, and relevance o f various chemicd concepts. Laboratory settings will stress group-learning and teamoriented exneriments so that students mav in - coooerate . solving laboratory problems without merely following a cookbook. and in some cases. without the wsts of ~roviding each student with a full set of laboratory tools. h plan broad revision of the curriculum, two types of workshops will be held. Faculty from small colleges, where innovative educational modes have already been introduced, will be invited to the first workshop to present ideas and discuss ways to implement such changes in the environment of a large university. A second workshop will invite participants form various Michigan State University departments that require chemistry courses a s part of their curriculum. This workshop will focus on planning actual course outlines to better serve the needs of the clients, while maintaining the elements of the proposed curricular revisions.
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sion of a new teaching model, Workshop Chemistry, piloted a t the College with NSF support. The model emphasizes collaborative learning and creates more active roles for students in the teaching and learning processes, moving away from the passive learning of the lecture mode. The preliminary design of course modules that will form the basis of the Workshop Chemistry curriculum is a key aspect of the planning process. The modules can include any combination of laboratory, computer and problem solving work. The project directors will work with faculty collaborators from the senior and communitv college levels to translate their ideas into module out1in"es. ~hLoutcomeof the ~ l a n n i n g phase will be a detailed olan for s~ecification of the course modules and how they 211 be integrated into the curriculum. The planning process a s well a s the final project will involve a s partners faculty in other science disciplines, engineering, health sciences, architecture and education, a s well as individuals from industry; this will facilitate t h e design of a curriculum which promotes students' ability to apply chemistry concepts to other fields. Communicating Chemistry. A Planning Proposal for Changing the Chemistry Curriculum. - . Leonard W. Fine Columbiauniversity New York, NY 10027
Revitalizing Scientific Inquiry In The Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum David W Craig Hobart and William Smith Colleges $50,000 Geneva, NY 14456
A master plan will be developed for making sweeping changes in what we teach in chemistry and how we teach it, in light of revolutionary ways for improved learning that will be widely available before the end of this decade. At the heart of the svstemic chanees orooosed is a broadThe structure of the undergraduate chemistry curricuening of the curriculum across traditional academic and lum is determined by the American Chemical Society Com~rofessionalboundaries to better reflect the needs of a Dromittee on Professional Training (CPT). While the curricuductive lifetime in society for students of different backlar standards established by the CPT have succeeded in mounds. abilities and interests. At the same time. bv condefining and regularizing iducational standards for the ceiving ; new curriculum plan from the top down, i t \;ill be training of professional chemists, chamzing student popupossible to produce one that is inclusive. not exclusive. al1ationsLave created pressures onthis &rricular structure. iowing those who complete the major tb share ideas i n d This curriculum planning project is designed to enhance develop points of view and attitudes that have a wmmon the cducatlonal c x p e r l m ~ e ~both o f majors and non-mnijor;t origin with those students who drop away earlier into alby modelmg the i~ducatlonalprocess more closely in paralternate careers. For those who do drop away, the curriculel to the wav in which scientific discoverv occurs. Curriculum plan provides a realistic sense of what is exciting and lar structur& and support materials w k be designed to important in chemistry and how it fits into their lives. Proemuhasize Droblem solvine. ~ ~ l i c a t i o n s posed curriculum changes depend on delivery systems that -. interdisci~linarv " a .. of chemistry, and increased ease of access to chemical intake advantage of the technological transformation that is formation. This eoal will be accom~lishedthrough the efpresently altering learning through electronic communicaforts of five curriculum initiatives. Four-person teams setion and visualization of information. This planning prolected from primarilv u n d e r g r a d u a t e colleges will oosal will have a sienificant i m ~ a c it n brineine about participate inihese iruhatwes. They are ~ o d u l a Course r change in the entireehemistry curriculum a r ~ i l u m b i a Desim Initiative: Laboratow Innovation Initiative; Interand it will be transferable to chemistrv- denartments in . medGte and Advanred ~nterdisci~linar? Courie Initiative; other institutions. Other institutions working on this p q Visuillizatlon and Database Access Initiative: and Assessect are IIT. MIT, Stevens Instituw, Northwcstcrn. Wisconment Tools Initiative. The Collaborating institutions are sin, ~ o r t h c a r o ~ u a . Allentown College, Buffalo State College, Finger Lakes Community College, Hobart & William Smith Colleges, Enhancing Interdisciplinary Interactions Through a Modular Science Curricula James Madison University, Millersville University, Pennsylvania State University, River College, Rochester InstiGilbert~.Pacey tute of Technology, University of Pittsburgh, York College Miami University $49,997 of Pennsylvania. Oxford,OH 45056 -
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A Workshop Chemistry Curriculum David K. Gosser CUNY City College New York, NY 10031
$49,995
City College requests support for a planning process leadine to the redesien and modernization of the undergraduate chemistry Grriculum a t City College and partner community colleges. The planning will focus on exten-
Through t h e development of a modular approach to chemistry and relate sciences, we propose to address the following issues. Students: student pool is bifurcated into well-prepared and ill-prepared "at-risk" students; students with interdisci~linarvinterests must decide amone traditional majors; siienceiiteracy among the nonscience students is extremelv low: student learning is more visual. making the lecture firmat less effective. ~ ~ s t r u c t i orapid n: expansion of science has over-extended curricular content
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Number 1 January 1994
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("more is good" philosophy); liberal education needs preclude expansion of science requirements for majors; research experiences are too focused a t the senior level; the divisional structure of Chemistry (and, to some extent, the departmental structure of science)is inconsistent with the practice of science. Our premises are that: a comprehensive overhaul of chemistrv instruction (both structural and content) is needed; anUincremental'approach will not achieve the objectives of improved instruction; inquirybased instruction should replace the content-based approach to many topics in order to better reflect the practice of science; current curricula lead to wasteful duplication of material, particularly among departments; curriculum reform should be based on a top-down plan that emphasizes student outcome in the development of the model. The Continuity of Chemistry: A Demonstration Curriculum Jeffrey D. Kovac University of Tennessee Knoxville Knoxville, TN 37996
$44,744
Our curriculum proposal emphasizes the continuity of chemistry. We imagine the curriculum as a highly-structured minimal core embellished with electives. Throuehout the curriculum we will emphasize the major themes of characterization of chemical svstems and chemical reactions and dynamics. Within those themes, important topics such as euuilibrium and oeriodicitv will also be developed. In thelower-divisioncore we intend to teach the material in such a way that i t will not have to be retaught in later courses. Mastery-learning concepts will aid in this effort. The laboratory will be thoroughly integrated into the courses with chemicals returned to the center of the curriculum. Modern educational technology will be utilized wherever possible. We will use the twin themes of history and ethics to emphasize that chemistry is also a branch of the liberal arts. Our goal is to produce an innovative curriculum which our wlleagues around the country will be eager to implement. ~
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Multiple Entry Into Undergraduate Chemical Sciences
Texas a t Austin, Trinity University, St. Edwards University, and Austin Community College) will be able to contribute substantially to the develofment of'the curriculum and also he directly involved in instruction. We will also interface with institutions outside the primary group of four, seeking their involvement in this planning stage as well as possible participation. Learning Chemistry By Doing What Chemists Do Brock Spencer Belo t Co lege Belot, WI 53511
Chemists investieate nroblems i m ~ o r t a n to t societv in teams that apply cKemieal concepts A d modem tech;oloeies to answer challeneine We DroDose to re- - questions. . &ructure the first two years of chemistry so that all students experience directly how chemists do chemistry. We will develop, test, and implement theme-based courses that start with important interdisciplinary problems and use open-ended group projects to apply chemical principles and techniques to their solution. Relevance, learning chemistry h i using it, and a cooperative learning environment will better serve students with diverse learning styles and the non-scientists, pre-professionals, and other science majors who comprise the vast majority in those first two vears. Interdisci~linarvthemes will reauire continuing &tact with other disciplines and with scientists in industry and government. Restructuring will require better articulation with curricula in related disciplines and in the sequence and content of u ~ ~ e r - l e vchemistrv el courses. The barticipating liberal a& colleges ( ~ e l o i t , Carleton, Colorado, Grinnell, Hope, Kalamazoo, Knox, Lawrence, Macalester, Rhodes, St. Olaf, Wooster) and research universities (Chicago, Washineton - St. Louis) already have experience working togeth& on chemistry curricular reform. By collaborating with Project Kaleidoscope, they will be able to involve a much more diverse group of schools in making systemic and sustainable changes in undergraduate chemistry education The Chemistry Curriculum: Establishing New Traditions Paul M. Treichel
University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison. WI 53706 We have devised a sequence of instruction t h a t addresses many of the concerns that have been raised about the quality of lower-division education in chemistry. At this point, it re~resentsa workine ~ l a that n will be extensiveli modifiediu the next year g w e gather background information and advice from institutions both within and outside the core group of four. The core of the first two years is a two-semester sequence that covers the essences of organic, bioorganic, and bio-inorganic chemistry. This core is preceded and followed by a group of one-semester courses that. on the one hand. introduce the basic elements of chemist& and, on the other, deal in greater detail with s~ecific areas that bridee .. the class divisions. This new orogram of inittruction will require a body of teaching materiuls that. 3t best. must be broueht toecthcr from manv different sources.' Other essential teaching aids m u i t he develo~edfrom scratch. In the next nine months we intend to expiore available resources and to begin the development of these new materials. We are especially keen on developing integrated packages of audio-visual aides to be used in lectures as well as hands on. interactive packaees ofaud~o-visualaides to he used fiw student self-st-udyFurther, we anticipate that fuculty from other departments and culleges within the uni\wsities involved (University of ~~~
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Journal of Chemical Education
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$49,834
A consortium led by the Chemistry Department of the University of Wisconsin-Madison will develop a new chemistry curriculum that will have three major components: integrating general, analytical, and organic chemistry into a two-year sequence built around a topic-oriented approach; introducing active-learning techniques such as cooperative group learning, discovery learning, and computer-aided instruction into all courses throughout the curriculum; and develo~inea variety of intellectual tools that students can applykff&tively tosignificant problems, and that can be packaged and disseminated to a variety of institutions. A large number of individuals representing a wide variety of types of institutions will participate in a curriculum plaMiig conference that will generate a large set of ideas from which specifie curriculum reforms can be developed. In two subsequent workshops a smaller group will select the best of these ideas and develop a plan for com~rehensivecurriculum reform. UW-Madison's tradition of commitment and excellence in undergraduate chemistry education, our ability to attract many excellent chemists/educators as participants in the planning conference, and our established means of dissemination make us uniq'uely suited to carry out curriculum reform.
