Chemical Education Today
ACS Presidential Election
Statement on Educational Issues by G. A. Crosby
Two years ago I focused on science education issues and I proposed programs that the American Chemical Society could initiate to address two of them. In the interim the magnitude of these problems has become greater but the public, including the members of the scientific elite, have not yet grasped the seriousness of our national predicament. Signs of the Nation’s dissatisfaction with its schools are everywhere. The general malaise regarding the public schools has spread to the community colleges, four-year colleges, and universities. The buzzwords are access, affordability, and quality, and it is not yet clear that these three goals for students are compatible, particularly within a single institution. Impacting each and all is the evolution of technology. For our own science of chemistry the problems are compounded, since chemistry encompasses both the theoretical and the experimental, depends on physics and mathematics, and is a unique blend of formal, concrete, and intuitive thinking. Indeed, it is difficult to find a more challenging, exciting, and rewarding intellectual endeavor. Nonetheless, to too many students chemistry appears stilted, boring, unduly difficult, and abstruse. To alter this perception is a formidable task, but one must start somewhere, and I propose two educational initiatives: •
to revitalize preservice undergraduate curricula for future teachers
•
to mount a national professional development program for inservice teachers
In my opinion a competent teacher corps is the key to educational improvement, and this is a need that can be addressed by professional groups such as the American Chemical Society. Moreover, we already have the guidelines for change. They are included in, among others, the NSF publication “Shaping the Future” and in the ACS publication “Chemistry in the National Science Education Standards”. Revitalized Preservice Curricula I propose that the ACS mount a vigorous campaign to involve the scientists at the Nation’s colleges and universities in the education of high school science teachers. This involvement must be different from the traditional one, however. We must accept that most chemistry teachers are assigned to teach more than that one subject. We must be more open in our approach, be willing to design programs to accommodate the real needs of the teachers rather than their desires, and be prepared to abandon ineffective methods. We chemists must be willing to think broadly, to recognize that these 1108
students need a new type of instruction and new kinds of courses in physics, computers, and modern biology as well as in chemistry. This is an expanded vision, but not an impossible goal. It will require us to solicit the aid of professional educators and those in other science disciplines to help us produce individuals who can teach to the National Science Education Standards. I regard this as an educational imperative. Because of its many significant programs and its deliberative bodies concerning most areas of education, the ACS is the natural professional organization to promote the involvement of scientists in the education of teachers and to forge new programs to break the mold of current undergraduate curricula for all students, not only for prospective teachers. This will require a long-term commitment, but the time to begin is now! Each day we equivocate, the problems become more serious for all Americans. Inservice Professional Development Program I also propose that we launch a National Teacher Professional Development Program to improve the physics, chemistry, and computer science knowledge of a significant cadre of the Nation’s current high school teachers. This should be a high-quality program leading to a graduate degree in molecular sciences. Again, I consider this an imperative in order for the Nation’s schools to be able to educate students for responsible citizenship and economic viability in the 21st century. I propose that the ACS lead a coalition of academe, the federal government, and a large segment of the private sector to mount and support such a program, a National effort that will make an enormous impact within a few years. Using academic sites around the country for intense course and laboratory instruction in summers, employing distance education to continue course work during the academic year, and making use of federal and industrial installations for capstone laboratory experiences, we can jump-start the Nation’s high schools in the adoption of new teaching methods, new curricula, modern assessment techniques, and the use of technology. The ACS, the largest science society in the world, possesses the muscle to make this happen. To carry out this agenda will take money, of course, but first we must secure the commitment of a large number of scientists/educators in our ranks. The ACS is a world leader in science education, ranging from the preparation of educational materials to the publishing of magazines and journals to the generation of examinations to the writing of textbooks. I am now proposing that we devote some of our energies and resources directly to the education of teachers, and, if I am successful in the forthcoming election, I will place the two initiatives addressed above at the top of my agenda. Glenn A. Crosby is in the Department of Chemistry, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4630; email:
[email protected]; http://gacrosby.chem.wsu.edu.
Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 77 No. 9 September 2000 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu
