TEACHING OF COLLEGE CHEMISTRY Much has been said and written, both favorably and unfavorably, about the content of and the methods employed in teaching college chemistry. Probably no new suggestion may be given in this brief paper. A reference to some salient factors, however, may give us a new impetus in the effort to stimulate our students toward reasonable originality and accomplishment. More Or&inality to Stimulate Interest.-With all due respect for the tested and proved principles of sound pedagogy, we frequently come to places in our work, both in classroom instruction and laboratory direction, where originality within reason is the only wise course to take. Our text may be one of the best in every way but the class may not become highly interested if the teacher merely assigns and hears the author's viewpoint from chapter to chapter. The text can and should serve as a guide but cannot take the place of the vitalizing and stimulating influence of the trained and experienced teacher. No two teachers are exactly alike and no two them:, istry departments are exactly alike in their equipment and purposes. We should therefore try to be ourselves and not someone else. If formulated theories of pedagogy keep us from interesting our students we should cut loose and try other methods, realizing that we have only one master pedagogue-the Universe with her unchangeable but fascinating laws of order, harmony, and progres? The eager student will soon realize that chemistry is the science that goes a t the very heart of matter and energy to discover nature's laws and applies them for the welfare and progress of man in medicine and other sciences, in the arts and in the industries. Interest is certain to grow with the worthwhile student when he gets this viewpoint impressed upon him and sees on every hand the resultant progress of the application of these laws. Recently, Irving Langmuir, on receiving the Perkin Medal, made some remarks that we as college teachers may well consider. This is what he said in regard to interest. "In looking back on my own school and college days, i t seems to me that the things of most value were learned spontaneously through interest aroused by a good teacher, while the required work was usually uninteresting." What must be some of the characteristics of a teacher so that he may be able to arouse interest? We probably all agree that, granting a good personality is included, thorough training is one of the first requisites. Thorough training is not a static condition. A teacher might be thoroughly qualified for his duties on completing his graduate work, but in a few years he might not qualify as a thoroughly competent instructor because his training was not continual. Contact with the industries in their many applications of chemistry is another
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requisite and will broaden our viewpoint and increase interest. Our students will benefit from our experience. This contact may be direct or indirect. The various industrial journals relating to chemistry give us this indirect contact. Visits to industrial plants during our vacations give more direct contact but best of all is the spending of some summers in the research laboratories of an industry. The research spirit is another essential for the wide-awake teacher. By carrying on some form of actual research we add fresh fuel to our enthusiasm and there can be no doubt that the students will benefit because of our greater interest in the work. Contents of College Courses.'In another part of his acceptance speech Langmuir makes this statement. "Our schools and universities devote so much effort in imparting information to studehts that they almost neglect the far more important function of teaching the student how t o get for himself what knowledge of any subject he may need." Most chemistry teachers agree fairly well on a general minimum of basic principles, theories, laws, and applications to be included in a college course. This general minimum content has been well discussed and summarized in the several EDUCATION during the last two ., numbers of the JOURNAL of CHEMICAL years. All of us can glean valuable data, get suggestions, new viewpoints, and no little inspiration from a careful reading of these articles. Since the number of our students preparing for medical schools and graduate schools is increasing it is necessary to make our work fairly comprehensive and make it thorough in the fundamentals upon which later courses may be developed. College tex$ give a general outline of the content with varying degrees of stress on the diierent subjects. The individual teacher should use his own judgment as to what should be stressed or omitted or what additional work may be given or emphasized. Training to think and to do should be constantly kept in mind rather than a maximum content. Methods.-The lecture method, for most of our work, has been found to give good results when followed with frequent short written recitations. Hour tests are also given a t stated intervals. The papers are read, mistakes noted, and later these papers are returned to the student. Lecturetable experiments are probably among the most effective means a chemistry teacher can use in first-year work. Here we have the visual and other concrete factors to create interest. Instead of trying to master the preparation and properties of a given substance from the text the student will learn by observation. The student will also gain some ideas of laboratory technic from the lecture-table experiments. Some subjects such as learning to write formulas and equations will require various methods-explanations, drill, discussions of principles involved, and quizzes to find out whether progress is made. Selected outside readings, exhibits from different chemical industries, and occasional motion pictures also form a part of the first-year course. A good list of
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these pictures on the applications of chemistry may be secured from the U. S. Bureau of Mines, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The first-year college course is not complete without definite laboratory work for the student. "We learn to do by doing" is a familiar statement. The purpose of the laboratory work is even more than this statement implies. Not only do we learn to do by intelligent doing but we actually do laboratory work so that we may learn more and acquire power. Whatever the content or the method in college chemistry the teacher must be able to direct the student in the paths of reasonable theory and established facts. He should be able to instruct how to correlate facts and principles. He should thoroughly believe in his work. He should show enough enthusiasm so ab to stimulate his students to the development of their powers.
