THE ADMINISTRATION OF CHEMISTRY IN STATE TEACHERS' COLLEGES THOMAS C. HERNDON, EASTERN STATETEACHERS' COLLEGE.RICHMOND, KENTUCKY
This study attempts to determine the statw of chemistry training and the facilities i n srate teachers' colleges. Basing conclusions on the data from sixty state teachers' colleges, very wide variations i n pactice were found i n almost every item inuestigated, indicating the need of certain standards. Recommendations for a partial curriculum for a chemistry major were almost unanimously for general, organic, and analytical chemistry, with considerable emphasis on physical chemistry. Additionel work for a chemistry major comprised physics, mathematics, biology, foreign language, and education.
. . . . . . A recent issue of the JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION (Oct., 1930) carried a series of interesting articles describing recent chemical developments in the South. Similar articles could be written about any other section of the country. The products of the electric furnace a t Niagara Falls, the meat-packing by-products in Chicago, the metal industries in the North and West, the wood-pulp and paper products of the same regions, are but a few instances cited from an almost endless list that might be detailed to indicate the dependence of modern life on chemical industry. The time is a t hand when i t is imperative that every educated person must know the fundamentals of chemical science to understand the everincreasing changes that are constantly taking place in the world. It is equally important for those individuils who do not pursue higher education to learn the rudiments of chemistry th%t they, too, may better adjust themselves to their environment. Only through a proper adjustment to environment may the highest type of citizenship be realized. The high schools, both junior and senior, have the opportunity and the responsibility of transmitting to the masses of the people a basic nnderstanding of science, including chemistry. An ever-increasing proportion of high-school teachers is being trained in the state teachers' colleges. It is obvious, then, that a great responsibility for the proper training of highschool chemistry teachers rests upon these institutions. It becomes pertinent, therefore, to inquire as to the nature of the offering in chemistry and its administration in the state teachers' colleges. In order to secure the desired information concerning the administration of chemistry in state teachers' colleges, a questionnaire was mailed to the heads of the departments of chemistry in one hundred unselected state teachers' colleges in forty-one states. All of these institutions are fouryear, degree-granting colleges and all are members of the American Association of Teachers' Colleges. Sixty per cent. of the questionnaires were returned. Twenty-eight states were represented in the replies, which were well distributed over the country as a whole. 1448
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The first part of the questionnaire dealt with the types of courses offered, their length, hours in classroom and in the laboratory, and the number of students enrolled in each course. The second part of the questionnaire concerned the teaching staff, the financial support, value of equipment, number of students majoring and minoring in chemistry, and other such matters. The data collected in the questionnaires were compiled and analyzed, and are presented in the following tables. TABLE I Data on Offerings in Chemistry Tilk of Courrc
General Chem. Organic Chem. Qual. Anal. Quant. Anal. Physical Chem. Teach. of Chem Food Chem. Biochemistry Adv. Quant. Organic Preps. Industr. Chem. Survey Course Adv. Inorganic Hist. of Chem. Adv. Qual. Inorg. Preps. Textile Chem. Adv. Organic Miscellaneous
Hour* per Wcckin Clorrrwrn Offersna Rome Mcon
Pnccnlagc of Colleges
Hours per Wenk i n Loborala~ Ronm Mcon
Lenglh of
Coursc i n Wcekr Ronrc Maen
2 5 2.6 2-7 3.9 24-40 1 4 2.4 2-10 4.1 1240 0-3 1.7 3-15 6.2 12-36 &3 1 . 4 3-10 6.7 12-36 1 4 2.7 0-5 2.5 1W6 2 4 2.5 M 0.7 9-20 0-6 3.7 1240 1 3 2.1 1 4 2.4 (t4 2.6 11-40 0-3 1.3 4-12 7.2 1W6 0-2 1.0 6 1 2 8.0 12-36 l+ 2.4 0-10 2.3 12-30 1 4 2.6 M .1.4 11-18 2 4 3.0 2-6 4.0 1240 2-1 2.6 . . . . . ' 12-20 1-2 1.3 4-12 8.0 IS24 0-1 0.8 2-12 6.0 1M8 220-6 3.3 12-20 Offered on demand-edit varies
... ...
..
...
...
35 29 17 22 22 15 17 17 17 21 13 13 22 15 16 15 17
..
Table I shows that the usual offerings by the chemistry departments of state teachers' colleges are general, organic, and analytical chemistry. A fair percentage also offer physical chemistry. The teaching of chemistry, food chemistry, and biochemistry are offered by only about one-fourth of the colleges reporting. Very little emphasis is placed on the history of chemistry or on survey courses. Agricultural chemistry is not offered by the chemistry department of any of the institutions making a report. Neckers and Abbottl have outlined a curriculum for the training of chemistry majors in a state teachers' college. They include general, analytical, organic, and physical chemistry. If this be accepted as a standard, i t is evident that not more than thirty per cent. of the colleges
' NECKE~S AND ABBOTT,''Chemistry Curriculum for Teachers' Colleges," J. C ~ E M . E ~ u c .8, , 1626 (Aug., 1931).
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reporting are offering sufficientchemistry to meet the demands of a major in the subject. Even if only general, organic, and analytical chemistry be required of a major, a check on the original data reveals the fact that but sixty-five per cent. of the colleges offer this combination. These figures indicate that in a t least thirty-five per cent.-perhaps m o r e ~ the f colleges reporting, the departments of chemistry need some reorganization. One outstanding fact shown by Table I is the great divergence of time devoted to, and credit allowed for, a given course in the different colleges. This wide variation prompts the question: What is a course in, say, general chemistry? If there is little agreement on this most fundamental course, there can be but little hope for agreement on other courses. This is a serious defect and should be remedied. TABLE II Miscellaneous Administrative Data Enrolmentincollege .......................................... Enrolment in chemistry.. ..................................... Percentage of total enrolment in chemistry.. .................... Percentage of chemistry students in freshman classes. ............ Number of chemistry majors.. ................................. Number of chemistry minors.. ................................. Number of instructors in department*. ......................... Percentage of colleges . with more than one full-time chemistry instructar ................................................... 55 Number of student assistants.. ......... r . ..................... 2 Percentage of colleges with separate department?, of chemistry.. ... 42 Percentage of colleges with chemistry department combined with 58 other sciences.. ............................................ Number of semester hours of chemistry offered.. ................. 30 5 Number of dserent courses offered**........................... Percentage of colleges offering no chemistry. ................... 3 Percentage of colleges offering less than eighteen semester haws of cbemistry ................................................. 26 Percentage of colleges offering general, qualitative, quantitative, and 65 organic .................................................. 56 Percentage of colleges requiring a laboratory fee.. ................ Laboratory fee per course per semester.. ........................ $2.25 Average chemistry enrolment in colleges with lab. fees.. .......... 127 Average chemistry enrolment in colleges without lab. fees.. ....... 131 Annual departmental income from laboratory fees. ............... $362 .innuel drpartmrntal incume from grncrd maintrnance f m d s . . . . St30 (l42NItl Annual departmental incomr per student . . . . . . . . b . 7 0 W.1-g1'3 Value of laboratory f u n i t w e and fixtures.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$4315$350-%30,000 Value of apparatus and chemicals.. ........................... .%3977 $300-$12,000
* Assuming that a part-time instructor devotes one-half of his time to chemistry. **A course, such as general or organic chemistry, which continues throughout a year is considered as a single course even though it may be catalogd as two or more separate courses.
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Table I1 is largely self-explanatory. A few items, however, merit special attention. The proportion of students enro'led in chemistry, 15%, is rather small. This indicates that the opportunity to popularize chemistry is being neglected. The correlation, 0.66 * 0.056, between total college enrolment and enrolment in chemistry. seems to show that this lack of emphasis is general. Another outstanding fact revealed by this study is that 71% of all chemistry students are in the first course: This points to a high departmental mortality. Possibly, improved instruction in the first year would decrease this mortality. There is a great variation both in the number of courses and the total semester hours offered among the different colleges reporting. It has already been pointed out that there is great variation in the credit allowed for the different courses. These facts considered together indicate that some system for standardizing the offerings in chemistry in state teachers' colleges would be highly desirable. It is to be observed that only about 3.5% of the students are either majoring or minoring in chemistry. The correlation between number of majors and minors and number of semester hours of chemistry offered is 0.63 + 0.06. The inference to be drawn is that more students would pursue higher chemistry if more courses of senior college rank were offered. The institutions reporting seem to be fairly well staffed and supported for undergraduate work. It is somewhat surprising that but few more than half avail themselves of the income to be derived from lahoratory fees, s i n e laboratory fees do not seem to act as a deferrent to students enrolling in chemistry. Tables I11 and IV summarize the replies to the last two questions of the questionnaire, concerning a suggested curriculum for a chemistry major. The recommendations are almost unanimous for general, analytical, and organic chemistry. Considerable emphasis is placed on physical chemistry while astonishingly little thought is given to professional courses in the TABLE nI Courses in Chemistry Recommended for a Chemistry Major
77 8.6 F16 General chemistry Qualitative analysis 77 4.3 2-8 Quantitative analysis 77 5.0 3-10 77 7.2 4-10 Organic chemistry 40 5.0 2-8 Physical chemistry 24 2.5 2-8 Teaching of chemistry 7 3.0 2 4 History of chemistry * About 20% of the colleges reporting failed to make any recommendation.
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TABLE N Requirements Other than Chemistry Recommended for a Chemistry Major Deporlmml
Physics Mathematics
Biolom Foreign language
Education
* About 15%
Parccnlapc of Collegcr Mobng R8rommendolian*
83 85 80 80 80
Numbcr of Semrslcr Xmm Rccmmcndcd Mean Range
10 8 12 0 7.0 11.7 15.0
6-16 2-24 2.6-18 6-24 S30
of the colleges reporting failed to make any recommendation.
teaching of chemistry. A possible explanation of this last point may be that such courses are frequently included in the department of education rather than in the department of chemistry. As to recommendations other than in chemistry, there is almost a unanimity of opinion that physics, mathematics, biology, foreign language, and education should be studied by a student majoring in chemistry. In all the recommendations, both in chemistry and in other departments, there is a wide divergence of opinion as to the number of required semester hours. The suggested requirements total about eighty-nine semester hours, considering the mean values in Tables I11 and IV. Summary (1) Wide variations in practice found in nearly every phase of the administration of chemistry studied i n d h e the need of standardization. (2) Practically all colleges reporting offer some chemistry. (3) Thirty-five per cent. of the colleges reporting are not offeringsufficient chemistry to satisfy the most fundamental training in the science. (4) There are too few students enrolled in chemistry. (5) There is a too-great concentration of students in the freshman classes. (6) There are too few chemistry majors. (7) Insufficientsenior college chemistry is being offered in many colleges. (8) There is a high correlation between number of majors and minors and the number of semester hours of chemistry offered. This indicates that more students would major in chemistry if more hours were offered. (9) Laboratory fees do not decrease enrolment. (10) The departments seem to be fairly well staffed, equipped, and supported. (11) Very little attention is given to the teaching of chemistry in the suggested curriculum for a chemistry major. (12) There is a rather high degree of unanimity as to what subjects a student majoring in chemistry should study but a great diierence of opinion as to the quantity.
