Fisk University I. Wesley Elliott Nashville, TN 37208
To improve the "art of teaching chemistry" and especially to increase the role of students in the learning of chemistry, the chemistry faculty has elected to emphasize three activities: (1) improving chemistry problem-solvingskills, (2) reinvigorating laboratory work, and (3) supporting student-directedprograms. (1)The faculty will attempt to identify the kinds of problems students encounter, to design an early test to measure and rank the students' abilities, to devise with the h e l ~ of counselors and Deer tutors a s u.~.~ l e m e n tproal gram tb overcome the deiciencies, and later to evaliate these efforts through grade performance records and a post test stressing the elements worked on. (2) To overcome attitudes that treat chemistni lab as either a bore or an irrelevancy, we shall seek new approaches to reconnect laboratory exercises and results with knowledge fostered in lecture sessions. Faculty will design a laboratory program mixing a series of background experiments on basic techniques and measurements with a larger team project on either a theoretical topic or a socially relevant problem. Students will participate in the organization of the class into teams, the assignment of ef~ ~final -----oral ~ re ~~ o r t s of each team. In addition to forts., and grading student work i i laboratory, the faculty will assess the attitude of the student to these new laboratorv -ex~eri. ments and evaluate their success by a questionnaire and a limited number of structured interviews with students a t the end of the term. (3) A kev element of the Fisk-F'tizer Dromams is a Fisk ch&istryry~lurnniVisitation Program in which students, through their own Black Chemists Organization (Fisk chap;er of NOBCChE), will serve asuhosts, inviting alumni chemists back to the campus for two-day visits. The eligible alumni will be Black chemists who have earned the PhD after leaving Fisk, and we shall encourage bringing in both younger and older alumni to expose students to a variety of experiences in graduate study, research, and professional opportunities. Other student activities, from on-campus poster presentations that include other science departments to attending and participating in professional meetings away from Fisk, will be supported through the Pfizer grant. ~~
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Johnson C. Smith University Benjamin A. Dias Charlotte, NC 28216
Johnson C. Smith University's Chemistry Department proposes to develop a 25-hour-long minicourse in problemsolving that will be taught to students enrolled in general chemistry it is our opinion that students who take the general chemistrv course encounter breakdowns when thev are confronted with problem-solving exercises. More specificallv l vmathematics thev " thev " find it difficult to a ~ "~the have learned to the science they are doing. In order to address this problem, we plan to do the following: (1)Develop a minicourse in problem-solving with the assistance of a member of the Mathematics Department who teaches the math course containing most, if not all, of the math concepts the students encounter in general chemistry. The course will be team taught. The math instructor introduces the concept, then develops and works .&
problems in the manner in which it is taught in the math class. The chemistry instructor writes and solves chemistry problems basedon the same concept. Both the math and chemistry problems involve the same expression, setup, manipulation, and eventual solution. In doing so, we hope to take the student to the "boundary" where mathematics meets chemistry so that he or she will be able to solve problems in general chemistry. A bank of practice ~roblemswill be develo~edfor further student ~racticeas well. Instruction will bebone in the "Writing an; Speaking Across the Curriculum" format. thus em~hasizins!the connection between communication and problem-solving skills. (2) In order to provide tutorial, practice in problem solving. -. and studenbcentered leamine. -. we also DroDose . . to develop computer-assisted and computer-managed software materials. These materials will be keyed to the bank of practice problems developed in the course and also to the methods used to solve the ~roblemsin class. The tutorial package allows the studeni to get drill and practice and receive immediate feedback to responses. In addition, the software will be used to monitor sthdents'use of time, generate exam permits, and score responses. Other software materials will be acquired that will give students a broader variety of problems for practice purposes.
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Mount Holyoke College Kevin L. Prime and Kenneth L. Willlamson South Hadley, MA01075
The develo~mentof microscale laboratorv ex~erimentation and receh dramatic improvements h t
