REPORT pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Highlights from The Science Teacher Welcomes Two New Contributors Erica K. Jacobsen,*,† Steve Long,‡ Carole Magnusson,§ and Susan Reslewic|| †
The Dalles, Oregon 97058, United States Rogers High School, Rogers, Arkansas 72758, United States § Rosemont High School, Sacramento, California 95827, United States Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Manhattan College, Riverdale, New York 10471, United States
)
‡
ABSTRACT: This article provides a brief history of the Journal of Chemical Education’s Highlights from The Science Teacher feature column, bids farewell to its long-time contributor Steve Long, and introduces two new contributors to the column. KEYWORDS: High School/Introductory Chemistry, Professional Development FEATURE: Reports from Other Journals
’ CHANGES AHEAD FOR HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE SCIENCE TEACHER For over a decade, the Journal of Chemical Education (JCE) feature, Highlights from The Science Teacher, has provided readers with synopses of recent The Science Teacher (TST) articles of interest to chemical educators and has connected these articles to additional related resources in JCE. TST is a peer-reviewed journal published by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) for its high school teacher members. As TST includes material from all areas of science, not only chemistry, the JCE feature provides an easy way to view highlights of TST articles most relevant to chemistry teachers. Steve Long, a high school chemistry teacher, has been at the helm of this feature since its introduction in the Journal through his last column in 2010 (Box 1). A call for new contributors to the column1 resulted in the selection of both Carole Magnusson and Susan Reslewic to carry on the Highlights column. This article shares Steve’s parting words and introduces Susan and Carole to readers.
resources and information with current high school teachers and embracing even more readers. With the superb JCE staff and talented new writers for this project, accomplishing this challenge should be manageable. Thank you for the opportunity to have served you through my articles. Carole Magnusson Introduces Herself
I have not always been a teacher: I started teaching only 25 years ago. After graduating from the University of California at San Diego with a B.A. in chemistry, I worked for seven years at Scripps Institute of Oceanography in San Diego as a lab technician, analyzing shell and water samples for the isotopic ratios C13/C12 and O18/O16. In my late twenties, I went back to school and earned a teaching credential in the physical sciences, which allowed me to teach chemistry, physics, and physical science at the high school level. During my first several years of teaching, I taught all three subjects; for the past several years, however, I’ve taught only chemistry. In the early 1990s, I became acquainted with the Chemistry in the Community (ChemCom) curriculum, which I have found quite effective for teaching chemistry. In fact, I currently teach five classes of ChemCom, and hope to teach it for the rest of my career. I began my teaching career at Sacramento High School in Sacramento, California. When Sacramento High School converted to a charter school in 2003, I moved to the brand new high school in Sacramento, Rosemont High School. I had the unique opportunity to open a new school and start a new science department as the department chair. Although teaching does take up a large part of my day, I do enjoy being involved in activities outside of school. I look forward to working on this project.
Steve Long Bids Farewell
After 12 years (beginning in June of 1998) and 21 articles synopsizing chemistry articles in The Science Teacher (TST) for JCE readers, it is time for me to pass the responsibility for this effort to new writers. Emory Howell, JCE High School Editor at that time, knew me from training together in the Operation Chemistry program. Aware of my involvement with the NSTA, he asked me to begin writing a new Journal feature highlighting relevant articles in TST. Little did I realize how much I would grow and learn in both content and pedagogy as I read, researched, and referenced hundreds of articles in TST and JCE through these years. I’ve worked with a great and supportive staff at JCE, including Howell, Betty Moore, and Erica Jacobsen. However, I think it is time for a fresh approach and new ideas. Originally, this was part of an effort to strengthen the Journal offerings for high school readers (although I hope that others have found it useful as well). The challenge for JCE continues to be that of finding effective methods for sharing its wealth of Copyright r 2011 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
Susan Reslewic Introduces Herself
I am delighted to join Carole Magnusson and the Journal of Chemical Education as a reviewer of articles in The Science Teacher Published: November 21, 2011 10
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of interest to JCE readers. Most recently, I’ve taught high school biology and chemistry at the Ramaz School in New York City, and I direct the design and production of chemistry content for the company Virtual Nerd, a provider of online video-based tutorials in math and science. My interests center on integrating new communication and visualization technologies into science, and especially chemical, education. I am an avid reader of JCE, and often apply insights and ideas from material in JCE to my work in the classroom. A background in science rich with opportunities to appreciate and communicate diverse applications of chemistry has nurtured my passion for chemical education. After falling in love with chemistry as a sophomore in high school in Newburyport, Massachusetts, I majored in the subject at Princeton University (1999), choosing to perform chemical analyses on a set of artifacts from pre-Columbian Peru for my senior thesis project. Fascinated by the power of analytical chemistry to tell stories about materials and contexts seemingly unrelated to the discipline, I continued research at the University of Wisconsin Madison, receiving a Master’s degree in Anthropology under the direction of the Laboratory for Archaeological Chemistry, and a Ph.D. in Chemistry (2005) for research that identified patterns in the human genome using fluorescence microscopy. After graduate school, preference for the communication- and application-based parts of science led me to join the pharmaceutical arm of the consulting firm McKinsey and Company. In 2008, I left consulting to pursue an entrepreneurial opportunity
in science education and video production. I began teaching at the Ramaz School in 2009, and continue to find chemical education full of thrilling chances to communicate and excite others about science. I am particularly excited about the opportunity to use widespread and ever faster communication technologies to broaden access to science education. In Fall 2011, I joined the faculty of Manhattan College as a Visiting Professor of Chemistry. I look forward to helping communicate advances in science education by contributing to the Journal of Chemical Education.
’ AUTHOR INFORMATION Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected].
’ REFERENCES (1) Slocum, L. E.; Jacobsen, E. K. J. Chem. Educ. 2010, 87, 1282– 1283.
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