Chemical Education Today
Reports: ACS SOCED The Society Committee on Education by Stanley H. Pine An earlier article by Sylvia Ware provided you with a view of ACS’s Education Division. The Society Committee on Education, SOCED, is the group that oversees the governance-related functions of the Education Division. SOCED members are chosen by the ACS Committee on Committees and include fifteen full members and usually about eight associate members plus several consultants. At the Orlando National meeting, SOCED addressed current and future initiatives that will influence the directions that ACS education expects to take. One issue of broad interest to ACS members is an increased role in graduate education. That will involve expansion of many activities already underway for undergraduates including career guidance and various experiential programs. SOCED also encourages continuation and expansion of information collection by ACS on the total graduate package encompassing masters, doctoral, and postdoctoral education. SOCED will establish a task force with the Division of Chemical Education, to develop programs for training graduate assistants, other students who participate in the instructional programs, and faculty of colleges and universities. SOCED believes that teacher development is a critical issue for our country’s education programs. Based on a recent report of its Task Force on Teacher Professional Development, it will develop a comprehensive plan and seek significant resources within and outside of ACS for a program directed toward high school teachers of chemistry. Already in progress is a document to help guide teachers of chemistry on the National Science Standards. SOCED has proposed a new venture proposal to develop a new introductory chemistry curriculum, Chemistry in a Biological Context. This new curriculum, which will involve a textbook, laboratory program, supporting materials, and instructors professional development, will be ACS’s newest contribution to innovations in college chemistry teaching for students who are science majors. It is another education leadership effort following on our successes with Chemistry in the Community for high school students and Chemistry in Context for college non-science majors. The Education Division will expand its television satellite broadcasts. The next satellite program will be on Monday, November 4, 1996, during National Chemistry Week, and will focus on including organic chemistry in the introductory course. An Internet short course on statistical analysis will also be offered this fall. Stanley Pine, chair of the ACS Society Committee on Education, teaches in the Department of Chemistry, California State University, Los Angeles, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90032;
[email protected].
Vol. 73 No. 11 November 1996 • Journal of Chemical Education
A275
