The Teaching of College Chemistry Role of Student Development Level Frank L. Wiseman, Jr. University of Kentucky. Lexington, KY 40506 College Chemistry Instruction The teaching of college chemistry, especially a t the freshman and sophomore levels, offers one of the greatest challenges in the profession of teaching. A large amount of abstract and diverse material is presented rapidly. Williams and coauthors conclude in a recent article ( I ) that "the combination of factual material. mathematical calculation. and theorv that cunstitute n i < d t m chemical knorvlnlye contribute tua:ird makine cheniitrs one o i the mo=t ~~~tellectuallv dern~nd~w subjects in the university or high schod curriculum." It has heen the author's exnerivnw that manv students who are able to learn other sutijects well have difficulty with chemistry. It is not uncommon for a student who attends class regularly, seeks individual help, is relatively well disciplined and highly motivated, and who has a high overall grade point average, to have difficulty with chemistry. It is disturbing also to have members of the general public, upon discovering that I am a chenli3try teacher, rnakea ccmment to the effecr rhat they hated anrl/ m.rr a nhtrrr rime span iirul~lc.i i t u help thr s t t ~ d t m I,, so t h u t s l ~ e m ~ d crrn r y tbe t~uawn*l. I t is not v l w r h m the d a t a available in the literature if this is possible and further study is needed. The other option is to increase the student's ability to Volume 58
Number 6
June 1981
487
master chemical concepts (at least a t a pragmatic level) by using new techniques. These techniques can be discovered by experimenting on t h e p a r t of individual instructors and sharing in the journals the ones whicharesuccessful and which ones are not. There are, of course already many such papers available from which this author and others have gained useful insight, but many more experiments run as a result of creative thinking by chemistry teachers are needed.
useful tool in studying the basics of chemical education, (see 1ahove) evaluating courses as to the appropriate level, and in counseling with individual students. Since developmental level is a significant factor in all freshman courses (see Table 2). instructors should consider how to implement Piaget's ideas into their instructional methods. Acknowledgment
Referring t o t h e 3 specific goals of this research:
I wish to thank mv colleaeues Dr. James Delone. Dr. Ronald , Dr. Richards, Miss ~ i c c~i a r k e rDr. , William F. ~ G n e rand William Plucknett for their surnestions and hela in this re-search.
1) Broad perspectiue on role of deuelopmental levels i n
Literature Cited
Conclusions
learning chemistry: It is concluded that developmental level is a major factor at the lower level chemistry courses but not as important for higher level ones. 2) Experience with deuelopmental level testing: Lawson's test is practical and inexpensive (in resources, class time, and paid assistant time) to administer to large groups.
3) Usefulness of deuelopmental leuel information i n instruction: The developmental level test developed by Lawson proves to be a
488
Journal of Chemical Education
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Williams,H.,'Purner.W. C., Dubbbbi1,L..F~t,J.,~dB~~~tiiiky,J., J.CHEM.EDUC,,
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161 la) wis&an, JLF. L., J. CHEM Enuc.,55.325(19781. (bl Wise-, Jr., F.L., J. CHEM. EDIIC., 56.283 (19781. I71 Henon. J. Dudiey, J. C H B M EDUC.. 55,165(1978). 18) Guod8Wn.M. P.,and Howe,A. C.,J.CREM.EDUC.,~~, 173 119781. (9) Martin.D. H . . J CHW.EDUC..56, I79 119791. I101 Lawsun,A.E.,Joumal~/Rsr. i n S l i . Teaching. 1511).11 llWSl. (111 Chaw, Clinton I.. "Elemenfary Statistical Pmcedures." 2nd Ed., McCraw-Hill,Atianta. 1975.p. 102
