edited by
MARCIA C. BONNEAU
the traJinq post
Box 203 DeRuyter, NY 13052
The Mole Buck Marcia C. Bonneau P. 0. Box 203 DeRuyter, NY 13052 Did you ever have a problem trying to reward your students with something that didn't take money out of your poeket? I like to reward my students, but I fmd that popcorn, pizza, soda, and candy can add up to a considerable "piece of change" over a period of a year. The "mole buck" is a form of chemical currency and one way to motivate and reward students for perfect test scores, asking an ingenious question during class, or best performance of a cooperative learning group for a special event or activity. The criteria for earning a mole buck and its value has to be specificso that students are motivated to earn them. At the end of each marking period, the students can =cash in" their mole bucks for bonus points on their homework average. Five mole bucks is approximately equivalent to one homework paper. The diagram below shows a front and back of the "mole buck" used in my classes. It was designed by David J. Newton and printed on green paper in a print shop to prevent counterfeiting. The "mole buck" is not commercially available but could be designed easily with a computer graphics program. Acknowledgment I would like to thank David J. Newton, Science Department Chairman, Cortland J r . S r . High School, Cortland, New York, for giving us written permission to use his original design of the "mole buck."
286
Journal of Chemical Education
Tie-Dyeing-The Art of Chemistry Marcia C. Bonneau P. 0.Box 203 DeRuyter, NY 13052 The Education Division of the American Chemical Society used to publish ChemComments, which contained interesting ideas developed by ChemCom teachers to enrich the "ChemCom-Chemistry in the Community" course. In the November 1989 issue, V. Weber and F. Mittleman described how they used tie-dyeing as a lab at the end of Unit
111, the petroleum unit (1).This activity can be used advantageously to create interest in chemistrv and as a closure t o t h e ~ ; ~ a n ichemistry c unit in any general chemistry course. When I found that two of my students were experts in the process of tie-dyeing using the dyes commonly fbund in drug or grocery stores, they became the tie-dyeing instructors. The project was messy and the dyes faded quickly, but the students thought it was fun,so it became an annual event. Upon attending the 1992 Biennial Conference of Chemical Education in Davis, California, I observed a workshop being given by Elnore Grow of Horizon High School, Brighton, Colorado, on tie-dyeing and fabric reactive dyes. These dyes were the answer to the fading and messiness dilemma. As an introduction to the lab on tie-dveine, I showed the videotape, "Color," from the World of ~ h e m i & y which , emphasizes the importance of color to the chemist (2).To help justify the educational value of the project, the students were required to read the article by Clair G. Wood on 'matural Dyes" in the December 1986 issue of ChemMatters and answer questions about the article as a homework assignment. I made samples of T-shirts of different designs and color combinations, and after modeling the various methods of tying and dyeing, the students had to choose a design and color combination for their shirts. The remainder of the re-lab ~ e r i o dwas sDent discussine the chemistry of the 'fabric-reactive dyeLand reading &e article on "Natural Dves" from ChemMatters (3).The students had to bring in a new, washed T-shirt on the morning of the lab to
Introducing the Trading Post. The primary objective of this feature is to serve as a vehicle for high school teachers to trade creative ideas, successful strategies,and uniquedemonstrations with their colleagues to enrich the teachina of chemistrv. Classroom teachers of cnemlstry are encolragw to s ~ d m at shon ance aooJt a LntqLe anlwty that rney nave org nareo or moo~fleo to s t m late Interest promole learning, or create exclfement In the r classes
Introducing the Editor. . . Marcla Bonneau recently retired from Cortland Jr. Sr. High School after 32 vears as a science educator in New Yorh State schwls ~~-~and ha6 tauaht all sciences in K-12 includina - ,ohvsical ~,~ science. eartn sc ence, ana cnemcstry. arc a~ionneaugraoLated cum laude wllh a BS oegfee In cnemtslry from Stale J n versily of hew YorK (SUhYj-A bany and an MS degree from Rennsselaer Polytechnic Institute in natural science. She was trained as a Chemistry in the Community (ChemCom)resource teacher for the American Chemical Societv. She introduced ChemCom in 1988to her general chemist& classes and made chemistry relevani by utilizing community resources and societal issues. ~~
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be soaked in the sodiumcarbonate solution and spent most of the lab period tying and dyeing their shirts. The shirts were placed in plastic bags, taken home, left to stand for 1 6 2 4 h, and then rinsed, washed, and dried. The students were evaluated on participation (10 points), lab performance (10 points), the assimment on "Natural Dves" (10 points), and wearkg the sh& to class (10 points).i took a picture of each student wearing hisher shirt and posted the pictures on the bulletin board. The bright and colorful shirts attracted a great deal of attention, and soon, other students and teachers were inquiring to buy or make Tshirts. The directions for mixing the dyes and tie-dyeingmay be found in the article, "TieDyeing-Chemistry Fun," by Penne Sconzo (4). Other resources are Tie-Dye! Easy Instructions for 20 Fantastic Projects by Kathryn Kreider, Prochemical and Dye, Inc., P. 0. Box 14, Somerset, MA 02726, and Grateful Dyes, Inc., 2139 C Sheridan Blvd., Denver, CO 80227. Acknowledgment I would like to thank Elnore Grow of Horizon High School, Brighton, Colorado, for sharing her expertise on tie-dyeing with fabric reactive dyes. Literature 1. Weber,Wetor L.: Mittleman, Floyd A. ChornCornmnts 1989.2.6
.. Her articles on chemical teaching have appeared in Science Teacher, Chem Comments, and this Journal, and she has been an invited speaker at regional and national meetings ofthe American Chemical Society and the Chemistry Mentors' Workshop for the US Department of Education and the New York State Education Deoartment. AS one of I 5 chemistry teachers lo ahend !he 1 rsl Soviel-Amer can Workshop in Chemistry Teaching in MOSCUW in 1991, she was a co-presenter of a ChemCom workshop to chemistry teachers from the Commonwealth of Independent States. She was a site director for ChemCom workshops at Drew Universitv and SLhY-Con and. Sne rece ved the 9gma XI ~utstanom~ Sc ence Teacher Awaro for 1993 She is currently a lecturer for general chemistry classes at SUNY-Cortland.
Volume 71
Number 4 April 1994
287
