DOCUMENT RESUME ED 328 405 SE 051 877 · D.J. Kallus, and Edward K. Mellon. 5. 2. Chemistry for All. Angie L. Matamoros Coral Springs High Sciiool. 11. 3 Chemistry-Biochemistry. David

ED 328 405

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SE 051 877

Peniek, John E., Ed.; Krajcik, Joseph, Ed.Chemistry. Focus on Excellence, Volume 3, Number2.

Iowa Univ., Iowa City. Science Education Center.;National Science Teachers Association, Washington,D.C.

National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C.ISBN-0-87355-052-885

NSF-MST-821647252p.; For related documents, see SE 051 874-878, ED243 689-691, ED 281 723-724, and ED 301 408.National Science Teachers Association PublicationsDepartment, 1742 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.,Washington, DC 20009 ($7.00).Reports - Descriptive (141) -- Guides - Classroom Use- Guides (For Teachers) (052) -- Viewpoints (120)

MF01 Plus Postage. PC Not Available from EDRS.Biochemistry; *Chemistry; Critical Thinking;Demonstration Programs; *Excellence in Education;High Schools; *Innovation; Science Activities;*Science and Society; Sr.lience Curriculum; ScienceEducation; *Secondary School Science; TeachingMethods; Technology

IDENTIFIERS Project Synthesis

ABSTRACTEight examples of innovative and outstanding

chemistry programs are described. These programs were selected usingstate criteria and at least four independent reviewers. While ProjectSynthesis offered a desired state, these examples of excellenceprovided views of what is already a reality. Included are the goalsof an exemplary science program and the criteria for excellence.Programs described are: (1) "Chemistry for All"; (2)

"Chemistry-Biochemistry"; (3) "Chemical Concepts ThroughInvestigation"; (4) "High School Chemistry--An Equilibrium"; (5)"Using High-Interest Activities"; (6) "Chemistry: Three Courses, FiveLevels"; (7) "Individualized Chemistry"; and (8) "Humor inChemistry." An analysis of exemplars in cnemistry is presented.(KR)

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Chemistry

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John E. Penick, Joseph Krajcik, Editors

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Focus

on

Excellence

ChemistryVolume 3 Number 2

Edited byJohn E. Penick and Joseph Krajcik

Science Education CenterUniversity of IowaIowa City, Iowa 52242

3

Acknowledgments

We are indebted to J. Dudley Herron, Jim De Rose, JanHarris, Henry Heikkinen, T.J. Kalous, and Ed Mellon fortheir insightful description of what an exemplary chemistryprogram should encompass.

Funding for the Search for Excellence in Science Educa-tion and the "Focus on Excellence" series has been providedby the National Science Foundation, the University of Iowa,and the National Science Teachers Association.

Volume 3, describing programs from the 1984 search,includes separate issues describing programs in:

Energy EducationChemistryEarth Science

The "Focus on Excellence" series, Volumes 1 and 2, in-cluded separate monographs on:

Volume 1Science as InquiryElementary ScienceBiologyPhysical ScienceScience/Technology/Society

Volume 2PhysicsMiddle School/Junior HighNon-School Settings

Other monographs reporting on the search for excellenceinclude:

Teachers in Exemplary Programs: How Do They Com-pare?

Centers on Excellence: Portrayals of Six DistrictsExemplary Programs in Physics, Chemistry, Biology,

and Earth Science.Monographs may be ordered for $7.00 each from:NSTA Special Publications Department1742 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20009This monograph has been prepared with partial support

from the National Science Foundation (MST-8216472).However, any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recom-mendations expressed herein are those of the staff of theSearch for Excellence project and do not necessarily reflectthe views of the National Science Foundation.

Copyright© by the National Science Teachers Association1742 Connecticut Avenue, NWWashington, DC 20009

ISBN Number: 0-87355-052-8

2

Preface The Search for ExcePence in Chemistry EducationJohn E. PenickUniversity of Iowa 4

1 Ideals in Teaching ChemistryJ. Dudley Herron, James V. De Rose,Jan Harris, Henry W. Heikkinen,D.J. Kallus, and Edward K. Mellon 5

2 Chemistry for AllAngie L. MatamorosCoral Springs High Sciiool 11

3 Chemistry-BiochemistryDavid C. TuckerMount Baker Junior-Senior High School 15

4 Chemical Concepts Through InvestigationDiana Doepken and Pat SmithAir Academy High School 20

5 High School ChemistryAn EquilibriumJerry R. KentHazen High School 23

6 Using High-Interest ActivitiesSheryl Jan JamesScottsburg High School 28

7 Chemistry: Three Courses, Five LevelsWilliam BleamRadnor High School 31

8 Individualized ChemistryDavid ByrumGlobe High School 38

9 Humor In ChemistryRonald R. CrarnptonOmaha Westside High School 42

10 Exemplars in Chemistry: An AnalysisJohn E. Penick and Joseph KrajcikUniversity of Iowa 4o

3

PrefaceThe Search forExcellence inChemistryEducation

4

Chemistry! The word sparks images of test tubes,chemicals, and exciting experiments. Students seethemselves making discoveries, learning little-known

truths, and delving deei :nto the realm of science.Like most fantas;es, t!iis isn't quite what happens. While

the task force doesn't suest this vision as the criterion forexcellence in chemistry education, we do feel strongly thatthe eight chemistry programs described in this issue of the"focus on Excellence" series have succeeded in makingchemistry more exciting for students.

The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) hopesthat these descriptions and this monograph series will high-light alternatives to typical chemistry programs. These tenchapters should provide you with inspiration, ideas, andresources, as well as descriptions of successful programs.We hope that you will be stimulated by reading about themand will contact individual authors for more information.You might even wish to visit some of these innovativechemistry classrooms.

The NSTA Search for Excellence in Science Educationbegan when Robert Yager, NSTA President for 1982-83,became a member of Project Synthesis. The project goalwas to analyze more than 2,000 pages of information, threeNational Science Foundation (NSF) reports, and data fromthe National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Twenty-three Project Synthesis researchers worked insmall teams, each focusing on one aspect of science educa-tion such as elementary science, biology, physical science,science/technology/society, or inquiry. They used synthesisand analysis to develop a description of an ideal state for afocus area and then compared the actual programs to it.

Leading science educators in each state (generally statescience consultants) nominated outstanding science pro-grams from their regions according to the criteria. The taskforce considered these nominations at the national level.

All nominees provided detailed information on demogra-phics, texts used, the nature of the school, descriptions oftheir program, and examples of materials. In addition, nomi-nees described five major aspects of their program:

The setting, including community location, size, specificfeatures, school science, and organization;The nature of the exemplary program as to grade, level,class size, curriculum outline, learning activities, and eval-uation techniques;How the program exemplifies the criteria for SESE;How the program came into existence;What factors contribute to the success of the program,and what is needed to keep it going.Chapter 1 describes criteria for Excellence in Chemistry

Education; Chapters 2 through 9 offer descriptions of theeight programs selected as exemplary during the 1984Search for Excellence. Chapter 10 is an analysis and critiqueof the ideas, descriptions, and realities taught in these pro-grams. Along with this, we offer a number of generaliza-tions and recommendations relating to excellence in scienceeducation for chemistry.

We hope you will use these examples of excellence toenhance your own chemistry program. This continuingNSTA monograph series is designed to help you.

John E. Penick

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Chapter 1Ideals in TeachingChemistry

J. Dudley HerronJames V. De RoseJan HarrisHenry W. HeikkinenD.J. KallusEdward K. Mellon

NSTA Task Force On Excellence inChemistry Teaching

Goals for teaching chemistry in secondary schoolshave been described repeatedly. Ideally, everyonewould study chemistry. A major goal of public edu-

cation is well-educated citizens, and one who does notknow chemistry is not well educated. Since practical issuesusually involve varied factual information, chemistry teach-ing must encompass knowledge of chemistry, the devel-opment of rational thought, and learning skills that willenable students to obtain information independently.

Ideally, chemistry teaching exposes students to careeropportunities in chemistry and related fields. The necessarybackground should be available for those seeking careersrequiring postsecondary education. However, technical skillsshould not be required of those who have little need forthem.

This ideal state of chemistry teaching in secondary schoolshas not been reached.

BackgroundPrcixt Synthesis, the model of this undertaking, identi-

fied foar goal clusters and described actual and desiredstates of science education within those clusters. We haveorganized our thinking within that framework. The fourgoal clusters identified in Project Synthesis include:

Personal Needs Science education should prepare individ-uals to utilize science for improving their own lives andfor coping with an increasingly technological world.Societal Issues Science education should produce informedcitizens prepared to deal with societal issues.Academic Preparation Science education should allow stu-dents who wish to pursue science academically and pro-fessionally to acquire the knowledge needed.Career Education/Awareness Science education should makestudents aware of the nature and scope of science-relatedcareers.Even though our task is to describe chemistry as it ought

to be, we cannot proceed without giving some attention tohow it is and what part of the "how it is" can be trans-formed into the "should be."

Project Synthesis madc clear that virtually no attentionhas been given to personal needs, social issues, or careereducation in the existing science curriculum. The only goaltaken seriously is academic preparation.

Project Synthesis emphasizes that science has a low sta-tus in the school curriculum; it is neither required norelected as often as science educators would like. Enrollmentsare lov, in spite of the obvious importance of science in ourhighly technological society.

An additional fact about the status quo that Project Syn-thesis apparently ignored is the serious shortage of well-trained chemistry teachers in secondary schools. Manychemistry classes are taught by ill-prepared teachers whonecessarily stick close to the text and treat it as an infallibleauthority. The text represents a far higher level of exper-tise than their own, and they have little reason to questionits correctness.

To describe the ideal state of chemistry teaching withoutreference to these realities can serve little purpose. Thus,

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we begin with some assumptions about what we are un-likely to change:

Assumption 1: Chemistry teachers of the future willcome from the same pool drawn from at present. Mostcurrent chemistry teachers majored in subjects other thanchemistry. This does not mean that they are ignorant ofchemistry. Many biology or physical science majors havebecome fascinated by chemistry and have learned it ontheir own or gone back to school for more formal prepara-tion. However, the fact remains that few chemistry teachersmajored in chemistry as undergraduates. There are realdifferences in the attitudes, interests, and aptitudes ofchemists and chemistry teachers.

There is little reason to assume that the public will fundeducation at a significantly higher level or that teachers willadopt a salary schedule that would allow chemistry teachers(and others in short supply) to be paid salaries competitivewith industry. Therefore, many high school chemistry teach-ers will continue to exhibit only a marginal understandingof the field.

Assumption 2: Secondary school education will remaintextbook oriented. Teachers do not believe that textbooksprovide the best possible course; they rely on them becausecircumstances make it difficult to wot k otherwise.

Many chemistry teachers, with less training in chemistrythan we or they would like, teach at least one other subject.Many teach two or three other subjects. This is particularlytrue in the sparsely populated western states and in therural areas of other states. Some teachers teach five differ-ent classes and coach after sct,00l. Under these conditionsone does well to surviv&IThere is no time for developing acreative, individualized, inquiry-oriented laboratory course!

Assumption 3: Textbooks produced by commercial pub-lishers will continue to be influenced more by marketresearch than by pedagogical research. Publishers, as profit-making concerns, are necessarily more sensitive to eco-nomic considerations than to pedagogical ones. While pro-ducing what their market rtisearch suggests will sell, theywill never be a major source of innovation.

Assumption 4: Financial support for schools (with fewexceptions) will continue to limit the quality of chemistryprograms. In many areas lack of funds for teachers' salaries,professional development, laboratory facilities, and expend-able supplies limits the curriculum and discourages teach-ers. Financial support for schools is unlikely to increaseenough to affect this situation.

Within this frame of reference, we will return to the fourgoal clusters identified by Project Synthesis and our state-ment ab ,ut ideal chemistry teaching in secondary schools.

Goals Concerning Academic PreparationProject Synthesis reports that only academic goals, those

preparing students to take more science courses, are takenseriously in secondary science teaching. However, evenhere, we are far from achieving the goal.

In striving for the ideal in chemistry teaching, what con-tent should be stressed? What is a sensible organization ofthe content? How can we develop the intellectual skillsneeded to analyze information?

As early as 1904, Moore complained that high schoolchemistry courses attempted to teach too many facts, failed

to organize those facts into a sensible whole, and did nottrain students in the scientific method (Moore, 1904). Sim-ilar charges were leveled just before the post-Sputnik cur-riculum development (Pode, 1966). We still read that sciencecourses are encyclopedic, that they stress memorization ofisolated bits of information, and that the spirit of inquiry isforeign to most courses (Harms and Yagzr, 1981). Thesteady criticism over nearly a century does not imply astatic curriculum. There have been changes. However, thechanges have not solved the problem.

We assume that chemistry teachers should provide chem-ical facts and understandable theory, enabling students tomake sense of what they observe and experience. If stu-dents know little about the continuous chemical eventshappening around and within us, there is nothing to makesense of. We must teach chemical facts so that studentsrecognize those we are able to describe in the available timeas merely representative of thousands that can be observed.

Here we encounter a dilemma. There are far too manyimportant reactions to learn. Chemical reactivity is too vastto comprehend unless it is organized and generalized. Thecurriculum reformers of the 1960's recognized this and setout to impose the necessary organization that was missingin earlier texts.

We said that we must teach chemical facts and under-standable theory. This goal is not always achieved. Theideas that are most useful and understandable to expertsare not necessarily the most useful and understandable tobeginning students; yet they are the ones that we are mostlikely to teach. These theoretical ideas are useful to expertsin synthesizing vast quantities of chemical information.The temptation to begin instruction with a careful presen-tation of our most useful theories is apparently irresistable.The motives are commendable, but the results are chaotic.

The best understanding that we have now about theway we learn indicates that learning is a constructive pro-cess. We construct information internally rather than pas-sively receiving intact knowledge from others (Johnson-Laird and Wason, 1977; Bransford, 1979; Anderson, 1980).This constructive process is idiosyncratic, depending onfacts and our own intellectual skills. Theoretical notionsthat are perfectly transparent to a professional chemist canbe hopelessly opaque to the beginner.

We cannot perfect our chemistry teaching until we con-sider how people learn. In general, we learn better whenour efforts are purposeful, when we begin at a point closeto past experience, and when we begin with observationsand knowledge embedded in direct experience. We haveproblems with generalized concepts and theoretical ideasuntil there is enough information that we need to organizeit into generalized categories and to relate one idea toanother through hidden similarities. When we need such atheory, only those ideas that are personally meaningful canbe used. Memorization of more powerful but incompre-hensible constructs is pointless!

Introductory chemistry (at any level) mt..st focus on ob-servation and description of common chemical reactionsand the subsequent rationalization of what has been ob-served in terms of simple models describing structural sim-ilarities among compounds with similar reactivity.

This leads to other questions: What reactions are mostimportant to study? What models and theories are most

useful for beginners? How far should one go? Because wewant chemistry to be taught to all studentsstudents whovary considerably in background, interests, and abilitiesno general answer is possible. We can provide no betteradvice to those who design curriculum materials for a par-ticular group of students than the four general criteria usedin developing the CHEM Study materials:

Is the idea so important that . . . (this] course is linkorn-plete without it?Can the idea be developed honestly at a level compre-hensible to high school students?Can it be developed out of experimental evidence thathigh school students can gather or, at least, understand?"Does it tie into other parts of the course so that its usecan be reinforced by practice?" (Pode, 1966).Much of the content in existing textbooks might meet

these criteria if it were organized differently, clearly noteddirect observations close to student experience, and werereduced to a comprehensible size. What we try to include isimportant in itself. The problem is that we include toomuch. We don't leave enough time for students to organizethe information and clarify important relationships. Theproblem is pervasive, important, and yet subtle.

Both textbooks and teachers often present chemistry asconclusions. There is only the faintest hint of how thoseconclusions were reached or how tentative many of themstill are. "These are the facts. Learn them!" comes throughloud and clear. A better message would be: "Based onobservations such as those that you have made or canmake, chemists have reasoned that thus and so must holdtrue. Does this seem sensible to you? If so, why? If not,why not?" This, it seems to us, is what the scientific methodis all about.

The call for teaching science in the spirit of inquiry hasbeen loud and persistent, but the response has been weak.We can't assume that chemistry teachers haven't heard thecry or suggest that they callously ignore it. There must bevalid reasons why so little inquiry is taught.

Inquiry is tentative, and that sets poorly with adoles-cents. It calls for constant questioning, a consideration of allpossibilities, a realization that new information can invali-date assumptions on which conclusions were built. Therealization that all knowledge is tentative is somewhatfrustrating to all of us, but it is particularly difficult foryoung people to accept (Perry, 1970). Most of us have triedto teach in the spirit of inquiry, only to have students askimpatiently, "Yes, but what is the real answer?"

Inquiry is a mixture of attitudes, values, and intellectualskills. Successful inquiry presumes knowledge, the abilityto synthesize ideas into new and more complex patterns,and the ability to apply knowledge in new and unfamiliarcontexts. Recent research on problem solving in scienceand mathematics indicates that experts bring to bear vastquantities of information and use a number of intellectualskills subconsciously. People who are good at inquiry arenot always good at teaching others to inquire. We are onlybeginning to understand the intellectual skills commonlyused in problem solving and to invent procedures for teach-ing those skills to others.

Because we are just beginning to understand inquiry, it isprobable that many who teach the process have little skill inusing it. They may lack knowledge of techniques to teach

the skills and even be unable to model the inquiry processfor their students. Our society clearly values the productsof inquiry. Unfortunately, teachers often focus on trans-mitting the vast body of accutrifated knowledge ratherthan on developing the skills I-. vet to generate and under-stand it. Despite limited success in the past and our lack ofspecific information about fostering development of rationalthought, we offer the following recommendations for aca-demic preparation in chemistry:

Structure and reactivity should be emphasized.The number of topics should be drastically reduced, withfar more attention given to the integration and explana-tion of the remaining ideas. We should point out relation-ships among chemical concepts and principles, as well asimportant connections between chemistry and other areasin students' experience. How an idea can be useful shouldreceive as much attention as the idea itself.Application of concepts and principles in new contextsmust be seen as evidence of learning, with less emphasison recall of definitions and routine application of rules.Knowledge that cannot be applied has little value.The ability to apply knowledge in new contexts and toderive new knowledge independently are so importantthat every chemistry teacher should use all available re-sources to foster such development.

Goals Concerning Personal NeedsWhat are personal needs? A full belly, a dry head, love,

and a sense of self-worth. What about understanding chem-istry? Modern medicine is based on synthetic drugs, f:rans-portation depends on fossil fuels, synthetic fibers take thedrudgery out of wash day, and chemical fertilizers promoteabundant harvests. But those benefits are indirect. A fewchemists can produce wonders for us all, and we need toknow chemistry to enjoy the fruits of their labor no morethan we need to understand music theory to enjoy a concert.

But consider another side of the analogy. Those whoknow music theory probably enjoy a concert more thanthose who don't. Likewise, those who understand chemis-try are better able to appreciate the wonders of modernscience. We would urge everyone to learn as much as pos-sible about chemistry, as well as art, music, religion, mathe-matics, history, cooking, and all of the other knowleigeareas than can enrich our lives.

No one knows what information a person will need inthe future. Research on retention of factual informat:onsuggests that such information is unlikely to be recalledwhen needed, even immediately after instruction. In con-trast, skills related to the interpretation of reading passagescontaining factual information, skills related to the organi-zation of information, skill in using logical analysis to dis-tinguish statements that are supported by data from thosethat are not, the ability to generate many possible out-comes or courses of action under a particular set of circum-stances, and the ability to distinguish correlated eventsfrom those that appear to be related by cause and effe.:t areskills retained over time. They satisfy personal needs in acomplex technological society and thus should be stressedin chemistry and other subjects. Chemistry's major contri-bution to education for personal needs is the developmentof rational thought.

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Goals Concerning Social IssuesWe cannot assume that a student who interprets an

experiment in the chemistry laboratory can and will applythese same skills when considering a referendum on schoolfunding or waste disposal. To encourage the use of rationalpowers in a broad arena, we must provide opportunities touse those skills in many contexts. Underlying intellectualskills have broad application. Just as scientific thought pro-cesses do not automatically transfer to other knowledgedomains, clear communication, careful computation, andsocial decision making do not automatically transfer fromone subject to another. We must support cooperative effortsof chemistry teachers, English teachers, mathematics teach-ers, and social studies teachers. Integrated projects encour-age the use of these important intellectual skills in the var-ious classrooms.

Most social issues are complex. Even problems that areclearly related to chemistry (such as disposal of chemicalwastes) are also economic, political, andlor moral issues.Chemists have no more to contribute to discussions of suchissues than economists, politicians, or ministers.

Chemistry teachers must not ignore social problems;neither must they assume sole responsibility for them.Social issues, whether considered as part of the chemistrycurriculum or elsewhere, require involvement of peoplewith expertise in all facets of the issue.

Goals Concerning Career EducationWhen teachers know that they are not achieving their

major goals of academic preparation, secondary goals suchas career education are likely to receive less emphasis. Still,career education is important. The best way to provide it isto make career education the responsibility of those mostconcerned.

Professional and industrial organizations should insurethat career opportunities are accurately described and madeavailable to high school students. Such activities alreadytake place, but could be improved through coordinatedeffort.

The High School Office of the American Chemical Society(ACS) and its local sections, industrial groups, and NSTAshould cooperate to provide chemistry teachers with careerinformation updates, salary information, profiles of youngchemists working in nontraditional jobs, and names ofspeakers who could provide first-hand information con-cerning the various careers related to chemistry.

Other ConcernsThe bulk of our paper has dealt with goals of chemistry

teaching, because we believe ends are more important thanmeans. Whi1e holding definite opinions about curriculum,instruction, evaluation, and teaching, we would agree toalmost any arrangement that accomplishes our goals.

CurriculumEvidence suggests that dedicated teachers who consider

the interests, intellectual level, and educational needs ofstudents are able to offer courses that attract students of

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varying interests and abilities to chemistry. However, inmany schools chemistry attracts only students who arehighly motivated, academically able, and science prone. Thechemistry offered in such schools should be expanded tomeet the needs of all students.

So long as you provide chemical education to a largePortion of the school population, it is not necessary to con-fine it to a course called chemistry. There is nothing wrongwith an integrated approach to the European pattern ofoffering chemistry courses for several years. This mightmean scheduling one or two hours of instruction eachweek for the entire year, or perhaps 9- or 18-week coursescould be offered on a rotating basis. In either case, spread-ing out chemistry instruction over several years wouldprovide a better opportunity to develop complicated ideasand observe the development of intellectual skills over thehigh school years.

Whatever the pattern of presentation, there should bemore chemistry instruction in secondary schools for aver-age and below-average students. This instruction shoulddeal with substantive ideas related to the experiences of thestudents, and the intellectual skills used to arrive at theseideas should be developed along with the ideas themselves.Students should not be given course credit until studentsdemonstrate understanding of the basic ideas and utilizethe fundamental intellectual skills associated with rationalthought. Such understanding and skill development is wellwithin reach of average high school students. We shouldnot be satisfied until those goals are reached by a substan-tial portion of the population.

InstructionWe advocate no one approach to chemistry teaching. If a

teacher can lead students to an understanding of interrela-tionships among basic concepts of chemistry, a knowledgeof how those concepts apply to everyday experienceind anability to apply the powers of rational thought to solve realproblems through lecture alone, we may be awed, but wewill not be upset. Our experience has been that one learnsby doing, and that what we learn is influenced oy how welearn.

Suppose a student is told t ha t density is the ratio of massto volume and shown that it can be expressed as athen is asked to calculate the density of materials neverseen from masses and volumes printed in a text. This stu-dent will arrive at a different understanding of density andof science than a student who is handed samples of pumiceand granite and asked questions such as: What is thc differ-ence between these two rocks? How could you describethat difference quantitatively? How could you obtain mea-sures on these samples to describe the property you ob-served? What good is a measure of this kind? What can ittell you about objects that is worth knowing"

There is a place for both kinds of activities, but someimportant educational goals are unlikely to be reachedwiwout activities like the second example.

EvaluationEvaluation provides the key to success for any program.

No matter how we describe our objectives, students whowant to succeed will concentrate on learning what we test.If integration of ideas and application of skills are our goals,they must be evaluated. If we expect students to transferknowledge to problems they have never seen, we must testsuch transfer on a regular basis.

Some of our goals (those pertaining to the developmentof rational thought, for example) are likely to develop grad-ually over months or even years. Unless some procedure isestablished to observe progress over extended periods oftime, teachers will become discouraged and lose interest inworking toward such goals.

Writing good test questions to reflect higher level objec-tives is difficult. This may be one reason why even inquiry-oriented teachers may overemphasize recall of facts andapplication of algorithmic skills. However, it does not explainwhy so few textbook publishers provide teachers withexcellent examination questions. By doing so they couldcontribute immensely to the quality of instruction.

In the past several years objective tests have achievedwide acceptance, and we applaud that development. How-ever, the test format should be determined by the objectiveand not the other way about. In chemistry, students shouldlearn to make sensible statements about chemical facts, butobjective tests do not grade this ability. Some teachers willobtain ample evidence of such skills on laboratory reports,but essay exams, term papers, book reports, and oral reportsof experimental work or library research are also valuableevaluation tools. We see no reason why such tried and trueteaching devices should be used less in chemistry than inEnglish or history.

TeachersThe teacher is the single most important factor affecting

the quality of chemical education. We need the best we canget. We would be delighted if we could raise the standardsfor all chemistry teachers to that of the best in today'sschools, but we do not expect that to happen as long aspresent salaries and working conditions persist.

Like other social issues, this one is complex. Since eco-nomic and political solutions must be found before we canstaff all schools with outstanding teachers, we insist thatsolutions should be sought.

We believe it is possible to make substantial improve-ments in the education of chemistry teachers by consolidat-ing resources. There are more than 2,000 colleges.and uni..versities in the United States that occasionally graduatechemistry teachers. None of these produce many, and it isnot economically feasible to design special courses for pro-spective chemistry teachers. Consequently, very few chem-istry teachers graduate from college with either the knowl-edge of chemistry or the teaching skills that they shouldhave and could have if there were a program designedspecifically for them and staffed with the best chemicaleducators in the country.

Science education should move in the direction taken bythe medical profession after the Flexner Report: marginalprograms should be closed, resources should be concen-trated in a few institutions, and students should be givenfinancial support to attend these special programs. If thisbold step were taken, and if we absolutely forbade the

teaching of chemistry by anyone who failed to meet thestandards achieved by graduates of such special programs,we still might not reach our desired state of chemistryteaching in secondary schools, but we believe we wouldcome much closer.

SummaryIn summary, the desired state of chemistry teaching in

secondary schools will have the following characteristics:Chemistry will cease to be taught only as a college pre-paratory course for bright students headed for science-related careers. A broad program of instruction in chem-istry will provide appropriate education for students ofdifferent abilities and varied interests.Chemistry instruction will focus on observation and des-cription of common chemical reactions. This would leadto tentative explanations, using simple models to describestructural similarities among compounds that exhibit simi-lar reactivity.The number of topics covered in secondary school chem-istry courses will be drastically reduced. Far more atten-tion will be given to the integration of remaining ideas;the interconnections among the concepts and principlesof chemistry should be clear, and important connectionsbetween chemistry and other areas of the students' expe-rience will be stressed.Far less emphasis will be placed on routine application ofrules and technical skills, recall of definitions, and memor-ization of theoretical models. More emphasis will be placedon description of common chemical changes and the useof simple structural models to explain chemical change.As a rule, only those theoretical constructs and mathe-matical models needed to explain the chemical pheno-mena that students have observed and wish to haveexplained will be introduced.Intellectual skills will be developed, enabling students tomake rational decisions about complex issues. Habits,attitudes, and skills needed to learn independently throughinformal education will be stressed.Class assignments, laboratory activities, and evaluationprocedures will reflect the emphasis on the developmentof intellectual skills.A variety of text materials that are pedagogically sound,scientifically accurate, and appropriate for students ofvarying abilities and interests will be available to teachers.Complex social issues will be considered as part of theschool curriculum, and provisions will be made to involvepersons with expertise in the various disciplines thatrelate to those issues.Professional organizations and industrial groups willroutinely provide teachers with information about careeropportunities related to chemistry.Salaries and other inducements will be provided to attractoutstanding individuals to secondary school teaching.

ReferencesAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science and

the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Educa-tion. (1960). Improving science and mathematics programs inAmerican schools. Washing ton, DC.

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American Chemical Society. (1967). Conference agrees onhigh school needs. Chemical and Engineering News, 45,159-164.

Anderson, J.R. (1980). Cognitive psychology and its implications.San Francisco: Freeman.

Bransford, JD. (1979). Human cognition: learning, understandingand remembering. Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publish-ing Company.

Flex ner, Abraham. (1925). Medical education: A comparative studyNew York: The Macmillan Co.

Harms, N.C., and Yager, R.E. (Eds.). (1981). What researchsays to the science teacher. Vol. 3. Washington, DC: NSTA.

Johnson-Laird, P.N., and Wason, P.C. (Eds.). (1977). Think-ing: Readings in cognitive science. Cambridge, England: Cam-bridge University Press.

Larkin, J.H. (1981). (1979, December). Processing informa-tion for effective problem solving. Engineering Education, pp.185-188.

Larkin, J.H. (1981). Understanding in problem-solving inphysics. In J.F. Robinson (Ed.), Research in science edvcation:New questions, new directions (pp. 115-130). Columbus, Ohio:ERIC Clearinghouse for Science. Mathematics, and Envi-

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ronmental Education.Lippincott, W.T. (Ed.). (1981). Source book for chemistry teachers.

Washington, DC: Division of Chemical Education, Amer-ican Chemical Society.

Moore, R.B. (1904). A chemistry laboratory, Philadelphia: J.B.Lippincott.

National Science Foundation and Department of Education.(1950). Science and engineering education for the 1980's and beyond(NSF 80-78). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Print-ing Office.

National Society for the Study of Education. (1960). Rethink-ing science education. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Newell, A., and Simon, H.A. (1972). Human problem solving.Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.

Perry, W.G., Jr. (1970). Forms er ',.telkcfnal and ethical developmentin the college years. New Yoe. Holt, Rhinehart and Winston.

Pode, J.S.F. (1966). CBA and CHEM Study: An apprecia-tion. Journal of Chemical Education, 43, 98-103.

Reif, F. (1982). How can chemists teach problem solving? Suggestionsderived from studies of cognitive processes Paper presented at theannual meeting of the American Chemical Society, LasVegas.

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Chapter 2Chemistry For All

Angie L. MatamorosCoral Springs High School7201 West Sample RoadCoral Springs, Florida 33065

1 3

coral Springs, a rapidly growing city in the northeastarea of Broward County, Florida, is home to over50,000. Coral Springs High School, one of two high

schools in the city, enrolls 2,500 students in grades 9-12.We have a mixed student body in terms of ethnic back-ground, ability level, and vocational orientation. Studentscome from the north and southeast parts of the city andfrom smaller surrounding communities, generally fromaverage to high income families. As we are located only 15miles from the main campus of Florida Atlantic University(FAO, about 60 percent of our graduates go on to college.

We want chemistry to influence every possible studentin our school and to reach students with all types of aca-demic backgrounds and ability levels. In designing the pro-gram, we took full advantage of the resources of the indus-trial and business community and of nearby FAU.

Our ProgramTo reach students coming from varied backgrounds, we

provide an exciting and innovative laboratory-oriented ap-proach to the study of chemistry. The program is unique,can be transported, enjoys great success, and includes rele-vant contemporary topics. In any school where there is anestablished chemistry curriculum, you can adopt the mainaspects of our program with only small modifications. Pro-viding appropriate and challenging courses for studentswith little prior interest in science or mathematics is essen-.tial to the goal of Chemistry For All. We also have relativelyadvanced courses for determined and eager science stu-dents. Our solution to the challenge of meeting all theseneeds is a four-level program. A brief description of threeof our levels and a more extensive review of our mostadvanced course should give you an adequate impression ofour total program.

Number of Course Text Number ofClasses Name Title Students

5 Consumer The Chemnal 150Chemistry World, IAC

Modules

4 Chemistry I Chemrstrw A 120Modern Colosr

2 Advanced ChM Wry: 50Chemistry I Erpoimenhil

Foundations

(CHEM Study)

1-2 Organic Ow nu 25 -40Chemistry Chrmistry: A

&id Course

ImmediateGoal

2-yr. college,allied health

area, andanyone inter-

ested4-yr. college,

liberal artsmajor

4 yr. college,in science,

eng., pre-med,nursing

4-yr. college,in science,eng., pre-

med, n rsing

Ccnsumer ChemistryThis science literacy course was designed for the student

who has not done well previously in mathematics or inabstract quantitative reasoning. Major course objectivesinclude providing students with a general understanding of

11

chemistry and its role in their lives and stressing a rich andwidely diversified laboratory hands-on program in a warmand accepting atmosphere.

This new course, started in September 1981, has rapidlygrown from two sections to six. Although most studentstaking this course are academically in the lower half of thejunior and senior classes, 92 percent of those enrolled havemet with success. The four instructors associated with theprogram in the last three years feel a very strong responsi-bility to develop scientific literacy, confidence, problem solv-ing, safe laboratory skills, a humanistic outlook, and thebelief that chemistry is truly a "new subject."

Relevant topics are discussed, preparing the students toapply science as informed citizens. Students become veryproficient in laboratory skills. They calculate percent com-position of a mixture, such as percent water and fat in hotdogs and percent protein in various brands of milk. Classresults are plotted and discussed routinely. Students mas-ter graphing techniques, data interpretation, and statisticalpresentations of data. Adults need these skills in order to bewise decision makers. In consumer chemistry students studyfaxis and food additives, pharmaceuticals and drugs, nuclearenergy, plastics and polymers, environmental e.hemistry,agricultural chemistry, and the chemistry of home care andpersonal products (cosmAcs).

Chemistry IIn this college preparatory course for the liberal arts stu-

dent, we place strong emphasis on d ,veloping a qualitativeunderstanding of chemical concepts. As in all of our courses,laboratory work is a major part of the program. Approxi-mately 25 laboratory experiments are performed by stu-dents and, in addition, many teacher demonstrations are anintegral part of this course. We do not stress memorization,and testing is biweekly.

Relevant and applied topics are favored, especially inlaboratory work, where students titrate samples of vinegarand household cleaners brought from home and explorethe chemistry of air and water pollutkm by determiningpercent lead found in soil samples. As n the ConsumerChemistry Course, over 00 percent of the students in theprogram have met with success.

Advanced Chemistry IThis program is offered to juniors and high-abihty sopho-

mores with strong mathematical backgrounds who are inter-ested in a career in the sciences, engineering, mathematics,or medicine. It provides a more theoretical, yet still lab-orien ted, approach. Advanced topks such as chemical kinet-ics, thermodynamics, redox systems, and electrochemistrymake the course academically rigorous. We require stu-dents to complete an experimental research project andover 35 lab activities, including making esters and qualita-tively analyzing unknowns. Students in this wurse com-pete in local, county, national, and international sciencefairs and talent searches. They have compiled an impressivewinning record. Their superior scores both in advamedplacement and chemistry achievement tests indicate thesuccess of this aspect of our chemistry program.

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Organic ChemistryThe second year advanced program, concentrating on

organic chemistry and research, is the only one of its kindin Broward County and possibly in the state of Florida.Organic chemistry frequently is a traumatic experience forcollege students. Prospective biology and chemistry majors,premed, predental, prevet, engineering, and allied healthprofessionals (psychology, agriculture, and home econom-ics) often find that this required subject represents the big-gest hurdle in successfully completing their majors. Manymedical schools use student performance in organic chem-istry as a measure of the analytical ability they seek in theirprospective students. Given the rigorous nature of ouradvanced inorganic program, we felt that a second-yearprogram focusing on organic chemistry would be moreuseful to our students than another year of inorganicchemistry.

The organic class, a one-year junior-senior level advancedprogram, is taught in a manner as close to a college courseas possible. Its prerequisites are first-year chemistry andinstructor approval. The class is scheduled the last twoperiods of the school day, alternating with advanced phys-ics. The research portion of the course is team taught withthe physics instructor, and a flexible schedule allows labsthat are two or three hours long. Participating studentsleave campus whenever their research demands they go toa nearby university, community college, or industrial facility.

One of the primary goals of the program is to exposestudents to a college-level approach to teaching. Studentsare expected to make good use of time and to schedulemost activities themselves once they receive a course sylla-bus. Most general assignments are neither collected norgraded (as in a typical college course). We accept only stu-dents who are capable of self-motivation, have adequateacademic pr,paration, can utilize abundant free time wisely,and have demonstrated an inquisitive attitude, a great dealof maturity, and an interest in scientific knowledge.

A variety of written materials are available for studentuse. These include college texts such as Morrison andBoyd's Organk Chemistry. The course provides a comprehen-sive overview of many of the traditional topics covered in acollege-level organic course. Many of the major conceptstaught in inorganic chemistry are reviewed and reinforcedin a new organic context. Bonding and hybridization ofcarbon, the stereochemistry of organic species, nomencla-ture, and the reactions of major functional groups areintroduced. Oxidation of akohols, aldehydes, and ketonesprovides a review of balancing redox systems. The study ofcarboxylic acids and their derivatives serves as a review ofadd-base equilibrium, buffers, and acid-base indicators.Kinetics are reviewed through a treatment of major organicreaction mechanisms.

Extensive laboratory work allows our students to becomefamilhir with refluxing, distillation, recrystallization, extrac-tion, chromatography, and synthesis techniques. For exam-ple, students isolate caffeine arid cholesterol, perform TLCanalysis of analgesic drugs, and synthesize aspirin, soap,common esters, and polymers.

The research project allows each student to locate, re-search, and develop a project in an individually chosensuence area. This project requires explicit training in theuse of library materiak and research statistics. Students

1 4

gain the "know-how" of perusing scientific literature, writ-ing a report, and presenting and decending a scientificpaper. They develop the experience and confidence neces-sary to enable them to walk into a lab, plan their attack on aresearch problem, familiarize themselves with new instru-mentation and procedures, and make steady progress to-ward its solution.

Scientific research demands much more creative activitythan the mechanical manipulation of laboratory work. Re-search and development have a direct influence on thegrowth and productivity of American industry. Our stu-dents have a first-hand opportunity to experience a glimpseof the excitement of research. They often carry out at leastsome of their experimental work in a nearby universityfacility o: an industrial or medical complex.

Field trips to local industriE.' plants provide first-handknowledge of "chemistry in action" and are an effectiveteaching tool as well as a motivational activity. We try toinclude at least two such visits during the year. Companieshave generally been cooperative, improving their "show"from year to year.

Students are encouraged to enter science fairs, local,state, and national competitions such as the WestinghouseScience Talent Search, the JETS competitions, and the ACSChemathon. They become active members of the school'sScience Research Club, serve as judges in the elementaryschool fairs, and present special "chemistry shows" to localelementary schools.

Students' grades are based on their lab work, class partic-ipation, homework, quizzesmd chapter tests.

Classroom DesignWith the exception of a few formal lectures, students are

free to organize their work as they see fit. They are given asyllabus containing the due dates for all laboratory andreading assignments at the start of each grading period. Anexperiment listed for a particular week could be done anyday that week or the next, as long as the product or write-upis turned in on time. Students plan their research and labwork to fit their needs. The ability level of the 3tudents andthe two-hour time block allow us to cover material fasterand yet more effectively than would have been possible in aconventional setting.

The instructor acts as a consultant, helping with prob-lems encountered in lab procedures or in the research pro-cess. Informal small-group discussions are common. Peerteaching from students who have already completed a par-ticular lab procedure or assignment is very helpful andeffective in reinforcing information that students havelearned.

Diversity characterizes this type of classroom structure.Some students may be doing the paper chromatography offood colors while others separate indicator dyes throughthe use of a packed column. Those who have made pre-vim, arrangements may be at nearby FAU or at a localoptometrist's office working on some aspect of their re-search. Worksheets and kcture topic materials are handedout periodically, with the instructor providing individualhelp during the day and after school. Tutorials as well asdrill and problem solving software for three Apple Ile com-puters are available for all the major organic families. Copies

of Discovery, Scientific American, and Chemical and EngineeringNews dating back several years are on counters around theroom, along with a fairly extensive collection of chemistryand biology reference material. Students have free access toall of these.

Each lab group pair is assigned a glassware kit and a totetray containing all of the additonal glassware and equip-ment needed in the course, including a Thermowell electricheater and Powermite control unit, since the use of an openflame is prohibited in the organic lab. This equipment isproperly labeled and stored on shelves around the room.Chemicals on carts or tote trays are labeled with experi-ment numbers so that materials may be returned properly.Reagents are kept available for the class by lab associa tesstudents who have already taken the course and receive anelective science credit for assisting students, preparing solu-tions, and setting up labs.

The laboratory component of the course has been greatlyenhanced. Two-hour time periods are now available for labprocedures without disrupting other classes and withoutthe need for students to remain after school in order tofinish a lab. However, an after-school open-lab policy givesstudents the opportunity to make up absences and experi-ments which just did not work the first time around. (Acommon occurrence in organic chemistry!)

Finally, thL. team teaching approach provides an oppor-tunity for one instructor to be available some time eachweek for individual consultation and for making necessarycontacts with outside resources. For example, in the lasttwo years we have assisted students in locating, requesting,and receiving materials from at least ten major governmen-tal agencies and industrial concerns across the nation, inaddition to the many materials obtained locally.

EvaluationMany of our students perform well in advanced nlace-

ment, achievement, and CLEP exams in chemistry. Othersenjoy great success in their college chemistry courses orexempt freshman and sophomore chemistry at institutionslike Wake Forest, Brown, Wesleyan, and Rensselaer. Anunusually large number of our students have pursuedcareers in science, medicine, and engineering. Letters fromtheses students indicate that the organic course was ofgreat help to them.

Coral Springs High organic chemistry/research studentshave generated a tremendous amount of public relationsfor the school, the science department, and the chemistryprogram in local newspapers and school publications as aresult of their outstanding performance in science competi-tkms. Here are the highlights of student and programachievements:

A top 40 Westinghouse Science Talent Search winner in1983 and a $500 scholarship. (First top 40 winner in 13years for Broward County)Seven Westinghouse Science Talent Search HonorsGroup winners. Three of the seven were offered fulltuition college scholarships.A $500 grand award winner at the International Scienceand Engineering Fair in the area of biochemistry in 1981.Two more students attended the 1984 International Fairin Columbus, Ohio.

1 5 13

Six first-place awards out of 11 categories at the 1983Regional Science Fair. Nine of the 22 students represent-ing Broward County at the 1983 State Science Fair wereCSHS students.A first-place winner in chemistry at the State ScienceFair in both 1983 and 1984.Four of four first-place winners at ihe Regional ScienceTalent Search in 1983. First-place winner in physicalscience (chemistry) at the State Science Talent Search in1983.Overall winner in the physical science category at theBroward County Youth Fair in 1983 ($100). Overallwinner in Science Division (chemistry project) at theBroward County Youth Fair in 1984 ($500).$1000 Pembroke Pines Hospital Scholarship for Outstand-ing Project in Health and Medicine in 1983, 1984, 1985.A first-place winner in every science category (eight) atthe 1984 Broward County Youth Fair.Eight out of 12 first places and six second places at the1984 Regional Science Fair, including best of show andrunner-ups in both the biological and physical sciences.Twelve of the 21 studerts who represented BrowardCounty at the 1984 State Science Fair were CSHS stu-dents.Over $28,000 in scholarships, cash awards, and grantshave been received by students involved in the organiclresearch program in the last three years alone.Both teachers directly involved in the program havereceived extensive recognition at the local, stateindnational level.

Areas of ConcernAlthough the program has been successful, there are

some specific areas of concern which need to be addressed:The inquiry approach demands many hours of planningand preparation time, as well as an extensive backgroundin laboratory work on the part of the ins,ructor.

14

The potential for safety hazard -. associated with manyorganic procedures is a definite concern, and adequatetraining of students in safe organic lab techniques shouldbe a first priority. Laboratory facilities must be func-tional; adequate equipment and supplies have to be avail-able. Poor facilities and inadequate supplies would severelyhinder this type of program.With the extensive curriculum that must be covered, wehave little time to discuss the many social issues createdby chemical and technological developments. 1\heneverpossible, students are made aware of these concerns tostimulate further thought and investigation.Because the success of this program depends so much onthe effective use of community resources, we spend muchtime identifying key personnel and facilities in business,industry and the academic community. In the last threeyears the local Coral Springs business and industrial com-munity donated over $3,50 to provide scholarship andcash awards to students in the program.Because of the complexity and potential safety hazardsassociated with many organic lab procedures, carefulscreening of prospective students is necessary.

A Concluding ThoughtOur entire program is based on the philosophy that a

successful experience will make that student a chemistryadvocate who in turn will help sell chemistry to others. Myclassroom is open, spontaneous, and adaptable to change. Itry to be warm, flexible, and humorous, and to communi-cate to my students an excitement for the subject matterthat goes beyond the content itself. Thi.3 philosophy of fun,hard work, and academic excellence is greatly responsiblefor the success of the organic chemistry course at CSHS. Itis also responsible for the success of the consumer chemis-try class and the rest of our program. I consider it essentialto the successful implementation of the course.

7 6

Chapter 3Chemistry-Biochemistry

David C. TuckerMount Baker Junior-Senior High SchoolBox 95Deming, Washington 98224

To the east, pasture lands and berry fields slope intothe Cascade foothills where the giant Twin Sistersmountains pierce the sky i..i 6,800 feet. To the north,

Mt. Baker, the most northerly peak in the Pacific "Ring ofFire," emerges from clouds and mist. Its glaciated slopes areforested with Douglas fir, cedar, and western hemlock,while its streams feed the Nooksack River which curvesclose to our school before flowing gently on in a great arcto Bellingham Bay.

In such an inspiring setting our students at Mt. Bakercan observe the forces of nature at work. Their surround-ings compel them to ask the fundamental questions: Whatis the world made of? What is my relationship to thisworld? How can humans live in harmony with nature?

Come visit our school, wherc tradition is as solid as ourriver and mountains. Walk under the big leaf maples intothe old brick building, built in 1926. On the long walls ofone corridor hang photographs of each graduating class.

Our facility has grown since 1926 into a campus schoolcomplex with a fine library and modern buildings for horti-culture, music, art, home economics, and the sciences. Wehave a new fieldhouse, a dome enclosing an indoor track,and satellite rooms. Our field house offers the best weeklyentertainment for miles around, a tradition with the Dem-ing folks who support their student atheletes.

The school, with 200 miles of bus routes and 400 stu-dents, is the heart of a great network. Many students sportlogger boots and red suspenders, evidence of the primacyof forest occupations here. Some w irk at Carol's CoffeeCup, saving their tips for college expenses. Their parentsloggers, ranchers, small farmers, dairymen, berry growers,and city commutersare drawn to the school, the onlyinstitution that affects everyone. Their support is the strong-est tradition in our school district.

Regardless of what lies ahead, the students of Mt. BakerHigh School today will be the voting citizens and adults oftomorrow. Some will graduate from college with profes-sional degrees. Many more will graduate from high school,perhaps terminating their formal education with courses ata local community college or vocational/technical schooland enter the job market. Some will choose the occupationsof their parents, and some will drop out of high school. Butthese students, regardless of their futuve occupations, willlive and work in a world filled with science. I impress uponthem that understanding and applying science are vital forsuccessful living. If this is properly accomplished, scienceeducation will pay dividends ten times over.

I work to help my students improve their logical thinkingand decision-making skills. To accomplish this, I offer acourse that is not restrictive, and I work to keep students inthe class. Michael B. Leyden, in an article in The ScienceTeacher (March 1984), says it quite correctly. "The problemwith most science classes today is that many of the bestproblem solvers are the kids we won't let take science.They are the noncollege-bound students who aren't smartenough to take such hard courses as chemistry and physicsand are put into such 'menial courses' as auto mechanicsand home economics." Many science courses have filteredout average and below-average students through teachers'academic sophistication. Similarly, many high-ability stu-dents are not scientifically literate for the same reason.While it is true that the more intelligent person can handl.

1 715

more abstract material, the question is, "What should highschool teachers really attempt to accomplish?" I do knowthat if we expect students to become scientifically literate,we will have to teach scientific literacy.

Mt. Baker High School is the only school in the Mt.Baker School District. For that reason we dc not have to beconcerned with a district-wide program. The junior highschool science program consists of one-year, activity orientedcourses at the 7th and 8th grade levels. We attempt toinfuse as many of the succes,iful characteristics of ourchemistry program into these areas as possible. The biologyprogram is also being uesigned with exemplary characteris-tics in mind. The biology teacher, Don Shepard, has playeda vital role in establishing the proper base for future suc-cess in science classes.

The chemistry program at Mt. Baker Jr.-Sr. High Schoolis an interdisciplinary, career-based, activity-oriented expe-rience in science that students enjoy. The career-basednature of the course allows students to practice decision-making skills at an important stage of their maturation.The course stresses applications of chemistry as well as theimpact of chemistry on the environment. Societal issuesconcerning chemical processes are emphasized to insuithat the student finds a place in a scientific world.

ResourcesThe chemistry/biochemistry course has been developed

over a period of 10 years, allowing a variety of resources todevelop. Reading materials include newspapers, journals,and pamphlets, as well as textbooks. Our proximity to aregional university allows us to obtain materials and equip-ment for experiments that would otherwise be impossibleto conduct. A range of community members and individu-als from local service and product oriented businesses serveas guest speakers and resource people. For example, theNorthwest Air Pollution Control Authority has providedvaluable help and materials in establishing an air qualitymonitoring system in the school district. Our laboratoryconsists of the entire geographical area of WLatcom County.We have studied the various soils, the lakes, Puget Sound,Nooksack River, streams drain' e, the crater of Mt. Baker,and its adjoining glacier ice. In a Jition, my undergraduatetraining in chemical engineering allows me to approachproblem solving, applications, career awareness, and tech-nological innovations from a variety of perspectives.

Our GoalsI make chemistry available to all by grouping students

according to ability. For the most part, students enterinnchemistry find a comfortable, nonhostile class environment.The course has been designed to be relevant, useful, andcomprehensible. We are concerned about maximum appealand purposely try to avoid frustration. This element offrustration runs deep in high school science education.Think of how many comments you have heard about sciencebeing too complicated, too abstract, or too detailed. Wehave not taken the hard work out of science at our school.We simply start with the philosophy that all students shouldbe taking science and that science can be taught in a positiveenvironment. Once this atmosphere becomes apparent to

lo

the students, we can accomplish many objectives.Secondly, I believe I have a responsibility to help students

become intelligent voters, knowledgeable consumers, en-vironmentally conscious citizens, and long-range goal set-ters. I am convinced that a two-year program is needed toachieve these objectives. Our second year of chemistry isreally a blend of biology and chemistry, so much that weare really offering a three-year, interdisciplinary prog amin chemistry and biology.

The most important goal of any high school science pro-gram should be scientific and technological literacy. Manyteachers say we need to prepare the students for collegechemistry; this is a fallacy. We do need to teach them somemathematics skills, but most importantly, we need to givethem an interest in science and a nonthreatening attitudeabout science. Interest can carry them far. Looking at sciencetopics and the way these topics are covered in college, Iseriously doubt that high school science could prepare stu-dents adequately. The old saying, "We have to study thisnow because you will need it later," has no basis in fact.

The primary goal of any science course should be to meetthe needs of the students who take it. We are intent uponimproving scientific and technological literacy, consumerawareness, career motivation, and environmental conscious-ness. We want to:

Help students become intelligent cAlzens in our societyso that democratic processes and ideals can be perpetuated.Help students develop a love of learning that will last fora lifetime.Help students develop decision-making strategies thatwill insure future success.Help students acquire strategies to cope with a rapidlychanging world filled with many choices.Provide part of a broad and flexible high school educationnecessary for a scientific/technological world.Help students become aware of career options, socialissues, and applications related to chemistry.Provide prerequisite academic information for studentswho contemplate careers in science.

Description of the ProgramIn first-year chemistry, the content begins with elements

and compounds. We break down the compounds to developatomic theory. We uce the atomic theory to establish a scaleof atomic masses ?nd discover the rules of stoichiometry.Side excursions are taken to gases, liquids, and solids. Next,we explore solutions. We backtrack to discover the order ofatoms and the periodic law, as well as atomic structure.Bonding is covered in these last two units. We finish thefirst year with solution dynamics by studying thermochem-istry, kinetics, equilibrium, and acids and bases. The lastunit explored is oxidation and reduction.

Practical applications are embedded in all of the units tostimulate interest and keep the topic understandable. Forexample, during the unit on gases we measure the percentof oxygen in air and study various forms of air pollution.We determine the air quality of Whatcom County experi-mentally, with the Northwest Air Pollution Control Author-ity providing valuable assistance. This is an ongeing classexperiment that, over the years, has provided data neededto spot long-term trends. Another example in the solutions

1 8

unit is our lotal water quality experiment. Much like theclass experiment on gases, we determine the local waterquality of our individual drinking sources and of the Nook-sack River that flows through the district. This study hasbeen valuable to the local Whatcom County Health Depart-ment in providing base-line data for the river. In my 14years of teaching here, many new homes have been builtalong the river. The continued monitoring of the waterquality gives the students a visible appreciation of long-term pollution.

Various teaching strategies help students learn. In theunit on gases, students organize into groups with the pur-pose of developing a plan of action to solve a local air pollu-tion problem. In the unit on liquids, a panel discussion isorganized consisting of a number of local water users toexamine conservation methods and potential pollutionsources.

In second-year chemistry, I use the foundations of first-year chemistry (and biology) to accomplish a valuable goal:awareness of life in a chemical world. Study begins withhydrocarbons, hydrocarbon carcinogens, and explosives.Next we study alcohols and alcoholism, followed by chemi-cal and biological warfare and poisons. The next unitexplores pesticides and insect attractants. We then studyesters, acids, soaps, and detergents. The organic bases(amines) and amino acids follow next. We have a strongunit on polymers, a short unit on photochemistry (chemi-luminescence), and then an extensive unit on drugs. Weconclude our study with enzymes and nucleic acids. Thesetopics have an obvious connection to other aspects of thestudents' lives. We take advantage of this by emphasizingsocietal issues and controversial aspects of these topics.

Regardless of the importance of science i 1 our society,my objectives cannot be accomplished unles.; the studrmtshave a personal understanding of the value ot science. Stu-dents will care about what they do in the classroom if it isrelevant or useful after they leave school. One wa ateacher can successfully convey the relevance of scieme tosociety is to help the students improve their long-rangegoal setting and decision-making capabilities. I do thisthrough career awareness.

Nationwide statistics clearly show a problem in Amei-i-can schools. Out of 100 students who enter junior highschool, 5 drop out before high school; another 17 drop outof high school and, of the 78 who do graduate, 43 godirectly to work. Of the remaining 35 students, only 10 willgraduate from college. And yet many scicnce classes arestructured to serve only the needs of the college-boundscience minority. We must prepare all students for a science-filled world.

The Comprehensive Career Education Model (CCEM)developed at Ohio State University defines eight elementsthat can be infused into the curriculum of any subject area:

Development of knowledge and appreciation of a varietyof occupations;Improvement of self awareness;Improvement of decision-making skills;Improvement of education awareness;Improvement of career awareness;Improvement of economic awareness;Identification of beginning competency skills;Improvement of employment skills.

Career education techniques can be added to a scienceprogram by changing the direction of assignments andactivities. Developing a career-oriented unit in place of aknowledge-based unit is limited only by the interest andenergy of the teacher.

At the beginning of the school year all students completean interest inventory consisting of items related to jobpreference, likes, dislikes, and choices. We discuss these inclass. Through this process the students find out a lotabout themselves. The class then develops a questionnaireto be used when guest speakers visit the class. The ques-tionnaire includes items related to job satisfaction, workingconditions, education, salary, and feelings. It is importantfor dif,cussion to take place at this point. Because of thereal-world science emphasis in the program, resource peo-ple are unlimited. We sample careers ranging from carpen-ters to chemical engineers. Field trips also provide onsiteopportunities.

I distinguish between two learning modes: a,...tive andpassive. Students become truly interested in a class whenthey are participating actively. Students can perform class-room demonstrations or experiments just as effectively asthe teacher. All that is required is a little preparation by thestudent and a schedule to show when these activities are tobe performed. Of course, teacher help is needed. The sameidea can be used to handle some important topics within aunit. Instead of the teach2r "telling" everything, shortreports by students accomplish the same goal. Studentslearn from their peers. One of the most effective teachingstrategies I use is the "problem" or "mystery" approachwith lab experiments. The students continually try to iden-tify and solve problems.

Reading lists should be flexible, both for credit and extracredit. I have substituted book reports for some hour exams.

Lists of discussion questions should be handed out at thebeginning of a unit and include such questions as: Why doyou think . . . l'r?dict what might happen if . . . Whatshould we do . . . Organize the data to . . . .

Students are graded on tests, homework, experimentwrite-ups, quizzes, report summaries, question sheet hand-outs, and skill papers, as well as effort and attitude. Thereare numerous possibilities for extra credit or alternativecredit. By far the most important element in the gradingscheme is the experiment write-up. Logical thinking, cre-ative thinking, skill development, mathematical usage andmanipulation, as well as writing skills and scientific processskills, are measured. I give unit tests, and a final exam. Allstudents are required to keep a notebook consisting ofhandout sheets for each unit. This unit is graded while theunit exam is being taken.

Classroom DesignOur chemistry facility is fairly typical. There are seven

lab stations around the perimeter of a large room. Thefacility was cotructed in 1982 with the idea of maximumflexibility. Each year we seem to have 'a few independentstudents working on advanced projects. With this idea inmind, two satdite rooms are equipped with a lab station,gas, and water. One other satellite room is our resourcereference library where supplemental texts, journals, etc ,

are located. There are common prep and storage areas be-

17

tween the chemistry and biology rooms. Eventually thisarea will also have to serve as a computer center for science.

Equipment for the second-year chemistry program isalso standard. We do a number of experiments that requiremore sophisticated electronic equipment at WWU inBellingham.

EvaluationOur program provides superb instructic n to reach the

goal of science and technological literacy but it also relatesscience to human affairs. We devote considerable time toexamining societal issues related to chemistry. Mostly wedo this by reading newspapers and holding debates or paneldiscussions in the classroom. Students have often com-mented that they have an increased awareness or familiar-ization of issues presented in the news media.

Another indicator of success is the popularity of the pro-gram. At Mt. Baker we have a four-year sequence ofcourses beginning with biology, then chemistry, biochemis-try, and physics. We counsel 80 percent of the 9th gradestudents into biology. We are getting about 70 percent to80 percent carryover from one year to the next. Thismeans that about 40 percent of the entire high school popu-lation is taking four years of science. Considering that weare a small school (400 enrollment) in a semirural setting,these statistics are positive. I might add that just becausewe are small does not mean that students are locked intothis science sequencethere are many courses to choosefrom.

The program is also adequate in preparing students forcareers in science-related fields. Rough statistics for ourschool over the past seven years show a higher than aver-age number of students choosing science careers. I am surethe interest and career-awareness aspects of this programmight be labeled by some as being "watered down" or "con-sumer chemistry" for average-ability students. However,we cover every concept that most traditional chemistryprograms do; it's just that we do it in two years, with muchhigh-interest material added. Along the way we emphasizedifferent objectives, such as societal and career aspects.

We continue to survey graduates who are in colleges anduniversities majoring in science-related fields to find outwhat our program is lacking. Generally our graduates indi-cate that they have been very adequately prepared. Thissurveying also provides ideas to improve the program.

One perplexing aspect that has surfaced is the effect oftime spent on societal issues/applications/career awarenesscompared to theoretical concept development. We havefound over a 10-year period that when more of these"human science activities" are incorporated into a program,less time is spent on traditional concept development-- thekind of concepts tested for on nationally standardized, col-lege qualifying, entrance tests. I can truthfully say that aslong as colleges require tests with these kinds of quezitionswe will have to find better ways to teach them. But there isonly a limited population of students who should be testedin this manner: the extremely high ability science-orientedstudents. There is a far greater population of students forwhom scientific literacy should be stressed.

We have found a way to teach and test theoretical chemi-cal skills that allows us to have the best of both kinds of

18

chemistry. The answer lies in the use of computers. Laterin this chapter I have outlined a teaching strategy called theChemical Skills Ladder that has improved chemical skillcomprehension in our program. This seems to me to be avery reasonable purpose for computers: perform tasks thatare individualized and time consuming so that class timecan be used for more high interest, group type activities.

Plans for ImprovementThe chemistry/biochemistry program at Mt. Baker is

good, however, there are areas that still can be improved.The emphasis on career awareness requires the modifica-tion of many assignments or activities to incorporate careerawareness concepts. This has been a slow and tedious pro-cess. From a teacher's point of view, reasonable goals mustbe identified and attained. The resources for career aware-ness activities add an entirely new dimension to the pro-gram. Unfortunately, resource people also have schedulesto contend with, making the organization tricky. Simplystated, infusing career awareness concepts into a programtakes time, energy, and, above all, patience.

A second area of concern is the development of appro-priate teaching/learning strategies for the chemistry skillsthat are a part of any computer program. We have devel-oped a strategy that uses the computer for tutorials, drilland practice, and testing. We have either written or pu--chased software packages that cover the appropriate skillsfor each instructional unit. These are required assignmentsto be completed either in the school computing center or onone of the computers in the chemistry room. We havewritten a number of good programs, mostly in Basic, forthe Apple Ile.

The testing has become an extremely valuable process.Not only do we determine a skill grade but, in addition, thisprocess identifies weaknesses, enabling us to use this meth-od as a diagnostic tool. The process, called the ChemicalSkills Ladder, has been constructed as follows. Once all ofthe desired skills have been identified for each unit, thetesting programs are written. For example, suppose thefirst skill was to £1...me elements and symbols. Skill Level #1will have one question on this skill. The student challengingSkill Level #2 will face two questions, one as a review oflevel #1 and a new question on the second level. A studentmust answer both of these questions correctly to move upthe ladder. Quarterly, semester, and yearly goals can beestablished and, equally important, weaknesses can be iden-tified. This is a good way to achieve comprehension. Virtu-ally any skills can be loaded into the sequence. Thi ; strategyhas significantly helped students prepare for the chem-istry test. Also, when students return for the sec ..)nd yearof chemistry we have noticed a much stronger rete :tion ofthese skills. For a program like ours, this strategy is appro-priate. Incidentally, I gave these written quizzes every otherFriday.

Some Concluding ThoughtsMany factors influence the success of a science program.

Some of those factors have already been discussed in thischapter, such as teacher background, local support, up-to-date teaching strategies, modern curricula, appropriate goals,

2 t)

etc. We have made gains in all these areas. The scienceeducation obtained by the students ot the Mt. Baker SchoolDistrict is far better because of our efforts. However, onefactor that we are now addressing could undermine theprogram: the desire to seek and maintain excellence in edu-cation. A program such as the one we created will notsurvive unless the local support continues. Support comesin many different sized packages. Support manifests itselfin subtle actions by local administrators, school board mem-bers, and local community leaders. The thread that bindseducational excellence is every bit as fine as the thread oflife.

Our science program has really been the first step intothe realm of educational excellence for our district. Althoughour school district does have some fine accomplishments tocite, quite frankly, our community people have been satis-fied for a long time with an average education. Many stillthink science is for smart students. These same studentscome from homes where the parents' expectations are lowand nonchallenging. Many parents and school officials ofour district do not feel the urgency of improving academicexcellence as I do. Whether I like it or not, our scienceprogram has to take responsibility to some degree for a lackof desire for academic excellence demonstrated by some

other programs. The changes occurring in our countrywith regards to society, lifestyle, career expectations, andfamily make it imperative for teachers to communicate.1fectively with parents and community leaders. Parentsand teachers must become "tuned in" to each other's ideas.We live in a world filled with innumerable choices.

Students make choices, strong parental support groupsare needed. If parents are to make responsible decisions fortheir children, they will have to thoroughly understand thegoals and benefits of an educational system based on excel-lence. The school cannot remain a "black box" any longer. Itmust be illuminated with new understanding of the role ofscientific education in a complex society.

As exemplary programs continue to evolve, they seeknew strategies, new ideas, and up-to-date content, so thatstudents can be challenged to do their best. Teachers ofexemplary programs, like teachers of all other programs,need to be rewarded, complimented, and challenged toimprove. Teachers should be paid both monetarily and pro-fessionally to attend workshops, conferences, and the like.Proper evaluation must follow. The newspaper headlinesstating "education excellence must begin" are over. Nowthe hard work begins.

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IQ

Chapter 4Chemical ConceptsThroughInvestigation

Diana Doepken and Pat SmithAir Academy High SchoolColorado Public School District #20U.S. Air Force AcademyColorado Springs, Colorado 80840

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Air Academy High School, a public high school serv-ing 1,100 students in grades 9 through 12, is locatedon the grounds of the U.S. Air Force Academy just

north of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The district's school-age population of 7,695 students attends two high schools,one junior high school, and eight elementary schools.

Our district is increasing rapidly as Colorado Springsgrows with an expanding high-tech industry and the selec-tion of Colorado Springs as the location for the Consoli-dated Space Operations Center and the Air Force SpaceCommand.

The population of our district and the surrounding com-munity could be described as suburban upper-middle class.The district represents a well-educated population, many ofwhom are professionals or employed in the high-tech indus-tries. Because of our location on an Air Force facility, wealso serve the resident military population.

More than 80 percent of our graduates go on to a four-year college, 5 percent enroll in a community ccnege, 3percent enlist in the military or enroll in vocational training,and about 10 percent find full-time employment after grad-uation.

These statistics show Air Academy's academic orienta-tion. For that reason we must continue to offer preparationfor college emphasizing process to learn content. Our expec-tations of the chemistry program are met when studentsreturn to tell us that college chemistry was easy. Theadministration at Air Academy High School not only encour-ages innovation but actively seeks it. For the past two yearsan Expanded Vision Committee has met to define prioritiesand creative ways to solve curriculum problems. Next year'spriorities are the development of higher order thinkingskills and creativity. Our chemistry program fits very wellinto such an environment.

Introduction to Chemistry, the first course, was devel-oped to provide a better experience for students not espe-cially interested or talented in science. These students needchemistry at their level. The strategies we use with thesestudents were influenced by articles describing the applica-tion of the ideas of Piaget to the science classroom. TonyLawson, Robert Karplus, and John Renner published exten-sively, presented workshops, and gave speeches about dif-ferent methods of teaching science. The learning cycle usedby Karplus in the SCIS elementary science program was auseful vehicle. Our chemistry program was developed overa period of years, beginning with experiments and finallycomprising complete lessons.

The students in the Introduction to Chemistry classresponded so well that when we were asked to developmaterials for gifted students we used the learning cycle. Wealso use similar methods in the college preparatory course.Because of student interest and our own perception of theimportance of the material, we are incorporating moreorganic chemistry into all phases of the college preparatorycourse.

Our ProgramOur program includes five different chemistry courses:

Introduction to Chemistry, Chemistry, Advanced PlacementChemistry, and TAG Chemistry/Physics 1 and 2. Althoughthe courses differ in content, the philosophies are similar.

2

All aim to teach the concepts of chemistry by emphasizingthe processes and activities of professional scientists, bothcontemporary and historical. Although students in differ-ent courses may study conctIpts to a different extent, allstudents are exposed to problem-solving techniques andencouraged to use critical thinking while learning the prin-ciples of chemistry. We stress not only the ability to find ananswer to a problem, but the means and strategies neces-sary to solve it.

The content of Introduction to Chemistry deals withsuch fundamental topics as investigations of the propertiesof matter; experimental and laboratory techniques; devel-opment of a molecular model from observations; kineticmolecular theory and its applications; differences in thephysical states of matter; relationships between mass andenergy; interactions between the states of matter; the peri-odic table; acid and base chemistry; and organic chemistry.

The Content of Chemistry and the chemistry portions ofTAG Chemistry/Physics I and II are nearly identical. Theyinclude:

A study of the regularities, relationships, and interac-tions of matter;Development of the kinetic molecular theory and how itapplies to solids, liquids, and gases;Periodicity of the elements and consequences of thearrangement;History of the theories of atomic structure and the rela-tionship between structure and properties;Nature of chemical bonding;Nuclear reactions, transmutation of elements;Organic compounds, their structure and properties;Stoichiometry of chemical reactions;The solution process and expressing concentration;Rates of chemical reactions and mechanisms of reactions;Acid and base chemistry;Oxidation-reduction reactions.All of the courses, with the exception of Al' Chemistry,

are designed around the inquiry method of learning of theLearning Cycle. In this teaching strategy, students aredirected to perform an exploratory experiment, collect datain usable form, and then analyze the data. We usually makedirections for this experiment specific but brief, allowingthe students to formalize an exact procedure on their own.Thus the students are directed to "find a way to . . ."instead of being given a recipe from the lab book.

After this exploration phase, students work with theteacher, either in small groups or as a class, to analyze thedata and incorporate it into a useable model or theorytermed "The Main Idea of the Lesson." After this exercise,students use their ideas and theories developed in the secondphase by applying them to another sitoatkm, often aneveryday experience. For example, after students learn theeffect of pressure on the volume of a gas in the lab, we askthem why potato chip bags which are tm the groceryshelves here in Colorado are all puffed up.

The role of the teacher in our courses varies with thephase of the cycle. In the exploratkm phase the teacherprovides some direction, but not in specific terms, since theexperiments are often open-ended and qualitative in nature.Students are encouraged to record what they see and drawtheir own conclusions. In the s;cond part of the cycle, theteacher plays a more active role as the teacher and student

together try to make sense of the data and observations. Inthis role, the teacher leads a discussion and asks carefullyplanned questions to draw out as much student response aspossible. A student who "discovers" a principle is muchmore likely to retain it and be able to apply it than if it ismerely presented in a lecture context.

Students are graded in the Introductory Chemistry courseusing a 90-80-70-60 grading scale which reflects percen-tage of points earned during the grading period. Individuallessons are examined for completeness and evidence ofcomprehension of the lesson concepts and graded accord-ingly. A unit test based on factual knowledge and applica-tions of the principles is given at the end of a unit or whenappropriate. rAen students perform laboratory tasks (suchas finding the density of an object) as part of the exam.

Generally the same grading standards are used in theother chemistry courses. But most of the evaluation is donethrough testing and work in the laboratory. Problem solv-ing skills are usually tested in every unit. We try to incorpo-rate as much application as possible in designing testquestions.

FacilityIn our building, the chemistry classrooms are designed

for 24 students per class. The front of the room containsmoveable student desks with a demonstration table andchalkboard for the teacher. The back of the room holds thelaboratory area. Students in introductory chemistry are notassigned to a specific lab desk or area: other chemistry stu-dents have their own drawer containing basic lab equip-ment and a work area.

One unique aspect of the introductory chemistry pro-gram is that equipment needs are met with a minimum ofexpense. The usual array of test tubes, beakers, and gradu-ates must be available, as well as some common chemicalssuch as acids, bases, copper sulfate, and potassium dischro-mate. The rest of the equipment and chemicalsballoons,birthday candles, sand, salt, starch, ice, plastic wrap, andcarbonated beveragescan often be supplied from the localhardware, drug, or grocery store.

The other chemistry courses require basic lab equipmentfor each pair of students and the usual stockroom chemi-cals. No special equipment or chemicals are normally used.Students and teachers use an Apple Ile for programming,word processing, and to run commercial software.

EvaluationThe success of our program can be judged by the success

of our students. In the Introduction to Chemistry classes,the number of failures is extremely low, only two or threestudents a year out of approximately 100. Grades are notthe only indication of success, however, and we are alwayspleased when we get comments from former students suchas, "I made chemistry my major," ". . . college chemistrywas easy to handle . . .", "I had a far stronger backgroundthan most other students at . . ." and "chemistry made apositive impact on my college career." As a rule, the teacherslike the program because the students succeed.

Several factors that contribute to the success of the pro-gram include:

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The students find the material easy to understand. Mas-tery of the subject matter is enhanced by lessons designedto have basically one main idea.Explanations derived by students are more thoroughlyunderstood and retained.Concepts observed in the laboratory can be seen to applyto everyday situations.The nonthreatening atmosphere of the class is conduciveto new ideas, comments, and opinions about a topic.The different courses of the program are evaluated in an

ongoing manner. The introductory chemistry courses havebeen taught by several teachers over the past five years. Asnew teachers come in, they learn about the program froman experienced teacher. Each teacher can then addldeletel-supplement material according to student needs and inter-ests. Usually at the end of the year, a teacher will havesuggestions to improve the course content which can bepassed on.

The other chemistry courses are evaluated by the teacheras a unit is completed. Questions such as "What was suc-cessful?" and "How can the objectives of this unit be metmore effectively?" lead to an updating and improvement.Learning new techniques, experiments, and demonstrationsat workshops and conventions is also a great help in thisprocess. Finally, student comments such as "I never reallyunderstood that . . ." or "What a waste!" are of significanthelp in weeding out material that just doesn't work.

Plans for ImprovementIn each chemistry course we recognize the need to offer

more career education to our students. This informationmust be incorporated into lessons presented on bulletinboards or enhanced by a speaker or program. This is done

22

to a certain extent, but could be improved.To maintain a well-balanced program, we have two spe-

cific areas of concern. With a successful program it could beeasy for the teacher to allow the learning cycle to becometoo routine, losing awareness of student needs and inquisi-tiveness. This routine might then take the form of compla-cency. It would be easy to say that we have an answer to astudent's problem, but that would destroy the very essenceof the program. We feel that one of our major strengths isthe ability of the teachers to innovate and adapt. If ourlearning cycle lessons became "the textbook," without yearlyrevisions and changes, the program would lose effective-ness. It would also be detrimental to the program if tearhersdid not keep up with progress in areas such as computertechnology and instruction, laboratory instrumentation,computer interfacing, etc. These tools are developed andcan be used effectively in all chemistry courses.

We plan to keep our program healthy and up to date by:Attending workshops and classes which will provide uswith new demonstrations, teaching methods, and ap-proaches to a subject. Then we will try them in theclassroom.Asking the students to anonymously evaluate the pro-gram at the end of the school year.Having all teachers of a specific course sit down at theend of the year, discuss the program's strengths andweaknesses, and suggest ways to improve it.Obtaining new periodicals such as Chem Matters and ScienceDigest, and incorporating their content into the daily pre-sentation of the subject.Continuing administration support for hiring teacherswho not only have an excellent background in chemistrybut are people-oriented.We would also hope for continued support, both finan-

cial and emotional, to keep the program thriving.

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Chapter 5High SchoolChemistryAnEquilibrium

Jerry R. KentHazen High School1101 Hoquiam, N.E.Renton, Washington 98056

Renton, a small town of about 34,000, is at the southend of Lake Washington. Seattle is at the north end,about 11 miles away. Renton lies in a valley through

which the Cedar and Green Rivers flow, eventually empty-ing into the lake at the edge of town. There are low hills tothe east and west of the city. Because of this geography theschool district consists of three distinct areas: a west hill, asoutheast hill, and an east hill, each with several elemen-tary schools, one middle school, and one high school. HazenHigh School, on the east hill, is where this program origi-nated.

The area began as a coal mining town, with the south-east and east hills bearing coal that was taken to the lakeand taken away by barge. The town retains its rich pioneerheritage and communicates this through a special socialstudies program for elementary students.

Generally speaking, the area serviced by Hazen HighSchool has seen a lot of changes in the past 15 years. Thepopulation grew substantially, especially in the unincorpo-rated areas, increasing by 15 percent between 1970 and1980. But with this population increase came a decrease inchildren 18 years and under.

There are two large factories within the school district.Boeing Aircraft Company and Pacific Car and FoundryCompany. The need for two-year vocational training forstudents not planning to attend college has motivated theschool district to build and support a vigorous vocational-technical school. This training meets the post high schoolneeds of a large part of our student population. About 50percent of Hazen High School students continue on tosome form of higher education other than vocational schoolor the job market.

The K-12 student population of the Renton School Dis-trict is approximately 13,000. Over the past ten years enroll-ment has decreased about 20 percent. Hazen High Schoolhas seen similar enrollment declines. It currently has 1,308students in grades 9-12. Almost 100 percent of each enter-ing class takes biology. Half of ach class, a diverse group ofstudents, also take chemistry. Some students need prepara-tion for colleges that are strong in science and engineering.Others attend one of the state's four-year universities, andsome start in a community college. The rest of the classgoes to vocational school or directly into the job market.Each of these groups has different needs that the programmust satisfy. Elements of the program that must be consid-ered include college prep material, practical applied chem-istry, understanding the role of chemistry in today's society,and developing decision-making skills based upon knowl-edge of science and application of its processes. I have foundthat high school textbooks place little emphasis on applica-tions and societal issues. Over the years I have looked forspecific ways to address these areas. This ongoing searchled to the development of my chemistry course, "Chemis-tryAn Equilibrium." I have spent many years strengthen-ing the weak areas of the program and bringing it intoequilibrium.

This is a continuing project; new technology constantlyrequires changes in the examples. My program now includeselements of application and societa' impact. Society's list ofconcerns has grown. The core o: the chemistry contentremains, but how we use it, on which problems we focus,and how it relates to the everyday world of a modern

05 23

teenager changes. My program evolves; it is not a staticunit of study written for all time. It is a growing and chang-ing program, sensitive to the needs of young people and theconcerns of society.

The resources used to build the program include morethan demonstrations and labs that illustrate the practicalside of chemistry. These resources came from my participa-tion in a number of workshops, summer programs, con-ventions, and conferences, as well as some research donefor publication. Some in-service programs that have addedto the program are the Washington Heart Association Fel-lowship, Hope College AP chemistry program, DreyfusSummer Institute, and a materials science program on solidstate structures. My professional activities in the AmericanChemical Society (ACS), The Washington State ScienceTeachers Assouation, and the National Science TeachersAssociation (NSTA) have all provided rich information thathas added to my program. Another resource has been thesafety programs I have attended. The attitude generated inmy class about safety and the safe use and disposal ofhazardous materials, gives us many opportunities to dis-cuss community safety and the responsibility of companiesusing hazardous materials.

GoalsThe program prepares students to live and operate effec-

tively in a scientific and technological world. It emphasizesteaching students how to collect data, evaluate it, build andtest hypotheses, and eventually work through a model sys-tem that describes and explains the behavior observed. Thistype of understanding develops the rational thinking pro-cess needed to understand how science works, while pro-viding students with a framework for developing principleswithin the course. The carryover of this process into otherareas of life is invaluable. However, if we expect to producescientifically literate beings through our course, we mustgive students an opportunity to apply these skills and usethem in making rational judgments. If this is accomplished,the program can boast of teaching both knowledge andwisdom.

The community has long expected secondary chemistryeducation to prepare students for success in college chemis-try. This focus has been realized with the CFIEM Studycurriculum established in the early 1% Os. Those of us whodeal with average everyday students not necessarily boundfor college understand its weak areas. The application thatmakes chemistry a real part of the students' lives is missing,as well as career education. I have worked with these areasover the years and have tried not to water down the essen-tial college prepatory content while providing a balancedperspective to stimulate an interest in science and meet theneeds of all types of students.

This explains why 1 developed the program currentlyused at Hazen High School. Though we have a number ofstudents who go on to a four-year college, an even largernumber go on to two-year programs at the communitycollege or vocational school. ever 'la If of the students inthe program are not looking for a college preparatory course;they are more interested in how chemistry affects themdirectly.

I was chairman of the Science Articulation Committee

24

that worked with a citizens committee to establish a set ofscience program goals in our district. The goals were adoptedby our school board and have become the basis for curricu-lum development in the district. The "Renton Science Pro-gram Goals" are as follows:

The Renton Science Program will:Provide students with the opportunities to master, main-tain, and apply the basic facts, concepts, skills, and pro-cesses associated with science.Develop positive attitudes in students toward themselvesthrough their relationships with science.Foster curiosity, initiative, creativity, and obj,-ctivity.Encourage student understanding and respect for theenvironment.Develop rational thinking processes which underlie thescientific approach to problem solving, including:

Define the problem;Make observations and collect data;Analyze and classify data;Build hypothesis;Design and carry out experimPnts;Evaluate results and build theories;Build model systems to explain theories.

Devylop fundamental skills in:Manipulating laboratory materals and equipment;Gathering, organizing, and communicating scientificinformation.

Develop a knowledge of and a respect for the past con-tributions, the future possibilities, and the existing limita-tions of science in solving society's problems.Provide for the reinforcement of academic and studyskills taught in other areas of the curriculum, such asmathematics and language arts.Provide an opportunity for the student to acquire anunderstanding of the relationship of science to everydayliving and various occupations.Increase student awareness of historical development inscience.Provide curriculum opportunities for both college- andvocationally-oriented students.Establish and maintain a safe learning environment anddevelop safety awareness in students.The content of the chemistry course, established by the

chemistry curriculum committee, is expected to be taughtin all schools in the district. How to weld the content to thegoals and the teaching strategies used are left to the discre-tion of each teacher. Therefore, I would like to outline thecontent as expressed in our curriculum guide and explainhow I present the material to accomplish the goals andremain consistent with my philosophy rf chemistry edu-cation.

Course ContentThe Scientific ProcessThe Particulate Nature of MatterConservation Laws and StoichiometryThe Kinetic Molecular TheorySolutions and SolubilityThe Periodicity of the ElementsSubatomic Particles and thcii- !%JatureChemical Families and Electron Distribution

Chemical BondingEnergy in Chemical ReactionsReaction KineticsChemical EquilibriumAcids and BasesBonding in Soli& and LiquidsElectrochemistryOrganic Chemistry, a study in applied chemical principles

Chemistry at HazenThis program is a one-year chemistry course for stu-

dents in grades 9-12 who have successfully completed oneyear of algebra. Class sizes are generall 24-28 students,limited to 28 students by the number c)f laboratory sta-tions. Students normally take chemistry in grade 11 afterhaving taken biology in grade 10. Some students, becauseof their achievement test scores, begin biology in grade 9.These students will then take chemistry in grade 10, phys-ics in grade 11, and advanced chemistrY or advanced biol-ogy in grade 12. Five sections of first-Year chemistry areoffered, and a second year is available for those who wishto pursue their study of chemistry further. Students mayselect an advanced placement option with this program.

Students with a wide range of interests and abilitiesenroll in the program. In order to capitalize on the wonderof science and the students' natural curicusity, the programbegins with a series of laboratory activities designed tudevelop understanding of the scientific brocess. The earlyhands-on activities set the stage for tho rest of the year;each experiment builds and reviews specific objectives. It isimportant that teachers take time to make sure studentsassimilate the concepts and observation so that they caninternalize and use what they learn. StarIdard experimentsfrom the Prentice-Hall lab manual are used to introducethe students to chemistry. In addition, they observe someof the following reactions: aluminum foil and copper 11chloride, galvanized nails in lead acetate solution andobservations of candles made from combounds other thanwax. Students learn how to make observations and usethem to develop, through the scientific process, an under-standing about nature. This unit concludes with the BellTelephone film, "Discovery," which enlArges the students'world of observations and illustrates each step in the scien-tific method.

Safety is an integral part of these laboPatory experiences.A safety-conscious attitude does not develop with just anintroductory lecture and filmstrip, altllough these help.'The teat her s actions should reinforce safety in all labor-atory work. In this program, teachers relate safety con-cerns the students have to what others experience in theirlobs and by discussing OSHA standards. By hearing aboutreal laboratory accidents and their results, students learn ahealthy respect for chemicals and how to handle and dis-pose of them. We try to teach respect, not fear.

Students wear goggles during all laboratory activitiesand are expected to wash up before leaving the class on labdays. They follow these rules with very little prompting.

Learning laboratory techniques, making real observations,properly collecting data, analyzing data, ttlaking hypotheses,suggesting tests, and eventually developing theories takeup a maior part of the first unit.

Through organizing and interpreting the collected dataand building a consistent conclusion, the students begin tolearn the process of deductive reasoning. This process isreinforced with a practical laboratory exercise of collectingdata about different liquids to determine their density.

Science-related social issues are consciously included inthe appropriate unit. Examples are:

Atomic Structure and Radioactivityconcerns of nuclearenergy.Periodic Tabledescriptive chemistry and the productionof chemicals important to the well-being of a society.Atomic Structureelectromagnetic radiations and theireffect on humans.Molecular Architecturesemiconductors and this grow-ing industry.Energy Changes in Chemical and Nuclear Reactionsenergy sources, energy related problems, nuclear fusion,fission, and related concerns and possibilities.Rates of Chemical Reactionsair pollution and catalyticconverters, outdoor and indoor air pollution.Acids and Basesa taped lecture and discussion on acidrain introduces the chapter and are mentioned through-out the unit, swimming pool chemistry, the chemistry ofshampoos, and body fluid chemistry.Oxidation Reductionconcerns regarding corrosion, bat-teries, and energy alternatives.Organic Chemistrypolymers, proteins, and carcinogens.Strategies used to cover these topics include taped le,

tures from the ACS "Men and Molecules" series, problemswith students working on independent solutions and read-ing and discussing ChemMatters magazine. Since many of myformer students have gone into fields related to these top-ics, I have invited them back to give descriptions of theirwork. This has been done in such areas as materials science,metallurgy, and medicine. One former student with a degreein chemical engineering works as a bioengineer as part of auniversity team solving real medical problems.

Another method involves beginning a lesson with a realproblem. For instance, we discuss fluorocarbons in theozone layer and students suggest how we should go aboutsolving this global concern. The lesson continues with thechemistry related to the problem and reading about poten-tial hazards. Eventually materials showing how the prob-lem was dealt with on a national and international level arediscussed.

Career information is woven throughout the course.The textbook contains sections describing job opportunitiesfor chemists. I like to extend this to all science-related fieldsand do so by getting current pamphlets on these otherareas and passing them around the class. Over the year wepreview and discuss many fields in depth. The school hasan excellent career resource area where students can getmore detailed information. When resource people arebrought into class, the career aspect is always part of theirpresentation.

This chemistry program includes rigorous and compre-hensive academic preparation. Its conceptual scheme isregularly discussed so students can see where they havecome from and where they are going. Student expectationis high and minds are stretched. Most will not be chemists,but they learn how to learn. Before they are settled in theirlifelong occupation, they will be trained and retrained many

2725

times.Students respond well when pushed to their limits, pro-

vided they are encouraged and find a degree of success intheir efforts. This is the critical nerve in teaching: providinga stimulating program that accomplishes the prescribedgoals, keeping students focused on the task and developingtheir ability to learn.

The laboratory periods are similar to those in any othersolid lab-centered high school program. Each student h isprivate glassware and hardware, and four students share acentigram balance and a hot plate. The laboratory phasefollows the normal CHEM Study lab experiments, withadditional labs. These include measuring wavelengths inthe visible region of the hydrogen spectrum, determiningthe diameter of a marble molecule indirectly by statistics,taking copper through a series of chemical reactions andback to metallic copper, corrosion studies after galvanizingand tinning a piece of iron nail, making brass, makingtransparent soap, and measuring the iron content in vitaminsupplements.

The unique aspect of this course is not the lab, but theway theoretical chemistry is made practical by the illustra-tions used, the examples of applied chemistry passed aroundthe class, and the special projects. The social emphasisemerges as an extension of what is learned about chemicalsin the classroom and the laboratory.

The evaluation package points out the priorities of theprogram. I use a variety of methods such as teacher-madetests, chapter tests from the book publishers, standardizedCHEM Study Tests (ETS), and the ACS NSTA Coopera-tive Examination These evaluate the basic core of chemicalmaterial, but do little to evaluate what is learned aboutapplication. Therefore, I use quizzes and evaluate class par-ticipation during discussions. I do not measure the careerphase of the program. However, students ask enough ques-tions in this area that I know it has been stimulating.

How the Program Fits into the District ProgramThe district's curriculum guide for chemistry includes

goal statements, an outline of the program, and the specificcourse objectives. Other parts of the guide include thenature of the students it is designed for, scope and sequence,learning objectives, means of evaluating them, and thematerials used to present the course. Teacher committees,citizen committees, administrators, and the school boardreview the entire document to see if it is consistent withthe philosophy and educational scheme of the district. Thisprocess ensures that any course developed will work inconcert with the rest of the district. A second policy requiresthat the same course be taught in each of the three highschools. As one of the teachers who virticipated in buildingthe chemistry guide, I know the content of the coursereflects what each teacher feels should be emphasized inthe progrom. These policies have not been restrictive, buthave given our district a solid science program. The mannerin which teachers present the material, the applications,and the 'axial issues varies across the distrie t and t om yearto year. fhis has stimul Iatm. me to search out new ways toteach applications, social issues, and eareer opportunities.

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Evaluation of the ProgramEach year students who graduate from Hazen High and

attend the University of Washington are interviewed afterthey have been in college for two quarters. We have yet tohear a negative response when these students are asked iftheir high school chemistry class adequately prepared themfor college chemistry. The majority of students who returnto visit the school give positive feedback about our program.

As a group, results on the ACS-NSTA CooperativeExamination are well above the national norms provided bythe testing service.

The question concerning our program meeting the needsof college-bound students not going into a science-relatedfield is more difficult to answer. However, I recently askedsome of my former students to write recommendations forme regarding the program. I specifically included some whodid not follow a science track in college. For a variety ofreasons, they thought their chemistry coursework wasvalua ble.

The students who do not go on to higher education aremore difficult to evaluate. Many do not come back to schooland cannot be followed up. Since feedback from these stu-dents is very difficult to obtain, I would like to relate theopinion of six science teachers and a science coordinatorfrom several districts throughout the country who wereinvited to spend a day in our science classes to evaluate ourschool for accreditation. Their review provided several pos-itive comments, including one commendation that: "Thescience curriculum seems well planned to meet the varyingneeds of a diverse student population."

Hazen High opened during the period when chemistryenrollments were on their way down across the nation.Students were not electing to take science in general, andchemistry and physics were at an all-time low. At its high-est enrollment level, Hazen offered three chemistry classes.As the program I am describing began developing, thenumber of chemistry classes steadily increased, even thoughtotal school enrollment was constantly decreasing. We arenow running five full classes of first-year chemistry andone class of second-year chemistry.

Since the core content of the program is a set quantity,modifications usually include new labs or new demonstra-tions. I am always looking for new labs and demonstrationsthat can make the chemistry concepts easier to assimilateand more meaningful. Safety concerns relative to thehazardous chemicals suggested in some of the older labmanuals has prompted me to look for replacement experi-ments. The cost of silver nitrate has all but eliminated somevery effective labs. These have been replaced with labs oncopper chemistry. The role of a chemistry teacher seems tobe to evaluate and reevaluate the activiti.'s and the programto ensure the best possible' learning experiences for stu-dents. Other areas of the curriculum, such as applicationand social impact of science, change with the changingtechnology. Social issues have moved from fluorocarbonsin the ozone layer to acid rain to hazardous chemicals. Sincethe issue's change constantly, the techniques for dealingwith them change as well. I read the' journals, attend con-le'rences and conventions, and keep up on modern learningtheory to put together the best learning packages to teacht hese t opics. Change has become a way of life, for no twoyears in my te'aching caw' lave been the same.

Plans for ImprovementAn understanding of atomic structure and electron con-

figurations helps students to interpret and explain chemicalphenomena. To develop these very abstract concepts prop-erly takes several weeks, and few lab experiments fit intothis section. This long time period with few labs is the lowpart of the course in terms of students actively participat-ing. Textbooks and lab manuals offer nothing to fill thisvoid. I have found three activities that help in this area, butI need more ideas that could get students involved withchemicals.

I prefer to fit social issues into the course when thecontent relates to the issue. Over the years many issueshave been incorporated. Still, many issues come up at thewrong time of the year for students to really appreciatethem from a chemical perspective. This leads 4, a discus-sion of the issue from a layman's perspective and leaves outthe opportunity of using and developing chemical knowl-edge. I often feel more could be learned if the topic wasstudied at the appropriate time, but you must act when theopportunity is available. This frequently happens whennew issues of ChonMatters arrive, but by keeping the issuesover the year one can use them when the time is right.

What to Watch ForThe pendulum swings back and forth in chemistry edu-

cationls in most human endeavors. I have seen the pendu-lum swing through both extremes. In college I was taughtprinciples and concepts that were organized and developedaround industrial processes. When I began teaching, indus-trial processes were the core of a chemistry pwgram andthis was the frame of reference I had for building a chemis-try program. NSF-sponsored curriculum projects used aconceptual framework fs.r chemistry and integrated it withthe labtwatory. We thought we had moved the pendulumback to the center by implementing a program like CHEMStudy.

The improvement in curriculum was such a giant stepahead that it took a couple of years to implement it in theschools, and then it began to be .lear that the element ofpractical application was missing. The content of the CHEMStudy program provides a sound basis for understandingchemistry. The CHEM Study philosophy of teaching, whichemphasizes learning as a scientist lea' ns, is also valuable.

The omission of descriptive chemistry and practical appli-cation, coupled with a minimal amount of material on socialissues, prompted me to supplement the program in theseareas. I believe the balance I have tried to put into mycourse with these components is tlw right tme for my stu-dents in 1085.

The possibility that this perspective would become lockedin and unable to address new and different needs in societyis a major factor that could undermine the prograr 1. Wehave seen it happen in the past, as education changes everso slowly, trying to catch up with research and the currentsocietal situations. We easily get into a rut repeating whatwe did the previous year that it is only with great effortthat we modify our programs to meet current needs. Aslong as this program continues to evolve, being sensitive tothe needs of young people and the concerns of society, itwill keep the proper balance of elements that maintains theequilibrium of the course.

Methods to Keep the Program HealthyIn order to maintain this course as a viable, healthy pro-

gram, one must be willing to evaluate, respond, and mod-ify. I evaluate the program on a regular basis in severalways. The ACS-NSTA Cooperative Examination is givenyearly; thus I am able to track my students against nationalnorms, which also gives me an opportunity to evaluatespecific units in the course. Feedback comes from counse-lors' interviews with our students in college, as well as frommy questions to graduates about which parts of the coursewere most and least helpful in college. The chemistry teach-ers in my district regularly evaluate the district chemistrycurriculum to see if changes are necessary. Individual chap-ter evaluations indicate if the material is getting through.Test questions about application and social issues not onlyhelp in evaluating the students, they show students whatyou, as a teacher, believe is important in the unit.

These different means of evaluation provoke concernsabout the program that call for a response. As long as Imaintain an attitude that says, "It didn't seem to work toowell that way; let's see how to do it better," my responseswill eventually bring into focus the best way for me toteach chemistry, in my classroom, with my students.Throughout my career I have worked to change things. Icontinually take courses, attend conferences and conven-tions, and participate in summer programs, to find new andbetter ways to do my job.

Modification results in a more effective way of doingsome part of the program. I write on the first page of eachchapter all the films, labs, handouts, activities, problem sets,and demonstrations that I intend to use. This planning willinclude the social issues and the methods of workingthrough them as well. Each year I add to and subtract fromt he list. I oft en write an exa mule or a pplicat km of a topic inOw margin of the book. I try to make Ow lists fit thest udents, the times, and the program gtmls.

Chapter 6Using High-InterestActivities

Sheryl Jan JamesScottsburg High School500 S. GardnerScottsburg, Indiana 47170

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scottsburg, Indiana, a farming community of 5,000situated 30 miles north of Louisville, Kentucky, ranksthe lowest in the state for educational achievement of

its residents. Scott County, after the recent closing of theMarble Hill Nuclear Power Plant, has become one of thepoorest counties in the state.

Scottsburg High School has an enrollment of 838 stu-dents in grades 9-12. Although only 20 percent of thegraduates enroll in college after graduation, half of the jun-ior class is taking chemistry. Next year, in addition to a 50percent enrollment in beginning chemistry, we will havetwo sections of a senior-level advanced chemistry class, afirst in the school's history.

Mahatma Ghandi said, "You westerners come to Indiawith your schools, to educate our children. You give themrunning water, tables, chairs, cutlery, beds, desks, and soon. When they leave your schools, they no longer fit intovillage life and must go to the cities, where they may ormay not survive. In our school, we give them no more thanthey have at home in their villages. But we teach themwhat they can do with what they have there. That is realeducation."

Our challenge in Scottsburg, as in other rural schools, isto prepare both types of students: those who choose toremain in their "villages" after graduation and those whowish to go on to the "cities" (colleges). For this, we needed aprogram that prepares and appeals to both types of students.

Our ProgramScottsburg High School offers both beginning and ad-

vanced chemistry classes which use many types of teachingtechniques and resources, traditional as well as nontradi-tional. About 85 percent of class time is spent on traditionalcurriculum, with the balance of nontraditional labs andactivities. The diversity of high-interest activities and theirties to everyday phenomena help maintain a high enroll-ment in the elective chemistry classes. The chemistry pro-gram operates on a relatively small budget, and half of thisis generated by student activities.

We want to integrate chemistry and real-world pheno-mena for both the academically and nonacademically in-clined student. All students experience a high degree ofsuccess through the structure and experiences provided byour special labs. These labs produce a spirit of inquiry andprovide students with an understanding of everyday chem-istry. For instance, after the ice cream lab, we overheardstudents exclaiming that they finally understood why saltwas added to snowy roads in the winter.

About 15 percent of class time is spent on nontraditionalactivities including labs, computers, photography, and sci-ence movies. Some of the nontraditional labs performed inour program include:

Hydrogen Balloon Lab: The production of hydrogen gasby a simple displacement reaction is the primary objectiveof this lab.Root Beer Titration Lab: First we find the molarity of thebase, sodium hydroxide, by titrating the base into a knownmolarity of hydrochloric acid. We then compare the nor-mality of hydrochloric acid to different substances, suchas root beer, Coke, or Sprite.Peanut Brittle Lab: ("Partial Thermal Degradation of

Carbon Dioxide Foamed Saccarides with Protein Inclu-sions") All of the reactants (candy ingredients) are listedby their chemical names.Ice Cream Lab: This experiment shows the effect of asolute (salt) in lowering the freezing point of water.Popcorn Lab: Students discover the relationship betweenpopping corn and the gas laws.Hot Air Balloon Lab: The objective is to find the hovertemperature of the balloon, but the gas laws can also bestudied.Rock Candy Lab: The study of supersaturated solutionsand crystal formation.Testing Antacids: This lab is performed when studyingneutralizations.Soap Lab: This lab is performed when studying colloidalsystems andlor organic chemistry.Common chemistry procedures are not sacrificed in these

special labs.We are currently incorporating computers into the chem-

istry curriculum. These computers are used every day. Infact, many students choose to give up their free time towork on the computers. For example, one student used thecomputer to graph the data from our melting point deter-mination lab, while another wrote a program to quiz be-ginning chemistry students about the elements and theirsymbols. He became so intrigued with computers that hedevised a science fair project using the computer to run arobot. His entry won second overall in his division at theregional science fair. He is now in his last semester in elec-tronics school.

Photography emphasizes many chemical principles thatcan be incorporated into the chemistry program. Each oneof the photographic processes (the photographic film, expo-sure, developing, fixing, and printing) involves a tremend-ous amount of chemistry. Photography can also become agreat motivational vehicle.

We tap another emotional resource by allowing the stu-dents to photograph their laboratory experiments. Theyalso take great pride in developing their prints. Our pic-tures have appeared in local publications and in the nationalchemistry magazine, Chemunity.

Since we have our own VCR and TV, my students enjoya wider range of chemistry programs and science moviesthan was available before. Two of the most popular moviesare Andromola Strain and China Syndrome.

Our program provides opportunities for students to be-come aware of and involved in chemistry-related societalissues by:

Keeping students informed of real world situations andchemistry issues on a regular basis by making use ofcurrent publications and periodicals.Utilizing resource persons from many scientific disciplines.For example, scientists from Indiana University South-east's "Visiting Scientist" program are invited to the class-room to interact with the students.Our program stresses career education. Students are

exposed to careers in chemistry or chemistry-related fieldsin several ways:

Visits from resource persons such as practicing chemists,horticulturistsmd nuclear engineers.Field trips to a nuclear power plant and local universities.Writing career research papers in which the students

include an interview with a science professional.Students are graded. on a traditional system of percen-

tage points. They know at all times what their grade is bytaking their number of points and dividing it by the totalpoints. Students can then relax and focus their attention onlearning chemistry.

Although it is not necessary to have va:..t amounts ofmoney available to incorporate this program, each year myclasSes have a radiothon fund-raiser which allows us todouble the amount of money available to the chemistryprogram. This involvement in fund-raisirg gives the stu-dents a personal stake in the operation and direction of theprogram.

The money raised has enabled us to purchase our com-puters, videocassette player, color television (which is usedwith the videocassette player and color computer) and toequip our darkroom.

The radiothon is run at the local radio station from 2:00p.m. on Sunday until 6:00 a.m. Monday. The students sellcommercial spots to local merchants. Part of the moneygoes to the station for operating expenses and the remainderis profit for the science classes. The students play their ownmusic, read the news and weather, and make dedications.This has proven to be a very popular and successfulmoney-making project. We have earned over $3,000 andplan to make an additional $5,000 in the next five years.

EvaluationWe comkier our efforts extremely successful. Although

the majority of our students do not pursue chemistry aca-demically or professionally, those who do perform well incollege. Some of my former students have majored inchemistry, engineering, veterinary science, medicine, andpharmacy.

More important are the students who have elected torun the family business, farm, or join the military service.Since our program is designed for everyone to succeed, themajority are not sacrificed for an elite few.

While the overall school enrollment has declined by 14percent since 1978, the junior class chemistry enrollmenthas gone from a low of 29 percent to the current high of 50percent. Next year's projected enrollment is also 50 percent.

Our students are enthused about chemistry. Each classwants to know if they too can get on the cover of a nationalmagazine or have a picture in our local paper. One classlaunched a seven-foot hot air balloon in 20-degree weatherwhile posing for pictures so they could get published. Thestudents are also proud to see their pictures of labs andactivities displayed on our bulletin board. My students es-pecially look forward to our nontraditional labs and sciencemovies.

Source of ConflictEven though the program seems very successful, I have

received far more criticism than support from our faculty.Some of the criticisms include:

There are too many students taking chemistry II. Thereare not enough academically-capable students to main-tain such a large enrollment.The chemistry classes should not have a money-making

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project.School time should not be used to take a field trip toMarblt Hill Nuclear Power Plant.Computers should not be purchased by the dass, butshould be considered as "necessary" items to be purchasedby the administration.Our science budget was slashed this year, so finances

may be a future problem area. Alth,migh this program doesnot require vast amounts of money, it is necessary toreplace glassware, chemicals, and equipment as in any otherprogram. The radiothon money-making project inay becomemore of a necessity.

Another problem area could be with the administration.They need to know the objectives of the program. Thisway they will understand vvhy there is a seven-foot hot airballoon being launched in the parking lot, why we do non-traditional labs, and why we have a radiothon.

The program could be undermined by administratorsand faculty who believe a class should be taught by strictlytraditional methods. This problem was partially solved atScottsburg by the enthusiasm the students show for theprogram and the heavy enrollment for chemistry I and II.

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This enthusiasm was also demonstrated in nonchemistrystudents using the floating penny. We had nonchemistrystudents and teachers come in our room to see and feel the"hollow" penny. In this lab we extracted the zinc from anew penny, and all that remained w.c the copper shell.Students took their pennies with ths. and they showedand discussed the pennies with family and friends. In thislab the students learned about a single displacement reac-tion and percent composition. A lab that generates so muchdiscussion and enthusiasm is usually not achieved in a tra-ditional setting.

A Concluding ThoughtTo keep the program healthy, it is imperative to continue

with high-interest labs and activities. This requires a greatdeal of creativity. Some of the ideas can be generated fromscience periodicals, but to keep the enthusiasm necessary tomaintain i program of this type, continuing education, aswell as attendance at science workshops ,md in-service pro-grams is extremely important.

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Chapter 7Chemistry: ThreeCourses, Five Levels

William BleamRadnor High School130 King of Prussia RoadRadnor, Pennsylvania 19087

Radnor Township, a 14-square-mile suburban com-munity 14 miles west of Philadelphia, is primarilyresidential but includes a number of corporate head-

quarters and smaller businesses. The population center isWayne, one of six towns located totally or partially in Rad-nor Township. The others are St. Davids, Radnor, BrynMawr, Villanova, and Newtown Square.

The township's population of 27,600 live primarily insingle-family units with an increasing apartment/townhousesegment. Property values are high, as is the educationalbackground of the population. More than half of Radnor'sresidents hold bachelor's degrees.

The Radnor Township area provides its residents withmany opportunities for learning, recreation, and entertain-ment. Several colleges and universities are located nearby.Libraries are readily available. Philadelphia offers a widevariety of cultural and entertainment opportunities. ThePocono Mountains and the New Jersey shore resorts arewithin easy driving distance. The township has an activeparks and recreation program.

Radnor High, with just under 1,200 students in grades9-12, is a comprehensive high school offering nearly 200courses. More than 85 percent of its graduates pursuehigher education.

The science department offers a four-year sequence ofphysical science, biology, chemistry, and physics. All coursesare taught at several ability levels, including advanced place-ment and survey courses. Students planning to take ad-vanced placement courses in their senior year are encour-aged as freshman to enroll in an advanced/honors program,skipping the 9th grade physical science course in order totake honors biology.

Our ProgramThe chemistry program at Radnor High School consists

of three courses offered at five ability levels. Chemistry isfirst taught as a process and then as a body of knowledge.Radnor students learn a set of science skills which they canuse to gain information about the world around them. Thespecific content of each course is not an end, but a begin-ning. The content gives students the background informa-tion they need to continue seeking answers to questionsabout occurrences in their daily lives. It is hoped that thisprocess will continue long after students have left thescience class.

Students in 9th grade take4thysical science and studentsin 10th grade take biology (except for accelerated honorsstudents). Chemistry is strictly an elective course at Rad-nor. Even so, the number of students taking chemistry inthis program is large. With the total high school populationreaching only 1,160 students, 263 students have elected totake chemistry this year at the various levels offered. Ofthis number, only 16 are enrolled in a second-level course.Thus, 247 students are in the first-year introductorycourses.

By the time the present junior class has graduated, 250of the 304 members of this class, or roughly 80 percent,will have taken at least one chemistry course at Radnor.This percentage has remained relatively unchanged through-out the 1960s, 70s, and into the 80s, despite the nation-wide trend toward declining interest and enrollment inscience courses during this time period.

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The majority of students selecting introductory chemis-try (163 out of 247 this year) elect to take the regularcollege-preparatory course, Chemistry 332. The course'shistory is integrally tied to the CHEM Study program devel-oped in the early 1960's. The philosophy of that nationaleffort to upgrade science education profoundly affected theteaching of chemistry at Radnor.

Essentially, the CHEM Study philosophy changed chem-istry from a "show and tell" attitudepresenting a series ofisolated facts to be memorized, with students having littleor no understanding of the relationship between thosefactsto one of "do and wonder," a continual process ofasking why, collecting data, proposing explanations, andthe further testing (by collecting more data) of those pos-sible explanations. The philosophy of chemistry at Radnor isto have students learn chemistry by DOING chemistry. Tothat end, the laboratory is an essential ingredient in allchemistry courses. CHEM Study has been criticized in thepast for its stress upon theory and abstract concepts at theexpense of descriptive cnemistry. The teachers of the threecollege-preparatory levels of chemistry have done much tomake CHEM Study more appealing, useful, and understand-able to the average student, with many demonstrations,models, and analogies which relate to the students' inter-ests and the world around them. As a result of theseefforts, while students still find the course difficult, theyalso find it challenging and interesting.

The lower level course of college-preparatory chemistry,Chemistry 333, is identical in content and approach to theregular section. The only difference between the twocourses is that Chemistry 333 meets seven periods eachweek, while Chemistry 332 meets six periods each week.This course accommodates those students who feel theyneed a strong background in chemistry to go on to college,but who do not feel confident in their mathematical andreasoning abilities. The one extra period each week wasscheduled into the course to allow the teacher to give stu-dents selecting this course extra in-class practice and indi-vidual attention. Over the years, this course has alwaysdrawn enough students to offer at least one section. In thisway the science department has not had to compromise itsstandards (especially on college transcripts), and yet stu-dents can feel the warm glow of success, even if it takesthem a little more time.

Honors chemistry, Chemistry 330, is chosen by the giftedand those students who have an avid interest in science andare highly motivated to learn chemistry. The content of thethree introductory courses, 333, 332, and 330, is identical,except that Chemistry 330 provides students with avenuesto pursue their search for knowledge in several uniqueWa ys .

In 330 the course content is developed in a somewhatmore historical vein, treating topics such as atomic theoryand the peri kik table as ever-changing concepts that havedeveloped through time and man's incessant search forknowledge. Students learn that science is ever-changing. Inthis way, students see that hypotheses are only as valid asthe data base (experimentation and testing) upon whichthey are founded. In-class coverage of course material relies,to a far greater extent, upon student involvement in dis-cussion topics, and to a much lesser extent upon the lecturestyle of presentation.

Several extra chapters are discussed in Honors Chemis-try 330. Secondary bonding topics are covered in honorschemistry, as is a fairly detailed study of oxidation-reductionreactions. These topics are glossed over, if treated at all, inthe other two classes.

Finally, students in the honors chemistry classes do out-side-of-class work as part of their grade, in a "contract"format. These required points can be accumulated in manyways. Students can perform recommended laboratory ex-periments; do individual research projects both in thelaboratory and in the library; build molecular models; readmagazine articles and report orally about their contents;write computer programs illustrating chemical concepts;design programmed instruction modules; and design infor-mative bulletin boards. The only limit to these contractrequirements is students' imaginations!

Survey of Chemistry 366 is one of three semester-longcourses designed for students who may intend to go on tocollege, but who have limited abilities in mathematics andthe higher-level thinking skills. The other two courses areSurvey of Astronomy and Survey of Geology. All threecourses meet five times per week and try to include asmuch laboratory work as possible. Particularly in Survey ofChemistry, laboratory activities play an integral role inpresenting course material.

The approach used in this course is an effort to relatechemical concepts to everyday occurrences. Abstract con-cepts are kept to a minimum; the mole concept and molarmass calculations are not discussed. Instead, concete ideasare presented and related to students' experiences. Swim-ming pool chemistry, for instance, is shown to be a realapplication of acid-base chemistry. Soaps and detergents,the chemistry of steel-making, and chemical waste areexamples of other topics brought from real life into theclassroom.

Finally, Advanced Placereient Chemistry 370 is offered tosenior students.who have completed the regular introduc-tory sequence of biology, chemistry, and physics. The courseis taught with all the rigors of a college freshman chemistrycourse. Laboratory work occupies a large portion of classtime with students meeting for seven periods per week.Two double periods give ample opportunity for students topursue laboratory research. A very briet review of first-year high school chemistry serves as the foundation onwhich students will build their understanding of physicalchemistry and organic chemistry. A qualitative analysisscheme is one of the extended laboratory activities pursuedby these students. They also do extensive instrumentalwork in the laboratory, using Spei tronii 20 and ChemAnalspeitroscopes, pH meters, centrifugesmd analytical anddigital balances.

Personal NeedsEach of the three chemistry courses offered at Radnor

High has a carefully chosen textbook which presents coursematerials at a level commensurate with the majority ofstudents' abilities. Advanced Placement Chemistry has acollege-level text to ensure the quality of course content.Text exercises and problem sets are carefully correlatedwith reading assignments in each course. In addition, extraproblems have been generated for several courses to give

students the opportunity to do more practice problems. ForChemistry 332 and 330, many readings from outside sourceshave been secured. These provide students with extra ex-posure to chemistry topics not ordinarily covered in thecourse, or at least give them different viewpoints on topicsthat are covered in the course.

Students are expected to write reports of their labora-tory experiences, forcing them to organize informationthey have collected. This organization might take the formof graphs, charts, or data tables. Students also constructtables from data collected during teacher demonstrations inclass. Both the midterm examination and the final exami-nation are cumulative tests.

Students draw conclusions about their experiments andabout the meaning of their work. Several of the experi-ments in the beginning of 330, 332, and 333 are designed toelicit student ideas about the causes of Various phenomena.This requires that students hypothesize, test their hypo-theses, and then dispose of or at least alter the hypotheseson the basis of new observations.

One experiment dealing with phase changes betweengases and liquids requires students to explain the observa-tions noted in the (almost) perpetual motion of the "dunk-ing bird." After many trials involving observations andhypotheses, testing of these hypotheses, and finding themlacking in one respect or another, students finally realizethat observations are not always easy to explain. Studentsmake the same type of observations concerning the perio-dic table and find that there, too, observations are notalways easy to explain.

Much of the experimental work done by students in thelaboratory involves inductive logic in trying to come tosome general hypothesis or theory on the basis of specificinformation gathered. The very concept of predicting anunknown entity on the basis of some generalization, whichis an essential part of the process of science, exemplifies thedeductive thought process.

A class discussion early in the academic year deals withthe question, "Why does a candle flame go out when a glassis placed over the candle?" Several days of discussion ensue,in which students are allowed to brainstorm all possibleexplanations. These usually lead to other questions thatdemand further experimentation in order to explain thesenew observations. This whole procedure typifies the scien-tific process which is promoted throughout the course.

Yet another example of this same type of idea generationinvolves student explanation of the cause of the decrease inthe supposedly constant value of 22.4 litre-atmospheres fora mole of gas as the external pressure on that gas isincreased to pressures approaching its critical pressure. Classdiscussion on this type of topic can be very rewarding tothe teacher, especially in the honors program, as studentsshow intermittent flashes of inspiration.

In each chemistry course, teachers present students withanalogies of chemical phenomena which apply directly totheir lives. One area in which analogies seem especiallyrelevant and interesting is the gas laws. Balloons, tires,pressure cookers, and scuba tanks are all items studentscome in contact with in the real world. These analogiescertainly help to explain the rather esoteric gas laws. Butmore than that, they help make the class interesting tostudents by showing them that chemistry really does touch

their lives in many ways.Several magazines available to students in these courses

also show how chemistry affects their lives. A completecollection of Chemistry, an ACS publication no longer beingpublished, is available to students. Many articles have beenchosen from this magazine for student perusal. Chem 13

News, a University of Waterloo publication, is also available,as is Chem Matters, a brand new ACS publication designedspecifically for high school chemistry students. Approxi-mately 35 students have subscribed to this publicationthrough the chemistry teachers at Radnor this year.

Although the text material is academically oriented inthe three college-preparatory courses, frequent use is madeof articles in newspapers and magazines relating to chemis-try in the world and local news. The acquisition of a largephotocopier has generally helped the teachers to dissemi-nate this type of information not only to their classes, butalso to the other teachers in the department. Sharing in-formation in this way guarantees that all students takingchemistry have the maximum exposure to chemistry in thenews. Students h.ave made collages in Survey of Chemistryto bring attention to newsworthy chemical issues. Bulletinboards are another way to expose students to the excitingworld of chemistry. Many bulletin boards are relevant tostudents, yet teach chemistry at the same time.

Class discussions on specific topics of particular interestto individual teachers frequently add interest to normalclasses. Examples of these topics include nuclear power,chemical waste treatment, acid rain, and other forms ofpollution.

An example illustrating the use of scientific and technicalinformation in the decision-making process is a class dis-cussion in Survey of Chemistry regarding water qualitycontrol studies to help students (and scientists) decide whatquantities of chemicals can be tolerated by stream life. Stu-dies of pH in swimming pools and of acid rain complementthe water quality control study. New topics concerned withsocietal issues are included in courses where appropriate.An example of this is the inclusion last year of a four-weekunit on petroleum chemistry and the issue of whether toburn petroleum or use it to build the synthetic materialsupon which U.S. citizens have come to depend so highly.

The chemistry program at Radnor requires that studentstake all three major sciences biology, chemistry, andphysicsbefore they are allowed to take Advanced Place-ment Chemistry. By promoting a broader perspective onsocietal issues, students can see more clearly the inter-relatedness of most chemistry-related societal issues, andthe need to treat these issues in a multi-disciplinary fashion.

While the rigorous content of most of the chemistrycourses precludes taking much class time for resource per-sons, other avenues exist within the ichool for such pres-entations. The Library Forum, for example, offers studentsprograms of special interest throuczhout the year, not onlyin science, but frequently science-related. Typical programsthat fit here deal with the EPA, environmental pollution,and nuclear debate. Chemistry teachers have worked tobring the school special programs, such as a NASA presen-tation. The Science Club has also been instrumental inbringing in speakers on current chemistry topics.

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Career Edu,:ationTeachers disseminate literature received from colleges

and professional and trade organizations such as JETS andACS's chemical career guidance package. Teachers also en-courage students to attend science career conferences atlocal high schools. In addition, teachers are developing rela-tionships with neighboring industries and colleges to takeadvantage of the expertise of the scientists in these or-ganizations.

Academic PreparationSeveral conceptual schemes are developed throughout

the college-preparatory courses. These include the devel-opment of the periodic table to include electronic structureas the basis of chemical bonding; reaction rates as the basicexplanation for equilibrium, which leads to solubility, acid-base chemistry, and oxidation-reduction reactions; and adiscussion of the phases of matter to attempt to explainbonding at the macroscopic level, leading to a discussion ofreaction rates. These schemes are integrated into a cohe-sive package encompassing almost all fundamental chemi-cal principles.

Tests stress the application of concepts to new situations,not just the memorization of isolated facts. For instance, weuse le Chatelier's ç1inciple to discuss solubility of solutions.The use of group hypotheses formation in class discussionsfosters the development of the thinking skills needed toapply knowledge in new contexts.

The spirit of inquiry is found in all five levels of chemis-try at Radnor. The opening laboratory exercis,?s of theintroductory course set the tone for learning by the inquirymethod. All other experiments exhibit the search for regu-larities, the formation of hypotheses from these regulari-ties, and the subsequent further testing of these hypo-theses. A film shown to the Survey of Chemistry students,"Marie CurieA Love Story," exemplifies the spirit ofinquiry and the scientific process. Two specific values arestressed: the need to record data accurately, and to do ailnecessary calculations using only the data obtained in thelaboratory, not the expected results. Grades on laboratoryreports are based not on right or wrong answers, but onwhat is right for the students' individual data.

Strengths and Weaknesses of the ProgramOverall Progra m

Strengths

Strong academk background tor future workGood laboratory program and facilities"Extra" periods tor labsEnthusiasm, competenceind educaticin on level ot I a nIt vGood community relationsContinuing support for maintenanceAvailability of petty cash fundStudent laboratory assistantsComputer facilities

Weakm.sses

Limited number ot held tripsLittle time in class for cari,er guidance

34

Honors Chemistry 330

Strengths

Historical approach gives students flavor of scienceContact work helps to broaden "data base"Exposure to other viewpoints through outside readingsEmphasis on student design of exposure to computerprogramsRigor of mathematical approachStudy of error analysisGreater emphasis on self-learning

Weaknesses

Time constraints of students taking too many honorscoursesMay not be challenging for gifted students

Chemistry 332

:;trengths

CHEM Study approachAll students are invited to take chemistryHigh teacher enthusiasmAnalogies to stretch student imaginationGood teacher/student rapportSmall class sizeDirect access to CHEM Study filmsAvailability of teachers for help within and beyond theschool dayQuantity and quality of laboratory experienceswell-integrated and timed with text workLay readers to correct lab reportsUse of class results to discuss outcome of lab work and tostress conceptsnot what is supposed to happen, butwhat really DOES happen.Laboratory work is designed to be both safe and cost-effective, using simple equipnwntTests require work which is awarded partial credit; testsare then reviewed and discussed in classWord-processing ensures continual change in teacher-generated, student-used materialsLaboratory work is constantly alluded to in later classworkExtensive Xerox capabilities allowing widespread dissem-ination of chemistry-related materials to students

Weaknesses

Little room for student creativityOccasional split of double laboratory periods due to rotat-ing scheduleLittle organized opportunity for independent research

Chemistry 333

rengths

Seven periods per weekCollege-preparatory content

Weaknesses

Size of class, usually begins largeDiverse background makes course challenging to

36teach

Survey of Chemistry 366

StrengthsCooperation among teachersUse of chemical gamesCourse career orientationText shows student as citizen of technological world, notas future scientistText is geared to practical applications of chemistry tostudents' worldText contains career sketches, biographical sketches, andhistorical highlightsFilms enhance the image of scientists as human beingsStress on home chemistryNonmathematical approachExperiments adapted to students' ability to read andcomprehend instructions

Weaknesses

One semester is not long enoughDiversity of ability levels makes planning difficultSome students' lack of motivation dampens teacherenthusiasm

Advanced Placement Chemistry 370

Strengths

Seven periods per week allows two 90-minute lab periodsFive preparation periods for teacher, just for APStrong laboratory orientationHeavy reliance on modern instrumentation and glass-ware; e.g., Spec 20, pH meters, etc.Text is good, solid college textSmall class size (14 or less) provides students with indi-vidual laboratory stationsCaliber of students is very high

Wnlknessis

Insufficient challenging outside reading materials

Origin and HistoryThe chemistry program at Radnor High School in the

1950s was typical of most programs at that time. Chemis-try was taught essentially as a body of knowledge to belearned in Physical Science I, simply a smattering of thematerial being taught in the college-preparatory course.This course, too, was taught in a learn-by-memorizingfashion. This whole philosophy changed with the launchingof Sputnik.

A brand new appmach to the teaching of chemistry camewith the birth of CHEM Study, a national effort sponsoredby the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the early1960's. Mr. Ellis Kocher, a Radnor chemistry teacher, wasasked to be one of 45 teachers on the east coast to pilot thisprogram. It had already been tried for one year in thewest, where it had originated.)

One reason a teacher at Radnor was chosen was thatRadnor had (and still has) a reputation for being willing totry innovative ideas. After some persuasion by Kmher, Dr.

Edward Rutter, then Superintendent of Schools, agreed toallow Radnor to become one of the first schools in thenation to teach this new course which was to become thestandard of chemistry programs for many years.

Kocher attended a summer institute at Cornell Univer-sity in the summer of 1961 to become familiar with theprogram. Dr. J.A. Campbell, the director of the project andprincipal writer of the text, ran the program at Cornell.That fall Kocher began teaching CHEM Study in Radnor.In addition, he attended weekly critiquing sessions at theUniversity of Pennsylvania with 10 other teachers to eval-uate the progress and relative success of the new program.The following year, Radnor's entire college-preparatoryoffering was CHEM Study chemistry.

Kocher also taught at two CHEM Study institutes atThiel College during the mid-sixties. This gave him a chanceto interact with teachers from other parts of Pennsylvaniaand Ohio. This experience stengthened his belief not onlythat the program was worthwhile, but that it could betaught in a wide variety of schools, many with limitedresources.

In 1964 teachers saw the need to offer some students thechance to spend more time at problem-solving techniques.Chemistry 333 arose at that time, providing seven periodsper week for those students. The low-level chemistry coursewas still given as Physical Science I. (Physical Science II wasthe physics counterpart.)

In the late 1960s, teachers in the science departmentrecognized the need to offer a course for further study inthe sciences for students who had taken all three majorsciences. Advanced Science consisted of three trimesters,one each of biology, chemistry, and physics, or options totake two trimesters of one science and one trimester ofanother. This decision was made to correspond with thephilosophy within the science department that studentsneed a broad background of science in high school. Thedepartment believed that students have ample time to delvemore deeply into one discipline in college. The level ofchemistry taught was advanced placement; however, thiscourse was given in two-thirds of the time of a normaladvanced placement course.

As student enrollment increased, numbers became suffi-cient to offer actual advanced placement courses at thesenior level. In 1980, Advanced Placement Biology wasoffered for the first time; Advanced Placement Chemistryfollowed in 1981.

Physical Science I was phased out in the mid 1970's as atrend toward semester courses in many disciplines arose. Inits place, students were offered Survey of Astronomy,Survey of Chemistry, and Survey of Geology, all semestercourses. These courses were offered in an attempt to pro-vide unmotivated students with courses which might piquetheir interest by making science relevant to their everydaylives. Teachers were given paid summer curriculum time tomake the program changes needed to produce these semes-ter courses.

Honors Chemistry 330 developed in 1976 as a result of anational drive to meet the intellectual needs of gifted stu-dents, although students who were not identified as giftedbut who were highly motivated in science were also allowedto enroll. The advent of a system of weighted grading thenext year resulted in a substantial increase in the number

3735

of students selecting this course. Weighted grading servesas an inducement for students to choose this course, as an"A" grade is valued as a 5.0 in calculating class rank, asopposed to a 4.0 for an "A" in other courses.

Radnor teachers have always been willing to changewhen change is necessary, and Radnor's administratorshave always been willing to help teachers in any waydeemed appropriate to effect these changes. One of theways teachers are able to keep up with the changes goingon in science education is to attend conferences. Radnorscience teachers try to attend conferences as frequently aspossible, and here again, the administrators have providedreimbursement for most expenses teachers have incurred.

Since 1981, I have been active with the ACS EducationCommittee and recently was asked by ACS to serve on awriting team which produced two units, one on petroleumchemistry and the other on the chemistry of metals. Theseunits will be included as part of a textbook designed toprofoundly alter the teaching of chemistry today, perhapsas drastically as did CHEM Study in the 1960s. The newcourse will bring social issues into the classroom as part ofthe text, asking students to gather information, both scien-tific and social, and then debate these issues intelligently.The first of these two units was field tested in Radnorduring the 1982-83 school year. The text itself is to bepublished during the 1984-85 school year.

Thus, just as it was in the 1960s with the advent ofCHEM Study, Radnor is at the forefront of science edu-cation.

Support MaterialsThe factors which contribute to the success of the pro-

gram are many. Some relate to the nature of the studentstaking the courses, others to the students' parents; somerelate to the administration, others to the teachers; andsome are inherent in the courses.

Radnor students generally have a high regard for educa-tion. This attitude has been instilled in them by their par-ents, most of whom are professional people. Students cometo class wanting to learn. Many have already chosen acareer. They know they will have to work hard, particularlyin the sciences, to succeed in college and medical school.These students have seen that education has provided theirparents with a very comfortable lifestyle, and they are mo-tivated to achieve these sanw goals in their own lives.

Parents in the district are supportive of education .Indteachers. Any academic or disciplinary problems with astudent can generally be solved with a phone call to thestudent's parents. All this makes teaching at Radnor lessworrisome, but a considerable challenge as well. The par-ents have a vested interest in the welfare of the schoolsystem, and thus take active roles in PTA meetings, schoolboard meetings, and education. Parent groups have al"corn-plished projects which other groups, including teachers andadministrators, were p )werless to effect.

The administration at Radnor supports the chemistryprogram in many ways. They offer teachers a partial tuitionrebate for taking graduate courses which relate to theirteaching. An innovative approach to furthering teachers'eaucation and simultaneously meeting the specific needs of

3o

Radnor Township schools is the administration's designand support of courses taught within the district by otherteachers who have expertise in a particular area. The courseswhich have helped the chemistry teachers at Radnor mostare those which deal with using computers in the class-room, and with programming in BASIC.

The administration has given at least partial reimburse-ment for expenses related to travel, meals, lodging, andregistration fees for teachers attending educational confer-ences. Substitute teachers are provided in these instances.Course revisions and new course development are sup-ported by paying teachers to work during the summer toeffect these changes. If necessary, release time is given toteachers during the school year to work on curriculumreview and modification. Support is also shown by provid-ing secretarial help during the summer to type, photocopy,and collate materials developed during the summer curricu-lum work.

While funds are established each year for the purchase ofsupplies and equipment to maintain our present curricu-lum, the administration realizes that these funds are notalways sufficient to cover the cost of beginning a newcourse. They have solved this problem by providing seedmoney for the first year start-up costs. By the second year,they assume that the costs of maintaining the course can eincorporated into the annual science budget. A small pettycash fund buys perishable and incidental supplies neededthroughout the school year that are more conveniently andeconomically purchased at local stores.

The administration has provided support for the chemis-try program in another unique way, the lay reader concept.We have professional scientists or engineers in the localarea read and critique student laboratory reports. Thisgives students a "second opinion" on the quality of theirwork, gives teachers more time to help students afterschool or during free periods, and involves communitymembers in our program.

Another good feature of the chemistry program at Rad-nor is the corps of students who serve as laboratory assis-tants, providing services such as preparing solutions, set-ting up laboratory materials and equipment, designing andtesting experiments, and producing audiovisual materials.In return for their efforts, participating students areawarded work-experience credit. In this position, they learnfrom working closely with the teachers, both about chem-istry and about dealing with people.

Several teachers in the department have written theirown study guide books to accompany their courses and theadministration has always supported these people by sup-plying special pre-punched paper and binders for the book-lets, as well as some secretarial help to get the work typed.

The teachers at Radnor have worked hard over the yearsto earn the support of the administration by being continu-ally at the forefront of chemical education. They strive tolearn as much as they can to enable them to provide thebest possible education for Radnor students. The teachershave participated in summer institutes, academic year insti-tutes, graduate courses, workshops and demonstrations,conferences and conventions. They take information, andgive information as well. They have made presentations atconferences; they have run workshops; they have run na-

S

tional conferences. Their eagerness to share ideas with col-leagues across the country has made them better teachers.The sharing gives them new ideas to try out in their class-rooms, and continually renews their enthusiasm. Theirmembership in professional associations such as ACS andNSTA also provides them with new ideas and techniquesto try in the classroom. The active involvement of thechemistry teachers in their professional endeavors ensuresthat Radnor Township students are receiving the mostmodern, yet most academically sound chemistry programavailable anywhere. Radnor students ultimately reap thebenefits of having enthusiastic teachers.

Transporting the ProgramThis program has unique features and features common

to other schools' chemistry programs. Individual courseswithin the program are not so different from individualcourses at other schools; it is the combination of so manydifferent levels of chemistry into one program and its sub-sequent appeal to students of all ability levels that makesthe Radnor chemistry program special.

Specific information within any of the courses could eas-

ily be transported to other chemistry programs in otherschools. The CHEM Study philosophy of open-ended, dis-covery-oriented learning can be taught; several teachers inthe Radnor program have had the experience of doing justthat. Mr. Kocher has taught summer institutes in theCHEM Study approach, and I haw held numerous work-shops for other teachers on various topics in the program.

Sharing ideas is the best way of encouraging teachers totry new ideas. Our experiences working at and runningconferences has helped to further the concept of teachershelping teachers by sharing ideas. My involvement in local,state, and national conference presentations has helped meshare ideas with others Ind increase their enthusiasm.

Workshops where teachers make models and take themback to their school will also increase enthusiasm. For anominal fee, teachers can spend a whole day (Saturday, noless!) making models for immediate use in their classroom.These idea-sharing and material-sharing workshops mul-tiply the knowledge and enthusiasm of one teacher 50-foldor more.

In this manner we hope the excellent program at Radnorwill be transported to other schools.

37

Chapter 8IndividualizedChemistry

David ByrumGlobe High School501 Ash StreetGlobe, Arizona 85501

38

Remember chemistry in high school? Was it the coursethat you loved, or was it the one that made you praythat the end of the school year would hurry up and

come?The chemistry course at Globe High School attempts to

provide a course in which every student can succeed and, inthe process, learn to enjoy chemistry. Organized along theideas of Bloom, Keller, and De Rose, the course is dividedinto 30 mastery units with 15 or so optional units availableas a supplement. Each unit is a self-contained package ofinstructional objectives, learning activities correlated to theobjectives, and a self test also correlated to the objectives.Students progress through the course at their own rate,earning grades of A, B, C, or Incomplete based on thenumber of units they complete each semester. Incompletesare changed to C's when the minimum required number ofunits are completed. All students who want to will eventu-ally pass the course with a measure of chemical under-standing.

This individualized approach has been in operation forthe past 12 years, with 900 students taking the course inthat time. Student evaluations of the course are generallypositive and supportive of our overall goals.

Globe is a rural, copper mining community of 48,000; thehigh school has been in existence since 1914. The commun-ity is family-oriented, with many generations of familieshaving attended Globe High School. The majority of stu-dents do not attend college after high school but instead gointo the military or, in past years, to work for the coppermines. For the past several years, however, with the de-pressed copper industry causing a slowdown in mining-rela ted employment, students have not been able to get thetraditional mining job and are looking for employment outof town.

As the instructor of these students, I am faced every yearwith the task of piquing the interest of the curious whilemotivating and offering hope to the fearful. I believe that ifI provide each student with a well-planned and systematicapproach to learning chemistry, one which gives the stu-dent a choice in how to go about learning a topic, then thatstudent will have the best chance possible to succeed andlearn chemistry.

As DeRose stated in 1969, "Students must be faced withsituations in which they look to themselves for solutions ifthey are to develop their potential as contributors and crea-tors." Students in the chemistry course at Globe HighSchool make choices daily.

Through a variety of instructional modes, such as audio,visual, and kinesthetic, the student has .. greater opportu-nity to learn the subject material in a manner that will "stick"longer. The program uses a variety of activities to help thestudent learn a particular objective. Providing for this rangeof instructional support materials involves a long-term com-mitment on the part of the school district. This support,however, is no different from that which is normally pro-vided each year. The program requires no additional sup-port. Every year, the high school instructor submits requestsfor supplies for the following school year. Using this pro-gram, an instructor pinpoints which areas in the chemistrycurriculum need additional support materials. Thus, therequested materials will have an immediate impact on nextyear's chemistry students.

40

Our ProgramThis program has as one of its main goals the develop-

Ment of self-worth, self-discipline, and responsibility in thestudents. Our unit construction emphasizes the ability tortAate readings, labs, and multimedia materials to the objec-tives being studied. The student must learn to look at theunit's objectives, understand them, do the activities, ands'inthesize them into an explanation of the original objec-tives. The student needs choices in order to learn the joysahd sorrows of making decisions.

This program emphasizes topics central to an under-sIanding and appreciation of chemist:y for both the laymanahd those students who may take further science coursesir college. Chemical nomenclature and equation writing,dierrucal calculations, periodicity, chemical bonding, gaslaws, acid-base solutions, and redox reactions, as well as avariety of additional topics such as the shapes of molecules,s(Autim types, and organic chemistry are studied. Studentschmplete more than 50 laboratory experiments in thisCi.)urse. In every unit students perform at least one experi-ment, and in many units two or three. The organization ofunit activities emphasizes the integration of ideas by thestudents. A student who can learn to "speak" chemistryand leaves this course with an understanding of the majorLncepts of chemistry should be well prepared for any edu-L9tional future.

Each chemistry student at Globe High School will pro-gress through at least 14 units each semester. Every unitintroduces the student to the topic from a consumer orhumorous point of view. Next, the unit's objectives tell thestudent the minimum level of learning that will be expected.Learning activities are keyed to the objectives. Most objec-tives offer a choice of auditory, visual, or kinesthetic activi-t ie... A student can listen to a taped lesson, view a filmstrip,read a programmed instruction book, or do a lab experi-nlent. Since 1978, the use of computer-assisted instructionhas been added to the "hands-on" choice of activities. Astudent can "do" a lab, "do" a computer program that helpsin learning a particular skill, rerun an experiment that mayhave failed in the lab, or even learn to program the compu-tt.r to do something new.

chen more than one option is available to learn a partic-ular objective, the student must make a choice. As theschool year progresses, the student becomes more aware ofa personal learning style and thus becomes better at learn-ing. Students who are having problems can select an alter-

ai tivity, one at which they can succeed. A positive( at( h 22 situation! Because they chi :)se which activity todo, t hey are now more committed to doing it than if I hadassigned the activity. I believe this is one of the greatesthenefits of an individualized, mastery-learning type oftourse. The students take an active part in their learning.

ause they have to cmstantly choose how they are goingtkl learn, the students beLome more willing to take theresp)nsibility for their own success or failure.

I am always impressed at the end of the school year withthe growth that has occurred in each student's ability to beself-motivated. At the beginning of the school year, moststudents are willmg to sit and wait for someone (me!) to tellthem what to do. By the second quarter, most ,4 thesesame st udents are able to enter the classroom, get them-selves organizedmd begin their instruction without being

told. I believe this is what education is supposed to be allabout. Schools should help a student learn to be r.ot onlyknowledgeable, but self-motivated and self-regulated aswell.

After taking a self-test, students bring all of their workto me for evaluation. If the lab reports are written coher-ently and make sense, if the assignments have been doneand show a rising level of learning, then the student takesthe unit quiz. The student must score at least 90 percent. Astudent who does not achieve 90 percent will be asked toeither redo some activity, do a previously skipped activity,or be assigned some additional activity. The next day analternate test can be taken. The student will keep beingretested until the objectives are learned, as shown byachieving a 90 percent score on the unit quiz.

In each semester 15 units are covered, with every 5thunit a review of the previous units. In this way, even thetopics studied at the beginning of the school year are re-viewed at the end of the school year.

The operating mechanics of a course like this are almostas important as the course materials themselves. For thiscourse to run smoothly and to provide an environment inwhich the students can learn to become self-directed, mostof the instructional materials must be readily accessible tothe students. For example, most of the lab supplies for thecurrent units are in labeled boxes on a shelf in the labora-tory. When ready, a student finds the correct box of sup-plies, takes the box to the lab bench, and performs the lab.Each lab also has a storage box in the stockroom, where thenecessary chemicals and supplies are replenished and storedwhen the lab is no longer being performed. Thus, at thebeginning of each new school year, the supplies and chemi-cals for a lab are always ready for use. Similarly, the unitsfor each quarter are placed in a "mailbox" in the classroomfor easy student access.

When a grading period comes to an end, students whohave done well or who have raised their grade are rewardednot only by the improved grade and knowledge, but also bya letter sent home informing the parents that their son ordaughter has done well. For those students who haveunfortunately not done as well, a letter is sent home indi-cating some causes and possible reasons for the difficulties.Along with this letter goes a single-page course descriptionfor parents, as well as a copy of the suggested due dates foreach unit. This parental contact has been helpful, and manyhave commented on how nice it is to receive a positiveletter from the school! In case there is ever a questionconcerning the number of units a student has passed, everystudent has a folder in a secure place, where we store everyquiz the student has taken. Every student's grade can easilybe verified by double checking the units passed as recordedin the gradebook with the quizzes stored in the student'sfolder.

This course attempts to provide for a wide range of stu-dent abilities and interests. A student who is willing to trycan learn as much chemistry as individual ability allows. Bychoosing from a wide variety of activities, the studentbecomes more aware of a personal learning styie and canmake a more knowledgeable choice. Students generallybecome more self-reliant and responsible for their ownlearning. t..id finally, when they leave chemistry at GlobeHigh School, most students seem to have a positive attitude

4 139

about science and their ability to cope with a science course.Until this year, chemistry was the only individualized

course at Globe. This year another teacher, Neil Friend,and I are rewriting the freshman physical science course inthis style. The sophomore biology curriculum is being re-written as well. The members of the Globe High Schoolscience department are believers in student responsibilityand opportunity for success. We are striving to use themethods of instruction that will best meet the needs of oLrstudents. We believe this method to be our best choice fornow.

Physical FacilitiesThe chemistry room at Globe is a traditional rectangular

lab room with seven lab benches around the perimeter ofthe room and a central area for desks. An stock-room connects with the next classroom. Storage space is ata premium. (Does anyone have a lab where it is not?) Noextra equipment has been purchased as a result of usingthis instructional method. However, equipment and sup-plies are put to the best possible use, as all purchases aremade because of an identified need and will have an imme-diate impact on the next year's chemistry students.

EvaluationSuccess, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. This

program works because each student is independent, incontrol of personal accomplishment, and responsible forlearning or not learning. An individual student's successmay be measured by the grade received, but it can also bemeasured by how much the student's study habits improve,the attitude toward science in general and chemistry inparticular, and by comparison to performance in previousscience courses. When a student makes choices, the teacheris no longer "in charge." The teacher becomes Ia . aci.ita tor;the teacher helps things happen for the student. Not everyteacher can become accustomed to relinquishing "iron-fistedcontrol." We all know that very few teachers have this typeof control. The students may have their eyes open, buttheir minds are off in Rio. Once an instructor comes togrips with the fact that students can make vod, logical,and informed choices if given the chance, an individualizedprogram like ours is exciting to see in action.

Each student's grade at the end of each semester isdetermined by the number of units completed.

Units l'assediSernester

Required 15 plus 3 optional units

Required 15 units

14 Units

Less than 14 units

(;rade

A

13

(

INC.

To pass, every student must do at least 14 units. Optional

40

units are required to earn the grade of "A". No one can failwithout trying. These units provide opportunities for moti-vated students to study topics such as "Chemistry of Pho-tography," "Minerals," "Paper Chromatography," "Glass-working," and "Glass Etching," that are not included in theregular units. In addition, the student can earn credit foroptional units by going to the nearby elementary schooland performing demonstrations for the 5th and 6th gradescience classes.

Measuring the succes.; of a teacher-designed programcan be a difficult task. Most instructional programs at thelocal level have not been created with an eye to futureresearch papers or professional evaluation. This program isno exception. The evaluation data for this program aremostly anecdotal.

This program has been in use at the two different schoolsat which I have taught (five years at Salpointe CatholicHigh School in Tucson, Arizona, and for the past eightyears at Globe High School in Globe, Arizona). As theschool enrollment declined in each school, the chemistryenrollment maintained a consistent level. At Salpointe iteven increased. From 1972 to 1977 the enrollment at Sal-pointe peaked at over 1,000 students in 1975 and thenbegan to decline to less than 1,000 in 1977. During theseyears the chemistry enrollment stayed at five full periods of22-26 students. In the 1977-78 school year, 20 studentsenrolled in an independent study advanced chemistry course.The enrollment at Salpointe has since increased to over1,000 students.

During the five years at Salpointe, the general trend inthe grade distribution for the chemistry course was:

Grade

A

0,0 students

36%18%30%

15'10

The past eight years at Globe High School have shown asimilar trend in the grade distribution. The main differenceis a higher number of students who initially receive a gradeof Incomplete. At Globe, this is generally around 18-20percent of each class. The majority of these students, 13-15percent, complete the semester requirements and earn thegrade of "C". The enrollment at Globe peaked in 1980 at alittle over 1,000 students, but has now declined to 895.During these years, enrollment in the chemistry classesincreased to around 60 students after the first year and hasheld steady, even though the enrollment has dropped.

I believe these anecdotal data show that the course at-tracts and holds onto students who should be taking achemistry course and, in addition, attracts and holds ontothe marginally interested student who takes the coursebecause friends are enrolled.

As Bloom, Keller, and many others have demonstratedover the past 15 years, this approach to learning is applica-ble to many different subjects and many different settings.By and large, student motivation, work habits, and learningmethods (or lack of them) are relatively consistent through-out American high schools. When this teaching method is

adopted, the major change required is to modify the selec-tion of activities to reflect student ability and the localsupply of teaching materials and supplies.

The cycle of identifying the objectives, c:.eating the learn-ing assignments, and structuring self-tests based on theobjectives makes this teaching method successful. This objec-tives, activities-testing cycle provides a self-motivating force.An instructor who is concerned about student progress hasthe means to identify which areas of the curriculum causestudents the most difficulty and can attempt to correct thatarea by creating and/or obtaining more appropriate instruc-tional materials. Few other teaching methods have such abuilt-in self-regulating feature.

Plans for ImprovementAny time an instruction method is used which differs

from what the students expect, there is a potential forproblems. The single most pressing problem at Globe HighSchool is student and parental apathy. Many students atGlobe High School do not like to be academically chal-lenged. They expect high grades with minimum effort, andtheir parents support this view. I use large numbers ofhandouts, information sheets, letters to parents, and com-plete documentation of all of the activities to show students

and parents that this method of instruction is superior totraditional instruction.

Lack of communication with students, parents, and schooladministration is a crucial area of concern. The administra-tion at both Salpointe and Globe have been supportive ofthis chemistry program, in part because they are keptinformed about the course and its purpose. It is a sad com-mentary on schools that anything different must be con-btantly justified and explained, but it is a reality that mustbe dealt with.

AcknowledgementsI would like to acknowledge and thank the following

people for making this course possible: Fr. Vernon Malley,former principal of Salpointe H.S.; Sr. Ann Elizabeth Beck,former science dept. chair, Salpointe H.S.; Dr. Lon Luty,former superintendent of Globe Public Schools; Mr. JamesRhoades, former principal of Globe H.S.; Mr. John Vest,former principal of Globe H.S.; Mr. Al Luna, former princi-pal and current assistant superintendent of instruction ofGlobe Public Schools; Mr. Carlos Salas, assistant superin-tendent K-S, Globe Public Schools; and Ms. Carol Warren,principal of Globe H.S. I would -specially like to thank TedFeragne, English dept. chair of Salpointe H.S., for his time,expertise, and understanding in editing this document.

434 1

Chapter 9Humor inChemistry

Ronald G. CramptonOmaha Westside High School87th and Pacific StreetOmaha, Nebraska 68124

42

you can see the program at Westside High School isunique as soon as you enter the laboratory. Thechemistry team uses an unusual approach. Molecu-

lar models made from tennis rackets and balls, hamburgers,and french fries are hanging from the ceiling. Unorthodoxmodel materials provide good examples to help studentsrelate the intangible concepts of quantum theory to theirenvironment.

We also use unorthodox presentations. Dr. Flub, thefamed chemistry professor from Slippery Rock Universitywho "won't talk to anyone but a Ph.D. candidate," and RonCrampton, an earnest, cautious high school chemistryteacher who painstakingly corrects Flub's numerous flubs,have opened the course every September for the past 10years to cheering audiences of juniors and seniors in theWestside auditorium.

A palatable method of introducing students to laboratorytechniques and regulations, the routine begins as I intro-duce Dr. Flub (played by teacher Louis Niemann) as theexpert who discovered the following scientific truths: "Allexperiments must be reproduced so they fail the same wayevery time" and "all experiments must be conducted so thatyou can blame someone else for their failure." Niemannproceeds to break test tubes and beakers, spill toxic chemi-cals, and misguide himself through a maze of mischief andmistakes as I diligently show Flub and the audience of stu-dents the right way to conduct oneself in a lab. "We useindirection to teach them things that might bore themotherwise," Niemann said. "And they remember what theylearn in this session."

Students often come into chemistry with the idea thatit's impossiblelaborious, dull, and complicated. Their par-ent.6 have said, "Oh, chemistry. That was my hardest sub-ject!" The boisterous opening session relaxes students aboutthe subject and their ability to master it, and gets somehard information out with a light touch. It must work, forthe Westside chemistry department rivals any in the coun-try in its ability to attract and maintain student interest.Sixty percent of our students take chemistry, while thenational average is approximately 18 percent. More than400 Westside juniors and seniors are enrolled in chemistrycourses this fall.

The chemistry team and curriculum are always open tochange and have been evolving over the past 15 y ears . Thecurriculum is now a hybrid of

CHEM Study laboratories;CBA laboratories and modeling;Traditional and descriptive concepts from the textbook;Demonstrations in large group and laboratory;Classroom humor related to teachers' personalities.Al: have been interwoven tc organize high school chem-

ibiry into a coherent program, what we call "Our SpecialOrder of Chemistry Concepts."

The Special Order of ChemistryConcepts at Westside

1. Physical and Chemic.'l ChangesSymbols and Formulas

2. The Mole Concepts3. The Gas Laws

4 4

3 weeks

3 weeks2 weeks

4. Solutions and MolarityPrecipitation Reaction

5. Atomic Theory and Periodic TableQuantum Theory

6. Heats of Reaction and Rates ofReaction Catalyst

7. Equilibrium8. Acids-Bases-Salts9. Oxidation-Reduction

10. The Nucleus11. Bonding Theory

lonic-Covalent-Hydrogen12. Organic Chemistry

3 weeks

3 weeks

4 weeks

3 weeks3 weeks3 weeks2 weeks

4 weeks

3 weeks

The list includes all major concepts required for a strongbackground in secondary chemistry. The order of presenta-tion is unique in several ways.

The first unit is designed to capture the students' inter-est and overcome their fear that they cannot succeed in orlike science and math. The first day they go directly into thelaboratory and do the award-winning "Aluminum Recy-cling Experiment." They see, touch, and smell chemistryfrom the start and realize that chemistry is a laboratoryexperience.

The "Mole Concept," which every chemistry teacherknows must be the students' foundation, is done in amanner that provides students with every possible meansof relating the mole concept to what they have experiencedbefore studying chemistry. We know every student willinternalize the mole concept at an individual rate. By intro-ducing the concept early and including the fundamentals ineach of the following units, we make sure that everyonewill develop the concept before leaving our program. Themole concept is one of our biggest success stories, and"Harry the Mole" becomes the class mascot.

Atomic theory is not presented until unit 5 in our pro-gram. We want our students to experience chemistry in thelaboratory before we build the model. Once we start theatomic theory, we have a number of laboratory experienceson which to build this concept. We have developed a uniqueway to teach quantum theory which we call "QuantumArt." This idea was presented at Chem-83.

We have had the greatest success with bonding theoryby introducing it near the end of the program, not at thestart. We save this concept until other major concepts havebeen presented. Then we offer bonding theory to explainwhat the students experienced in the laboratory. Thisapproach provides students with the opportunity to learnthrough laboratory inqu ry and the chance to do their ownmodel building.

Our program has students with and without a physicsbackground, so we have developed a learning climate with amodel curriculum to meet this wide range of background.Students work side by side in our open laboratory concept,but each one has opportunities to develop the big conceptsat an individual rate according to past experiences and pres-ent motivation. The heterogeneous mix in our three-teacherprogram provides good models for students and teachers.

This team-taught laboratory and conference approach tochemistry teaching emphasizes practical and environmental

applications. Students attend an 80-minute large-group ses-sion with lectures, films, and exams, followed by a 40-minute small-group session the same day. In the smallgroup, instructors and students pursue topics in depth.Two 80-minute laboratories each week complement thelarge and small groups.

Each student keeps a supervised notebook, writes a for-mal paper, creates a poster, and develops a research folder.The paper, poster, and folder all focus on a single element;each student becomes an expert on at least one element.Students may also present an oral seminar on their ele-ment. They are encouraged to do independent study activi-ties, once the required work has been completed.

The Element SearchIncorporating industrial and descriptive concept,, into a

chemistry program provides an avenue to help the studentbuild a deeper appreciation for how fundamental scientificknowledge is turned into technology. This project appearsto be a relatively easy way to provide some industrial appli-cations for the student, with the additional benefits of giv-ing experience in writing and oral presentations.

The project has been shared with fellow chemistry teach-ers at various meetings:

ACT-ACS meetings in the Omaha-area high schoolspast two years.ACS Midwest Meeting, University of Missouri-1981.GNATS Annual Fall Meeting-1982.ACS Midwest Meeting, Kansas City-1982.KATS Meeting in Junction City, Kansas-1983.The response I have received from fellow chemistry

teachers has been very rewarding. The Element Search is alow-cost project any secondary chemistry teacher could addto an existing program. Teachers who have used the pro-ject say it helped teachers and their students.

Societal IssuesAn excellent chemistry program provides opportunities

for students to become aware of chemistry-related societalissues and seek solutions. The chemistry program at West-side has a strong thread of science and society built into theframework. The team leader spent two summers at KnoxCollege attending the Science and Society Institutes underthe able direction of Dr. Herb Priestley.

The program stresses that chemists must have a stronginterest in how their work is used. All of us must be con-cerned with how fundamental scientific knowledge is turnedinto technology, desirable or otherwise. Scientists havetraining that helps them judge the amount of scientific,sociological, and emotional character in a public problem.They should be in the forefront of every effort to makesure that technology serves humans, rather than vice versa.

A number of laboratory experiments were written bythe team to help students better understand chemistry-related societal issues.

These experiments include:Aluminum recycling;Dissolved oxygen;Aspirin synthesis;

4 5 43

Omaha's water treatment;Vitamin C investigation;Drain cleaner investigation;Vinegar investigation;Car battery investigation.Students like societal issues. Here are some of their

comments on the subject:"Chemistry has broadened my perspectives about nature

and the uses of it. It seems that everything, plant, vege-table, or mineral, can be used in chemistry. And, in fact, Ithink that is what chemistry is about, opening eyes to seehow useful our resources are and how they are applicableto all walks of life. Chemistry has truly been an enrichingclass." Dave Spence, Class of 1984.

"It taught me a lot about how the world works aroundme. It was interesting and informative. I never knew thatchemistry or science played such an important role in theenvironment." Laurie Granlund, Class of 1984.

"Chemistry has really enriched my life. It has helped meto be a better consumer because I can understand howsome things are made, which materials can be efficientlyrecycled, and which chemicals may be harmful. During thedissolved oxygen unit I learned things about nuclear plantsthat I didn't know before. If there comes a time when Ihave to vote on an issue like that, I will be better informed.Everything in life involves chemistry, so it is an importantsubject." Julie Paluka, Class of 1984.

The chemistry team at Westside believes chemistry is forpeople who want a deeper and more intensely coloredview of their environment. It is for those to whom peopleand ideas are both important, and who care about thequality of modern technological life and their contributionto it. It is for people who value their own versatility, self-understanding, and honesty. It is an excellent trainingground for the kind of person we will need in large numbersin the years to come, if we are to solve the problems thatconfront us.

CareersThe chemistry program provides students with activities

that describe careers in chemistry and chemistry-relatedfields.

In addition, we invite professional chemists to participatein the Chemistry Field Day. The team leader at Westside isthe past chairman of the Omaha section of ACS, a relation-ship valuable in bringing career information to secondarychemistry students. Through "The Element Search" and"Meet the Chemist Program," we believe our students arerichly exposed to careers in chemistry and industrial appli-cations of chemistry.

The Westside chemistry program provides two levels ofchemistry experiences, one for students who have nottaken any science except biology in 9th grade and may ormay not attend college, and another level for students whohave taken physics and plan to attend college. Both classesshare a cor,ron laboratory, but the exams and homeworkare varied in the two programs to meet the needs of thestudents.

Agair, the success of this dual program is best expressedby th. 'students themselves.

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"I'm happy I took chemistry for a lot of reasons. I thinkfirst of all the academic challenge is good for college andenabled me to go where I wanted. I also think the concepts Ilearned in chemistry are truly valuable. There were a lot ofpractical applications to be found in the lab. I learned aboutmy own environment and protecting it and myself."

"High school chemistry is good to take because even ifyou're not a science person who is going on to major in ascience-related field, it is useful knowledge to have. Youlearn about helpful things that will be useful, such asknowledge about batteries. You do experiments on com-mon household products. High school chemistry also pro-vides a foundation for you to go on. It gives you an idea ofthe information you'll need to know and will give you ahead start over those who have never had any chemistry.The teachers here really try to help you out and make itinteresting, fun, and crazy."

We also provide a unique one-semester honors biochem-istry class at Westside. This programdesigned, written,and taught by the team leaderhas received high praisefrom students, parents, and administration.

I feel I have discovered curriculum material which willhelp students deal with the human genetics revolution. Icall the unit "The Big ThreeATP, P.NA, and DNA." Thisunit has become one of the most valuable components inbiochemistry class according to my students' evaluations.The biochemistry program units are: The Physics and Chem-istry of Water; An Introduction to Organic Chemistry;Proteins; The Big ThreeATP, RNA, and DNA; ProteinSynthesis; and Fats and Carbohydrates.

I feel the Big Three unit has a great potential to helpstudents build the chemical models they need to understandfuture advancements in human genetics. This has been anexciting unit for me to teach, and the student response hasbeen great. Each unit has similar components:

Lectures on the chemical nature of ATP, RNA, andDNA;Laboratory experiments on the production of fumaricacid, and discussion of its role in the Krebs cycle and ATPproduction;Laboratory on karyotyping human chromosomes anddiagnosis of genetic diseases;A reading assignment: The Double Helix by James D.Watson;A written assignment on the discovery of the structureof DNA;Technology assessment activity on "The RecombinantDNA Controversy: Science, EthicsAnd Politics";Major exam on ATP, RNAmd DNA.This unit could be done in a two- or three-week block of

instruction or integrated into the traditional first-year sec-ondary chemistry class. It could also replace the organicunit many secondary chemistry teachers already include intheir first-year programs. I feel this unit is a good model tointroduce students to organic chemistry, providing the hu-man genetics information many students do not presentlyreceive.

The development of a chemical model for ATP, RNA,and DNA is a necessary concept for students whose societyis undergoing a biomedical revolution. Our goal as teachersis to create scientific literacy. This unit provides an excel-lent opportunity to help students understand human gene-

tics today and deal with the social and political implicationsof society in the future.

The chemistry program has grown from a one-and-a-half-teacher program in 1969 to a 3-person team in 1983-1984. Now, 55 to 60 percent of the graduating class com-pletes chemistry. Sixty plus students also take the honorsbiochemistry program each year.

I have been teaching chemistry for 15 years. Chemistryis not just another science to me; it is special in a number ofrespects. It can help a student develop a distinctive and clearview of what happens in the environment. Chemistry canhelp expand enjoyment of travel, the out-of-doors, and theintricacies of the environment.

In 1970 the Earth Day activities captured my interest,and my students today profit from the involvement. Whilemeeting with a number of professional people in the Omahaarea, I saw the real application of my teaching in their

work. I brought representatives from the MetropolitanUtilities District, the Omaha Public Power District, Ameri-can Chemical Society, and Keep Omaha Beautiful into myclassroom to help expand the classroom perspective.

Two summer institutes at Knox College studying theInterrelationships of Science and Society, and an EPA work-shop at the University of Nevada provided me with theunderstanding to match my enthusiasm for teaching envi-ronmental and energy concepts in my chemistry class.

Chemistry should make students aware of the quality ofmodern technological life, and help them understand theirresponsibility to society. It is an excellent training groundfor the kind of person we will need in large numbers if weare to solve the problems ahead of us.

I believe chemistry should be taught with all the humor,enthusiasm, and practical application the teacher can provide.

4 745

Chapter 10Exemplars inChemistry: AnAnalysis

John E. PenickJoseph KrajcikScience Education CenterUniversity of IowaIowa City, Iowa 52242

46

Chemistry for all," the title of Chapter 2, typifiesthe ideas found in the programs described inthis monograph and the criteria for excellence in

Chapter 1. In the United States, most students study biol-ogy. Only a select few study chemistry in the secondaryschools.

Many teachers feel that only these few are capable ofstudying chemistry, as most students lack the mathemati-cal skills needed to cover the rigorous chemical concepts.Tens of thousands of students have studied an academicallyrigorous chemistry, generally preparing for further studyat the university level. But untold millions have ended theirformal study of science with biology or a "physical science"course designed for students deemed not capable of under-standing chemistry and physics.

In Chapter 1, the NSTA Task Force on Excellence inChemistry Teaching describes a desired state where all sec-ondary school students would study chemistry. It stdtesclearly that no one can be considered well educated withoutknowledge of chemistry and the intellectual skills neededfor rational thought and decision making. Along with this,the task force recommends many opportunities for study-ing careers in chemistry and related fields, and appropriatebackground for learning technical skills which might beneeded in on-the-job training.

While the eight chemistry programs described in thisissue do not each fully meet the criteria of excellence asdefined in Chapter 1, each represents programs considera-bly closer to the desired state than most secondary schoolchemistry programs. Although they differ from the ideal,each offers insights into both the desired state and whatcould be.

Look at these examples from the perspective of a scien-tist; see what is useful, meaningful, and real. Look for waysto combine and synthesize ideas from these programs intoan even better, third-generation exemplar in your ownclassroom.

Definitions of the Desired StateChemistry will cease to be taught only as a college pre-

paratory course for bright students headed for science-related careers. There will be a broad program of instruc-tion in chemistry that will provide appropriate educationfor students of different abilities and varied interests.

The Task Force recommends expanding the chemistryoffered in the schools to meet the needs of all students,particularly those who have exhibited average and below-average performance in other science classes.

Three of the programs (described in Chapters 2, 4, and 7)offer four or five different levels of chemistry to appro-priately challenge students at all levels. These courses in-clude Consumer Chemistry, College Prep Chemistry, Bio-chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Combined Chemistryand Physics. In offering such a variety of levels, theseschool programs seek to provide chemistry that is mean-ingful and of high interest to students, and which also givestudents a good chance of success.

Scottsburg High School (Chapter 6) is located in one ofthe poorest counties in Indiana. Though few students con-tinue on to college, the school sustains high enrollments inchemistry by providing a course which is appropriate for

d

student needs. In order to offer a high-interest program forthese low-achieving students, Scottsburg teachers have de-signed non-traditional laboratories using ordinary materials,guest speakers, and photography.

Chemistry instruction will focus on observ ation anddescription of common chemical reactions and Ale subse-quent rationalization of what has been observed in termsof simple models describing structural similarities amongcompounds exhibiting similar reactivity.

The Task Force requests that introductory chemistryfocus on observation and description of corrimon chemicalreactions. In chemistry, students should mak direct obser-vations close to their experiences.

Chapter 3, "Chemistry-Biochemistry," has students apply-ing their science by determining the air quality of theircounty and monitoring the water quality of a local river.Through these applications of chemistry to social issuesand through a career awareness program, students can seethat chemistry is all around them.

Chapter 9, Humor in Chemistry, uses humorous analo-gies, including a stereotypical mad professor, to help stu-dents analyze chemistry and broaden their perspectivesabout nature and the uses of chemistry in nature. Studentscan identify with Professor Flub and recognize his mis-takes. In the process, they successfully learn chemistry.

In Chemical Concepts Through Investigation (Chapter4), instruction centrs around the notion of a learningcycle. In this cycle, students begin with an exploratorylaboratory exercise, develop concepts using observationsand data they collect, and apply their data and knowledge toreal-world problems. Teachers allow students to make ob-servations, rather than telling them what can be seen. Stu-dents observe and describe while they are learning.

The number of topics covered in secondary school chem-istry courses will be drastically reduced and far more at-tention will be given to the integration of ideas that remain.The integration will be of two types: first, the interconnec-tions among the concepts and minciples of chemistry willbe made clear. Second, important connections betweenchemistry and knowledge that the student already has willbe stressed.

In Chapter o, the chemistry program in Scottsburg, Indi-ana, teachers have identified topics that maintain the integ-rity of chemistry, provide interest, and are useful. By selec-ting only these critical topics, considerably more time 11

be spent on each.The chemistry program at Globe High School (Chapter 8)

provides highly individualized instructiom using just 11

units. In e,wh unit students choose from a wide variety ofactivities, allowing them to take an active part in determin-ing what they will learn.

In making connections between chemistry ,md otherknowledge, many chemistry teachers have chosen socialissues as a central focus. At Hazen High School in Renton,Washington (Chapter 5), a key focus is learning to usechemistry to make everyday decisions. One way the pro-gram has evolved to do this is through its use of socialissues and applications of chemistry, as well as by havingguest speakers. Each lesson is woven around a social prob-lem. Through these problems, new chemistry material isintroduced. It is successful, as stuc'ents suggest how to

with ones that have been attempted.Almost all of these programs include applications of chem-

istry. As stated in Chapter 1, "Knowledge that cannot beapplied is of little value." Chapter 2, Chemistry For All, forinstance, has four different levels of chemistry, each withcontemporary and applied topics as a central focus. Theyare successful, with more than 90 percent of students suc-cessfully completing introductory chemistry.

Most programs include aspects of career developmentand awareness. Some programs use guest speakers; othershave definite units on career education which include read-ing about careers, interviewing people in various chemicalcareers, and trying to determine where chemists and chem-istry-related personnel might be employed. Students inthese programs learn the usefulness of chemistry, the defi-nite place of chemistry in our society, and the fact thatchemistry can be understood by everyone.

Far less emphasis will be placed on routine applicationof rules and technical skills, definitions, and memorizationof theoretical models that cannot be applied. Far moreemphasis will be placed on the description of commonchemical changes and the use of simple, structural modelsto explain chemical .:hange. As a rule, only those theoriesand mathematical models needed to explain the chemicalphenomenon that students have observed and wish tohave explained will be introduced.

Emphasis should be on the structure and reactivity ofmatter, with students constructing information inteniallyrather than passively receiving intact knowledge. In 01p-ter 4, Chemical Concepts Through Investigation, the learn-ing cycle where students develop concepts and applicationsusing observations and data follows this rather well. Therole of the teacher here is not only to give information butto ask questions, lead discussions, and guide experimenta-tion.

Teachers in these programs actively get feedback fromstudents and use this information to help programs undergoconstant revision.

At Globe High School (Chapter 8) the students knowwhat level of learning is expected of them with each unit.Each unit contains different types of learning activitieswhich take advantage of students' varying abilities to learn.Students are free to watch a taped lesson or filmstrip, reada programmed text, do an experiment, or use computer-assisted instruction. After using the materials they havechosen, students perform a self test to find out how wellthey have done. Teachers in this program feel strongly thatthe key to success lies in students' choosing the activitiesthey wish to perform.

At Radnor High School (Chapter 7) the specific contentof the course is not an end in itself, but rather a beginning.This content gives students background information forquestions they have about their daily lives. Chemistry forthese students becomes an active part of their lives and nota rhetoric of conclusions.

The development of intellectual skills that enables stu-dents to make rational decisions about complex issues; andthe development of habits, attitudes, and skills to learnindependently through informal education will be stressed.

These exemplary programs strongly emphasize that themajor contribution chemistry can make to a person's edu-

solve a particular issue and then cc inpare their solutions elation is in the development of rational thought. By stress-I

47

ing Chemistry For All (Chapter 2), these program develop-ers have emphasized the notion of chemistry as somethingnecessary. Others, such as Chapter 4, Chemical ConceptsThrough Investigation, and Chapter 8, Individualized Chem-istry at Globe High School, have students making decisionsas a significant component of the chemistry class. By mak-ing decisions, predicting consequences, and analyzing appli-cations, these students learn to think with chemistry andthrough chemistry.

Class assignments, laboratory activities, and evaluationprocedures will reflect the emphasis upon the develop-ment of intellectual skills.

By emphasizing application of concepts and principles innew contexts as evidence of learning, students learn howideas can be useful. In the process, they come to see how anidea can receive as much attention as a description of theidea itself. While some, like Chemistry For All in Chapter 2,have complete courses stressing the applications of chemis-try and the prediction of consequences of those applica-tions, all are concerned with students being able to usetheir chemistry, rather than with merely knowing it. Testitems submitted by several of these exemplars indicate thatteachers and program developers view the context and useof chemistry as significant evidence that learning has takenplace.

In using ideas, students learn that chemistry can be usedand is not merely something to be studied. As less emphasisis placed on describing an idea and more emphasis is placedon how the idea can be useful, students will begin to seeconnections between their chemistry class, themselves, theirsociety, and their future. In the process, more ideas aregenera,ed and more uses of chemistry are stimulated.

A v:ziety of text materials that are pedagogically sound,scientifically accurate, and appropriate for students of vary-ing abilities and interests will be available to teachers.

Humor in Chemistry (Chapter 9) has been created froma blend of CHEM Study, Chemical Bond Approach, andtraditional textbooks, as well as from a variety of locally-developed materials, demonstrations, and humorous skits.In devising this hybrid, developers focused on the nature oftheir students, the skills and personalities of the teachers,and their desire for a strong program for all students.

Individualized Chemistry (Chapter 8) has been designedto take advantage of students' abilities to learn in differentways. It allows students to decide which activities they wishto perform, and it includes computers. Most of the 14 unitsare introduced from a consumer or humorous point ofview. Certainly, these program developers have sought tomake their materials appropriate for the learners.

The learning cycle (Chapter 4) takes advantage of theway children learn science. By using research discoveries onlearning cycles in developing a program, these developersare closer to having an educationally sound and appropriatecurriculum package for all their students.

At Hazen High School (Chapter 5), program developersmodified CHEM Study materials to include societal issues,applications of chemistry, career education, and learning touse science in everyday decision-making. By combining thisactivity-oriented appmach with guest speakers, taped lec-tures, current science magazines, and classroom demon-strations, they now have a program which provides inter-est, ideas, and applications.

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TeachersWe Need the Best We Can GetNot surprisingly, teachers in all these programs are con-

siderably different from the norm. These teachers haveattended an amazing number of institutes, workshops, andprofessional association meetings. When they say they areactive members of teacher associations, they mean they notonly read the journals, attend the meetings, and presentpapersthey help lead the organizations.

Many of these teachers speak of running workshops,including fairly advanced and prestigious institutes at majoruniversities. Their general high level of excitement andenergy is apparent as they write and talk. This excitementis probably important to the students as well.

These obviously are exceptional programs, with excep-tional teachers. They are doing quite well, as evidenced bythe number of students enrolled, the number of studentsgoing on to use science in a variety of ways, and the localevaluations. We have no doubt that these are truly exem-plary programs which are evolving into even better exam-ples of what can be done in chemistry classrooms.

Some ConcernsWhile these are exemplary programs, they are still evolv-

ing in many ways. As such, they have not yet reached thepinnacle of desirability or success. Although many of theseprograms have a variety of levels for students with a va-riety of goals, it still seems apparent that college prepara-tion is a major focus. College preparation seems to meanclassical chemical concepts rather than applications. Wethink much can be done to improve the descriptive aspectsof chemistry, the applications of chemistry in daily life, andthe use of direct observations by students. We see theseprograms moving in those directions and are confident thatthey will achieve it.

Some evidence indicates that the number of topics coveredin these chemistry courses is greater than necessary. Wewould like to see more focus on fewer ideas, as well as onthe integration of those ideas with the reality known bystudents. Making these connections between chemistry andthe students' knowledge will help students see the conceptsand principles much more clearly.

While social issues seem to be woven into many of theseprograms, we would like to see social issues not as an addi-tion, but as a central core. For example, the central themeof a course could be social issues with the chemistry princi-ples woven around those issues. We would like to see morecurricula de-eloped that make social issues a more prom-in?n part of their chemistry Curriculum.

We would like to see more programs which explore top-ics and ideas with opportunities for applications early in thecourse. We still see a tendency to present the theory beforeany application.

As requested in the desired state of Chapter 1, we wouldlike to see students designing their own simple, structuralmodels to explain chemical changes they have observed. Bydoing this, we would expect to see fewer theoretical con-cepts and mathematical models used in the classroom.

In all activities, a goal should be that students becomeable to learn independently through informal educationduring the rest of their lives. By stressing their need tolearn independently and informally, we will be freeing stu-

dents from many constraints adults put upon themselves.Evaluation is a weak point in many of these programs.

While it is difficult to evaluate how well students can applyconcePis and principles, we would like to see such testsdevelobed. Only by seeing students using their ideas innew contexts do we have evidence that they have learned.We also must evaluate how well students have developedtheir intellectual skills and their rational thought. Perhaps,as sugosted in Chapter 1, we should ask students howideas ak-e useful as often as we ask them to tell us what theideas are. In doing this, students might begin predictingcauses and consequences, look at applications of the chemi-cal knowledge, and view themselves as controllers of theirlearning and their use of chemistry.

Teachers need to adapt and develop more materials,rather than continuing to rely upon commercially availabletext materials. When teachers begin developing their ownmateriells for use in their own locale, the curriculum willbecom e? appropriate for the students in that locale. Wewould also like to see more specific teacher inservice pro-grams k-elated to techniques of applying pedogogically sowed,

scientifically accui Ate instruction for students of all abilitiesand interests. While these teachers have described specificteaching strategies and skills, other teachers do not alwayshave these skills and strategies. We would like to see spe-cific inservice programs designed to produce teachers forprograms such as these.

Some Final ThoughtsWe sincerely hope that these program descriptions will

inspire you as they inform you. While no single chemistryprogram in this issue may be suitable for your school orstudents, we are confident that the ideas contained here aretransportable, modifiable, and ultimately useful. We hopeyou will analyze, critique, and propose new alternatives tothe activities and ideas suggestpd in these ten chapters. Ifyou as a teacher do this, we know it will have considerableimpact on students. For, as we well know from this issue of"Focus On Excellence," from other issues, and from ourown general experience, teachers do make a difference.

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This volume has been produced bySpecial PublicationsNational Science Teachers Association1742 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20009Shirley L. Watt, editor

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