Chemical education research, physical

Developments in the physical chemistry laboratory since the publication of the germinal text by Schwenz and Moore (/) are categorized and reviewed. The categories examined include modem instrumentation, current topics in chemistry, integrated laboratories, and developments based on chemical education research. New experiments involving traditional instrumentation and topics are include but are not reviewed extensively. 

As noted above, there are not many new approaches to the physical chemistry laboratory that are based on Chemical Education research, but there are some that deserve mention. Articles that are based on these approaches are listed in Table I. 

Chemical Education Research Related to the Physical Chemistry Lab... 

However, there were some notable lacunae that need to be addressed. Little work has been done in chemical education research on the physical chemistry laboratory, although what has been done is both valuable and excellent. In addition, little attention has been paid to the issue of the structure of the physical chemistry laboratory as a whole (or at least little has been published). More needs to be done in this area. Very few of the experiments included a clear pedagogical objective, and those that did, failed to do any assessment of those objectives. It is hoped that a continuously increasing percentage of new experiments will include these elements. 

In chemical education research papers, only two degrees of physics knowledge are generally used as frames of reference for what students could or should understand at certain stages. The first one is the everyday understanding of temperature, heat, and energy. The second one is the thermodynamic understanding of these terms - albeit without mathematics. 

The Particulate Nature of Matter is vital to understanding chemistry. Chemists explain phemonena in terms of particle behavior. Several chemical education research studies have helped expand the theory of how students learn about particle behavior. Early studies established the lack of student understanding of particle action, while later studies examined treatments or interventions to help students think in terms of particles. These later studies led to a number of implications for the chemistry classroom and our understanding of how students build mental models to visualize particle behavior in chemical and physical phemonena. 

RVq, Revista Virtual da Quimica ]BCS, Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society y QN, Quimica Nova QNEsc, Quimica Nova na Escola RASBQ, Annual Meeting of the Brazilian Chemical Society ORG, organic chemistry INO, inorganic chemistry CAT, catalysis ANA, analytical chemistry ENC, environmental chemistry PHY, physical chemistry CMT, chemistry of materials PAG, pure and applied chemistry CERP, Chemical Education Research and Practice Educacion, Educacion Quimica Ensehanza, Ensenanza de las Ciencias,... 

Taber, K. S. (2003b). Understanding ionisation energy physical, chemical and alternative conceptions. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 4(2), 149-169. Retrieved November 22, 2007, from http //www.uoi.gr/cerp/2003 May/05.html... 

Next, we review findings of educational research about the main areas of physical chemistry. Most of the work done was in the areas of basic thermodynamics and electrochemistry, and some work on quantum chemistry. Other areas, such as chemical kinetics, statistical thermodynamics, and spectroscopy, have not so far received attention (although the statistical interpretation of entropy is treated in studies on the concepts of thermodynamics). Because many of the basics of physical chemistry are included in first-year general and inorganic courses (and some even in senior high school), many of the investigations have been carried out at these levels. 

In 1912 Lewis accepted a position as dean and chairman of the College of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. He remained at Berkeley for the rest of his hfe and transformed the chemistry department there into a world-class center for research and teaching. His reforms in the way chemistry was taught, a catalyst for the modernization of chemical education, were widely adopted throughout the United States. Lewis introduced thermodynamics to the curriculum, and his book on the same subject became a classic. He also brought to the study of physical chemistry such concepts as fugacity, activity and the activity coefficient, and ionic strength. 

Chemical education can serve three purposes. First, it can provide a preparation for those who are to conduct research and/or development in chemistry or to staff the production processes of chemical-based industries. Second, it can provide a component of the general education of the population. Third, it can act, to some degree, as an exemplar for the conduct and outcomes of science . However, whatever the purpose addressed, any chemical education provided must be based on a sound understanding of the subject of chemistry itself. The difficulty in following this precept is that the distinctive nature of chemistry has not yet been clearly established. Its boundaries with other subjects, for example physics, biology, earth science, remain fuzzy. The four chapters in this section are each concerned with one aspect of the nature of chemistry that has important implications for chemical education, whatever its purposes. 

In late 1915 or early 1916, Schmidt, a cousin of Friedrich Schmidt-Ott, " ministerial director and later Prussian Kultusminister (Minister of Education), contacted Fritz Haber, whose Kaiser Wilhelm Institute (henceforth KWI) for Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry had from late 1914 been converted into a centre for chemical warfare research. Schmidt proposed the creation of a foundation with an endowment of 250,000 marks to reward persons who have rendered a scientific or technical service to the war effort and who can use it . Schmidt envisaged that Captain Haber would manage the foundation and propose suitable individuals for honours. The documents do not show whether Schmidt was thinking of himself, but he did belong to the circle of possible candidates. He had developed a tear gas, as well as a method to produce artificial fog (so-called Hochst fog ), which was used in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916. 

For another review of education research on electrochemistry, see Tsaparlis, G. (2007). Teaching and learning physical chemistry -review of educational research. In Ellison, M.D. and Schoolcraft, T.A. cds) Adva nces in teaching physical chemistry (Chapter 7). Washington DC American Chemical Society (distributed by Oxford University Press). 

Chemical educator Chemists working as educators may teach physical science and chemistry in public schools. They may also teach at the college or university level. University chemistry teachers often conduct research and work with graduate students. Chemists may even become chemical education specialists for organizations such as the American Chemical Society. 

Professor Bailar served his country during the Second World War as an official investigator of the National Defense Research Advisory Committee, Basic Physical Science, Panel on Chemistry, Research and Development Board. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Monmouth College. Professor Bailar has delivered hundreds of lectures in the United States and abroad on chemistry and chemical education, and has been awarded the Welch Lectureship, the Foster Lectureship at the University of Buffalo (twice), the Merck Lectureship at Bucknell University, the Clark E. Friend Lectureship at the University of West Virginia, and the American Cyanamid Lectureship at the University of Connecticut. He has been an author, editor, or co-author of four books and 145 scientific papers as well as many book reviews, lectures, etc. 

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