Chemistry education background

To determine how best to present green chemistry to students, it would be best to look at attitudes. A study reports on the relationship between attitudinal factors and student academic success in first-year chemistry courses. The study includes a comparison of attitudes toward chemistry of first-year medical students at two universities. Students from these two institutions differ considerably with respect to educational backgrounds. In the investigation, attitudes toward science (particularly chemistry) were correlated not only with students academic achievement, but also with personal demographic data, such as matriculation results, parents educational level, and location of high school. The students responses to an opinion survey suggest a substantial relationship between attitudes and academic achievement. The results also suggest that academic achievement in chemistry is more dependent on attitudes toward science than aptitudes of students (Cukrowska et al., 1999). 

This book presents emergency response personnel with a view of chemistry as it applies to me hazardous materials that may be encountered in any emergency response. Some of me concepts presented may bend the rules of chemistry a bit. However, me purpose of mis book is not to educate chemists, but ramer to teach response personnel about basic chemistry concepts in a format that most responders, regardless of educational background, can understand. Concepts taught will work in me street application of chemistry when dealing wim hazardous materials. 

Many historians of science have already pointed out that the nineteenth century was a century of chemistry as both an academic discipline and an applied subject. By the mid nineteenth eentury, chemistry developed into a profession highly demanded in almost all domains of science, manufacture, medical practice, education and public life. As Helge Kragh has stated, chemistry was [bjeyond discussion [. . . ] a European science for several reasons. The main stage of development of scientific as well as industrial ehemistry took place on European soil chemistry education in Europe (especially in some countries) became the model for the whole world and last but not least it was in Europe that chemists of various backgrounds started to establish national chemical societies often as natural successors or spin-ofiFs of more broadly defined scientific societies. ... 

Despite participants assessments as stated above, differences in styles played a role in the early developments of quantum chemistry not only in what was referred to as differences between the Heitler-London school and the molecular orbital school but, more dramatically, in what related to the contrast between physically oriented approaches of German physicists and chemically oriented approaches of American scientists. Geographical differences were after all a subsidiary manifestation of strong differences in the institutional settings that provided the educational backgrounds of members of future quantum chemical communities. 

With this goal in mind, a group of 27 scholars in chemistry and science education were involved in writing 11 chapters to support studying the basics of PCK in chemistry education. All of the authors are chemistry and science educators stemming from 10 different coimtries all over the world. Most of them have a rich background in the process of enhancement of chemistry teachers professionalism both in the pre- as well as the in-service education phases of the chemistry teachers career. The reader will find information about the authors backgrotmds and expertise in the end of the book. 

I cite this history including these two recent examples of attempts to insert chemistry into the thicket of materials research already densely populated by physicists, ceramists, metallurgists, and chemical and civil engineers, because they form the background for my recommendations in the following sections. It is, of course, directly relevant to the initiative in education of the American Chemical Society. First let me list good reasons for such an initiative ... 

Schwartz, A Tmman and George B. Kauffman. Experiments in alchemy. Part II. Medieval discoveries and "transmutations". J Chem Educ 53, no. 4 (Apr 1976) 235-239. A number of relatively simple, reproducible alchemical experiments, including historical background and interpretation in terms of modem chemistry. Whenever possible, the original texts are given... 

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