Women are increasingly present in the field of engineering, but despite a significant female presence, it has been found that the programs continue to make no reference to women scientists. In chemical engineering, for example, all the names of scientists mentioned in the programs belong to men only. To test this hypothesis of over-representation…

The recent revision of undergraduate curricular guidelines from the American Chemical Society Committee on Professional Training (ACS-CPT) has generated interest in examining new ways of organizing course sequences both for chemistry majors and for nonmajors. A radical reconstruction of the foundation-level chemistry curriculum is presented in…

A one-semester, introductory chemistry course is described that develops a primarily qualitative understanding of structure-property relationships. Starting from an atoms-first approach, the course examines the properties and three-dimensional structure of metallic and ionic solids before expanding into a thorough investigation of molecules. In…

A two-semester second-year introductory organic chemistry sequence featuring one semester of accelerated organic chemistry followed by one semester of bioorganic chemistry is described. Assessment data collected over a six-year period reveal that such a course sequence can facilitate student mastery of fundamental organic chemistry in the first…

Two different versions of "big ideas" rooted content maps have recently been published for general chemistry. As embodied in the content outline from the College Board, one of these maps is designed to guide curriculum development and testing for advanced placement (AP) chemistry. The Anchoring Concepts Content Map for general chemistry…

Although nonmajors were relegated to "watered-down" versions of majors' courses, recent attempts to relate science to the interests of the "antiscience" students have become more common. Such a course is described, developed as part of an integrated two-year general education program. (JN)

Discusses new ways to introduce the basic chemical principles into an introductory level chemistry course. (MLH)

Describes a forensic science course designed to give criminal justice students the knowledge and technology of science to solve a crime. The article includes a listing of topic areas, suggestions for the presentation of the content material, and an outline of the content and design. (MA)

Discusses the fact that freshman chemistry courses are becoming more quantitative, and recommends that qualitative and empirical topics not be excluded from such curricula. (MLH)

Presents a topical outline for physical chemistry suitable for training both chemistry majors and nonmajors. Suggests that an additional semester beyond the two semester sequence is essential for chemistry majors to achieve the course objectives. (CC)

The attempt to develop the laboratory component of a one-semester quantum chemistry course at Saint Mary's University has led to allowing the students to solve a big problem in quantum chemistry. It is done by subdivision into smaller problems that can be independently tackled by a student with a two-year calculus background.

A pre-service science and mathematics teacher participated in an action research project to reform a chemistry course required of elementary and middle childhood pre-service teachers. Activities to emphasize a hands-on approach to learning chemistry and to model teaching science through inquiry for these pre-service teachers are described. The…

The program objectives are to instruct students in laboratory techniques, experimental procedures, evaluation of results, and laboratory project design. Integration of techniques which may span several areas of chemistry is emphasized in the solution of problems. Current course content of the program is listed. (GS)