Discusses safety concerns related to independent study projects at both school and off-campus sites. Provides questions to evaluate and manage student projects and cites important procedural steps to promote student safety, enhance educational return, and limit teacher liability.

Describes a freshman chemistry experiment designed to introduce scientific methodology, provide practice in measurement skills, and illustrate a fundamental chemical relationship (conservation of volume). Provides the experimental design, a materials and equipment list, sample calculations, and results. (JM)

Determined which of 10 rational thinking powers are measured by 12 commercially-available standardized science tests. One result reported is that 90 percent of the test items required only recall. The conclusion was drawn that the producers of standardized tests are not concerned with measuring student achievement of the rational powers.…

Describes the construction of a chemistry laboratory. Also discusses the place of science in school technology teaching, a study of students' understanding of simple quantitative relationships in chemistry, and the objectives of school physics. (JN)

Background information, list of materials needed, and procedures used are provided for a simple technique for generating mechanically plotted acid-base titration curves. The method is suitable for second-year high school chemistry students. (JN)

A five-week course for fourth- and fifth-grade students (titled "Chemistry for Kids") was developed. Each class session consisted of a brief lecture, a demonstration, and one or more experiments. An outline of concepts fostered, instructional strategies, and procedures used is provided. (JN)

Five years ago, an introductory chemistry course for chemists and chemical engineers was redesigned to stress the scientific method, problem-solving, and reasoning skills. Describes: (1) changes made in the course; (2) impacts on student achievement; and (3) student ratings of the course. (JN)

Describes an interdisciplinary program designed to give junior-level chemistry, biology and physics majors general knowledge of the theory/application of instrumental methods, practical experience in instrument operation/data interpretation and use of instruments to make measurements to solve problems. This course contains a common…

Provides data (obtained from an American Chemical Society survey) on undergraduate studies in chemistry. Lists and discusses chemistry, elective chemistry, and supporting courses (such as writing and physics) considered to be important by professional chemists. Also recommends that undergraduates pursue studies in biochemistry, polymer chemistry,…

Reviews the historical development of the periodic table, examining major changes due to understanding of radioactivity, synthetic transmutation by bombardment, differences between transuranium elements and the lanthanide series, and the transactinide elements. Discusses the continuing work on atomic synthesis and its importance in extending our…

Describes an introductory chemistry course for nurses in which students learn basic chemical principles by performing 12 chemical analyses that are routinely conducted on body fluids and listed on a patient's clinical laboratory chart. (MLH)

This paper reports on a study of a structured active learning approach to an analytical chemistry course. The purpose of the study was to assess the longitudinal outcomes of this approach and to provide feedback to curriculum developers about the effects of the changes being made in the chemistry curriculum. The data, collected from a cohort of…

This research study examines the nature of socio-cognitive influences on general chemistry students' learning and success. In this study, "learning" means gaining critical thinking skills and "success" means good academic grades. From a social constructivist and postmodern perspective, learning and success are considered functions of enculturation…

This report presents the results of a study conducted during the 1995-1996 school year to evaluate the educational progress of 12th grade students taking advanced biology, chemistry, and physics courses. The study was conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in association with the National Assessment of Educational…

This laboratory manual introduces the idea of Green Chemistry, which is the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. Instructional samples are included to help teachers integrate green chemistry into the college chemistry curriculum. Each laboratory includes: (1) a…