from Laura Slocum, JCE High School Associate Editor
Recently, I have spent many hours working with seven students as they develop their own demonstrations and hands-on activities focusing on elements—the theme of this year’s National Chemistry Week (NCW)—“Chemistry—It’s Elemental!” What a special privilege this has been for me. My love of chemistry and my desire to […]

The National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers have launched a drive for national content standards for K–12 education. Subsequent to a meeting in Chicago in April, 46 states have agreed to draft voluntary, common standards by July to specify what students should know by the time they finish high school. […]

In July 2001 I wrote decrying the over-reliance on high-stakes testing as a means of evaluating students, teachers, and schools (1). Eight years later, the situation has not changed for the better. It is worthwhile to revisit the issues raised at that time and make a few more comments.
The strong emphasis on testing seems to […]

It is said that virtue is its own reward. The earliest statement is, “Ipsa quidem virtus sibimet pulcherrima merces” [Virtue herself is her own fairest reward] (1). Is learning in the same category? Should it be?There is considerable debate on the subject (2).
Many economists and business people argue that students will work harder and learn […]

The dictionary definition of science begins something like this: The observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of natural phenomena. Notice that all the nouns are derived from verbs: observe, identify, describe, investigate, and explain. This implies strongly that science is more a process than a body of knowledge. Only later do we find: […]

from Laura Slocum, JCE High School Associate Editor
A couple of years ago I started making small changes to the order in which I teach some of the topics in my first-year chemistry course. I did this because I had noticed that when I followed the traditional chapter order of the text, I was transitioning back […]

by Mary M. Kirchhoff and Richard N. Zare
What can a professional society with 160,000 members do that can have a special, transformative effect on education in the United States? That is the question posed by the American Chemical Society (ACS) Board of Directors to the newly created Board-Presidential Task Force on Education. The Task Force […]

My aim is to create a supportive learning community, one that empowers students to succeed at their own pace.

Education [is] an investment in human capital–an investment that has paid off handsomely . . . for our entire socidty.

One trillion dollars. That’s a lot of money. It’s what the U.S. government is likely to spend to shore up (bail out) financial institutions that got into trouble through their own excesses. European governments are likely to spend a similar amount in a similar cause. It is also what we owe to China in the […]