The Collaborative for Chemical Education

Preamble

 

“Chemists are increasingly aware that, although chemistry knowledge is a necessary condition for teaching excellence, it is not sufficient.”

—Task Force on Chemical Education Research, ACS

“The most important obligations now confronting the nation’s colleges and universities is to break out of the tired old teaching versus research debate and define, in more creative ways, what it means to be a scholar.  It’s time to recognize the full range of faculty talent and the great diversity of functions higher education must reform.”

—Boyer, “Scholarship Reconsidered:  Priorities of the Professoriate”

The Chemical Education Group in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry represents our attempt to respond to these national needs.

Program of Work

Qualifications:  The program of work is based on a firm foundation of knowledge in advanced chemistry and the processes by which chemistry changes—that is research.  In other words, the most successful candidates for our chemical education program are those who have a masters degree in a molecular science-oriented subject.

 Areas of Specialization:  The Chemical Education Program is focused on one or more of the standard areas of chemistry, namely,

Since chemistry is recognized as the central science, it is clearly also possible to do chemical education research in interdisciplinary areas, a process which is encouraged.

Courses:  The general Departmental course requirements — six (6) graded courses — must be met.  Advanced courses (built upon the course work in your masters program) in your chemistry subject interest area (see above) should be among the courses you use.  Courses may be taken in other departments such as Curriculum and Instruction (Science Education and Instructional Technology) and Educational Psychology which support the student’s research interests.  Examples of such courses include:

Other Requirements: The following activities are also a part of The Chemical Education Program:

If you are interested in The Chemical Education Program, you should contact any faculty member in the Department, because all of them are potentially research directors in this program.

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