Teachers helping teachers

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editorially /peaking

Teachers Helping Teachers There have been occasional allusions on this oaee . to the importance of continuous professional development for everyone who teaches chemistry, regardless of the level of instruction. Because chemistry is dynamic and constantly evolving, teachers must keep up with the state of the art if their students are to appreciate the vitality and excitement of the subiect. A basic problem encountered hv the average teacher a t m y instructi&al level is the availability of suitable resource materials. Such resources can serve several purposes: they can encourage and facilitate the teacher's own professional development, andlor they can serve as the basis for clnssrwm d i s c u s i w ~ ~Currt.111. i. accurntc, and up t t 1 date (11formarim is parriwlarlp inlpnrtanr 10 l.oth the 1,...,.her an11 his her students. Books an! the trnd~t~amal s ~ ~ u r(21r cinformation, hut unfortunately they have several distinct drawbacks in this respect. The time reauired to publish hooks is often sufficientl; long to affect thkir usefuiness and immediacy. Publishing techniques are available which can greatly reduce the lead time, hut the cost is often prohibitive to many persons who might he interested in the subiect. In addition, materials which-appear as a result of rapid:puhlishing techniques are usually intended for persons working a t the leading edge of a discipline. Although timely, these materials are difficult for teachers to use because of the considerable subject matter expertise required to translate them into a meaningful educational experience. As a result, many subjects in chemistry that would-or could-he of interest to students either do not appear in conventional texts, or it takes so long for them m.e a r that the immediacv of the subiect is lost. In effect. to a . unless teachers make a conscious effort to keep abreast of new develonments in the field. students are denrived of some of the exiiternent of rhemistrv and the c h ~ l l e ' n ~ ite sc~ilers. The .Iut'nl\'nl.. in coo~eratimwith the l h i j i o n #,I('hem~(al Education through its Program Committee, hopes to help fill this gap by making authoritative discussions of timely topics available to chemical educators in a form which will he useful to them. The Division's State-of-the-Art Symposia, one of which is scheduled to he presented a t each of the American Chemical Society's national meetings, are designed to hring together experts in a given field in an attempt to define progress on a given topic in a unified way. Many of these experts are also teachers. Although the papers in these symposia are presented orally, the speakers are obligated to prepare

written manuscripts under unifying guidelines provided by the symposium organizer so that the entire set of papers, which will he published in the JOURNAL, will represent a resource package for teachers. Hence, the State-of-the-Art will Ssmvosia that are ultimatelv oublished in the JOURNAL consist of papers which can be used to further a teacher's knowledge in an advancing area of chemistrv and/or to orovide information that can be shared with hislhkr students. Some papers in issues featuring these s s m ~ o s i acan serve as good reviews for graduate students, as well as a starting for someone who wants to learn about an area of chemistrv which is unfamiliar to himlher. The task we have set for ourselves in the State-of-the-Art Symposia series is formidable, and it well may be impossible. However, we must try! Readers may not always perceive a direct relevance of these subjects to the courses they teach, in which cases any impact on their courses may be impercevtible. Teachers who have been comfortable with the featured subjects may find the impact of these series to lr: ~ m mnrily attitudinal, i.e., they ma! nffvct the tencher's prrcept1,,1: o f theiulqrcr. In the h.ng rut). - u c h e i ~ cI: ~may he, hcow ever, more imv~rtanrthan raininr R lidbit of infirmation that can be used directly in t h i clas~room.The former is a momentary gain, whereas attitudinal changes are longerlasting. Papers presented in the second State-of-the-Art Svmnosia a t the fali 1980 ACS meeting in Las Vegas (nee s i n Fraucisco)-"Radiation ChemistrvW-com~rise the maior Dart of this issue. The subject, like that of the first state-if-;he-~rt Ssmvosium-"Solid State Chemistrv2'-is tovical. There is ah ehormous amount of new information in this area which is not often discussed in textbooks. These oaoers are an attempt to present this information, as weil & some useful unifying ~. ideas, all in one place. Althouah the suhiect mav appear somewhnt narn,w. ;I perusal 111' the peperi in this ikwe ~htmldreveal 11umer0wuseful insights for a wide spectrum of chemistry teachers. We hope to present the State-of-the-Art Symposia on a continuing basis as a service to the chemical education community. If you have suggestions regarding subjects that might be of interest for future svmposia, vlease make them to the Program Chairman of the ~ i v i s i o n o Chemical f Education, C/O the Division's Secretary. JJL

Volume 58

Number 2

February 1981

81