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Members Get Hands On With Active Chemistry to Educate High School Students

Posted on: Sunday, 22 May 2005, 03:00 CDT

Currently, only 50% of American high school students take a chemistry course, far less than the 99% who take biology. But, as more states and districts mandate a full three years of science for all students, access to a chemistry curricula designed for everyone - not just those planning to attend college, becomes more and more critical.

AIChE has worked to develop a new 9-12 chemistry curriculum called Active Chemistry, where students learn chemistry as they solve hands-on "challenges," which leads to open-ended engineering design problems. The initiative is one of the first projects of the newly established AlChE's Institute for Sustainability, and funded by an NSF grant

Designed after the National Science Foundation-supported Active Physics curriculum, and following guidelines established by the National Science Education Standards, Active Chemistry is currently in the pilot stage. The project timeline calls for commercial release by Spring 2006, following three years of pilot and field testing, revisions, and teacher training.

AIChE is currently working to find ways to help link practicing engineers and "practitioners" of chemistry with the pilot teachers in the program and engage industrial partners as the curriculum is launched in 2005/2006

"This project will create a comprehensive curriculum with an emphasis on active learning of chemical principles," said John Sofranko, AlChE's executive director. "Chemical engineering, in itself, is a discipline that is an implementation of active chemistry, and we are excited to contribute the expertise of our members to enhance the education of high school students in science, math, and technology."

AIChE local sections met at the Perm State campus to learn more about Active Chemistry. High school teachers piloting the curriculum led the participants in several active chemistry hands-on experiments.

In March, several AIChE local sections met in Harrisburg, PA, at the Penn State campus, to learn more about Active Chemistry. High school teachers piloting the curriculum reviewed the content and led the participants in several active chemistry hands on experiments. The event was hosted by the PA-Susquehanna section, University of Pennsylvania National Capital section, Baltimore Maryland section, Delaware Valley section, and Lehigh Valley section.

The 15-chapter prototype curriculum was created by It's About Time, publisher of Active Chemistry and a co-principal investigator (Pl) on the grant, Arthur Eisenkraft, the author of Active Physics, and a writing team of 15. AIChE members have been involved in writing each of the chapters - L.S. Fan, AIChE Chair of the SIOC, led a team in writing three chapters related to sustainability.

Each chapter begins with a scenario and challenge. For example, in the chapter called "Movie Special Effects," students must design a film special effect, and then work with their teacher to determine how they will assess their projects. Other prototype chapters include: designing a sports beverage, developing a game that uses the periodic table, designing an economical and environmentally- safe road deicer, and performing and explaining a cool chemistry trick, involving production of gases, color, solutions, indicators, thermodynamics, equilibrium, or chemical reactions.

For more information visit http://www.aiche.org/sustainability/ active-chemistry.htm or http://www. its-about-time.com.

Copyright American Institute of Chemical Engineers May 2005

Source: Chemical Engineering Progress

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