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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Undergraduate Chemistry Education: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18555.
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UNDERGRADUATE
CHEMISTRY EDUCATION

A WORKSHOP SUMMARY

Keegan Sawyer and Joe Alper, Rapporteurs


Chemical Sciences Roundtable

Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology

Division on Earth and Life Studies

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
                          OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS

Washington, D.C.

www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Undergraduate Chemistry Education: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18555.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS     500 Fifth Street, NW     Washington, DC 20001

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This study was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under Grant DE-FG02-07ER15872, the National Institutes of Health under Contract HHSN263201200074I (Task Order 25), and the National Science Foundation under Grant CHE-1231459.

This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to a specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or agency thereof.

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13:   978-0-309-29586-4

International Standard Book Number-10:   0-309-29586-6

Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Keck 360, Washington, DC 20001; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313; http://www.nap.edu.

Copyright 2014 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Undergraduate Chemistry Education: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18555.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.

www.national-academies.org

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Undergraduate Chemistry Education: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18555.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Undergraduate Chemistry Education: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18555.
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CHEMICAL SCIENCES ROUNDTABLE

CO-CHAIRS

WILLIAM F. CARROLL, JR., Occidental Chemical Corporation, Dallas, Texas

JENNIFER S. CURTIS, University of Florida

MEMBERS

MICHAEL R. BERMAN, Air Force Office of Scientific Research

CAROLE BEWLEY, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

DONNA G. BLACKMOND, Scripps Research Institute

PAUL BRYAN, University of California, Berkeley

EMILIO BUNEL,* Argonne National Laboratory

ALLISON CAMPBELL, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

A.WELFORD CASTLEMAN, JR., Pennsylvania State University

RICHARD R. CAVANAGH, National Institute of Standards and Technology

JOAN FRYE, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

MIGUEL GARCIA-GARIBAY,* University of California, Los Angeles

JACK KAYE, National Aeronautics and Space Administration

JOHN KOZARICH, ActivX Biosciences, Inc.

LUIS E. MARTINEZ, Rollins College

KENNETH G. MOLOY, DuPont Company Experimental Station

ROBERT PEOPLES, Carpet America Recovery Effort

TANJA PIETRASS, National Science Foundation

MICHAEL E. ROGERS, National Institute of General Medical Sciences

ERIC ROHLFING, U.S. Department of Energy

JAMES M. SOLYST, ENVIRON International Corporation

KATHLEEN J. STEBE, University of Pennsylvania

PATRICIA A. THIEL,* Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL STAFF

DOROTHY ZOLANDZ, Director

KATHERINE BOWMAN, Senior Program Officer

KATHRYN HUGHES, Senior Program Officer

DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN, Program Officer

KEEGAN SAWYER, Program Officer

ELIZABETH FINKELMAN, Administrative Assistant

SAYYEDA AHMED, Senior Program Assistant

JOE ALPER, Consulting Science Writer

___________________

* These members of the Chemical Sciences Roundtable served as members of the planning committee of the Workshop on Undergraduate Chemistry Education, but were not involved in the writing of this workshop summary.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Undergraduate Chemistry Education: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18555.
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BOARD ON CHEMICAL SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY

CO-CHAIRS

DAVID WALT, Tufts University

TIMOTHY SWAGER, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MEMBERS DAVID BEM, The Dow Chemical Company

ROBERT BERGMAN, University of California, Berkeley

JOAN BRENNECKE, Notre Dame University

HENRY BRYNDZA, E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company

DAVID CHRISTIANSON, University of Pennsylvania

RICHARD EISENBERG, University of Rochester

MARY JANE HAGENSON, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company

LLC CAROL J. HENRY, Independent Consultant

JILL HRUBY, Sandia National Laboratories

CHARLES E. KOLB, Aerodyne Research, Inc.

SANDER G. MILLS, Merck, Sharp, & Dohme Corporation

DAVID MORSE, Corning Incorporated

ROBERT E. ROBERTS, Institute for Defense Analyses

DARLENE J. S. SOLOMON, Aligent Technologies

JEAN TOM, Bristol-Myers Squibb

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL STAFF

TERESA FRYBERGER, Director

KATHRYN HUGHES, Senior Program Officer

DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN, Program Officer

CARL GUSTAV-ANDERSON, Research Associate

ELIZABETH FINKELMAN, Administrative Assistant

NAWINA MATSHONA, Senior Program Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Undergraduate Chemistry Education: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18555.
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Preface

The Chemical Sciences Roundtable (CSR) was established in 1997 by the National Research Council. It provides a science-oriented apolitical forum for leaders in the chemical sciences to discuss chemistry-related issues affecting government, industry, and universities. Organized by the National Research Council’s Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology, the CSR aims to strengthen the chemical sciences by fostering communication among the people and organizations—spanning industry, government, universities, and professional associations—involved with the chemical enterprise. One way it does this is by organizing workshops that address issues in chemical science and technology that require national or more widespread attention.

On May 22-23, 2013, the CSR held a 1.5-day workshop on undergraduate chemistry education that focused on identifying potential drivers for change, barriers to curricular modifications, and new results from large-scale innovations with special emphasis on those that are transferable, widely applicable, and/or proven successful. The workshop featured both formal presentations and panel discussions among participants from academia, industry, and funding organizations. The workshop program consisted of three themes:

•   Drivers of change in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education;

•   Innovations in chemistry education; and

•   Challenges and opportunities in chemistry education reform.

The workshop was intended to provide participants from a spectrum of the chemistry and chemistry education communities with an introduction to some of the work being done in this area, to stimulate further discussions, and to serve as a complement to other forums conducted by organizations such as the American Chemical Society, the Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, Gordon Research Conferences, and studies on undergraduate education conducted within the National Research Council. The Statement of Task for the workshop organizing committee is provided in Appendix A.

This document summarizes the presentations and discussions that took place at the workshop. In accordance with the policies of the CSR, the workshop did not attempt to establish any conclusions or recommendations about needs and future directions, focusing instead on issues identified by the speakers and workshop participants. In addition, the organizing committee’s role was limited to planning the workshop. The workshop summary has been prepared by the workshop rapporteurs Keegan Sawyer and Joe Alper as a factual summary of what occurred at the workshop.

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Undergraduate Chemistry Education: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18555.
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Acknowledgment of Reviewers

This workshop summary has been reviewed in draft form by persons chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purposes of this review are to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making the published summary as sound as possible and to ensure that the summary meets institutional standards of objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following for their participation in the review of this summary:

Diana Glick, Georgetown University

John Kozarich, ActiveX Biosciences, Inc.

David K. Lewis, Connecticut College (retired)

Marcy H. Towns, Purdue University

Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse, nor did they see, the final draft of the workshop summary before its release. The review of this summary was overseen by Edwin P. Przybylowicz, Eastman Kodak Company (retired). Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this summary was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this summary rests entirely with the authors and the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2014. Undergraduate Chemistry Education: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18555.
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Acronyms

AAAS American Association for the Advancement of Science
AAMC Association of American Medical Colleges
ACS American Chemical Society
 
BOSE Board on Science Education
 
CPT ACS Committee on Professional Training
CSR Chemical Sciences Roundtable
 
DBER discipline-based education research
 
GDP gross domestic product
 
HHMI Howard Hughes Medical Institute
 
iCons Integrated Concentration in Science program
 
MCAT Medical College Admission Test
MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MOOC massive open online course
 
NMR nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy
NRC National Research Council
NSF National Science Foundation
 
PCAST President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
 
STEM science, technology, engineering, and math
 
WIDER Widening Implementation and Demonstration of Evidence-Based Reforms
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Undergraduate Chemistry Education is the summary of a workshop convened in May 2013 by the Chemical Science Roundtable of the National Research Council to explore the current state of undergraduate chemistry education. Research and innovation in undergraduate chemistry education has been done for many years, and one goal of this workshop was to assist in the transfer of lessons learned from the education research community to faculty members whose expertise lies in the field of chemistry rather than in education. Through formal presentations and panel discussions, participants from academia, industry, and funding organizations explored drivers of change in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education; innovations in chemistry education; and challenges and opportunities in chemistry education reform. Undergraduate Chemistry Education discusses large-scale innovations that are transferable, widely applicable, and/or proven successful, with specific consideration of drivers and metrics of change, barriers to implementation of changes, and examples of innovation in the classroom.

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