Connections to Chemistry           Education
                                       
 

Each year in October, The Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society (NESACS) and the Education Committee of the Northeastern Section invite high school chemistry teachers to a program at Burlington High School (Burlington, MA).

This program is intended to help connect high school teachers with the numerous education resources that are available from the American Chemical Society.

    
     
     
     
     
     
                 
                                       
       
Download Registration Form [DOC] [PDF]
  
                           
 
REPORT
2009 Connections to Chemistry
by Ruth Tanner
 
The Tenth Annual Connections to Chemistry program took place at Burlington High School (Burlington, MA) on Wednesday, October 14th, 2009. The program is aimed at connecting
high school chemistry teachers with the educational resources of the American Chemical Society. Each registrant participated in two of five different workshops which included a
pedagogical workshop on Process- Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) by David Cunningham of UMass Lowell and Cheryl Lavoie of Simmons College; a workshop based on the laboratory practical portion of the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad (USNCO) exam by Steve Lantos, chairperson of the Laboratory Practical Task Force to USNCO, and Matt Fierman of Brookline High School; a National Chemistry Week workshop celebrating the 140th anniversary of Mendeleev’s Periodic Table led by Daniel Schmidt and Erick Dunkerley,
of the Plastics Engineering and Nanomanufacuring Center at UMass Lowell on nanosheets and the elements that form them; and a workshop on radioactivity by Clayton French, Director of Radiological Sciences at UMass Lowell.
In addition, a workshop was given by Dr. Bruce Bursten, co-author of Chemistry – The Central Science, Dean of the College of Arts and Science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and the Immediate Past- President of the American Chemical Society. Dr. Bursten, who was also the keynote speaker for the evening, discussed many aspects of his wellknown book, including how authors try to stimulate students critical thinking, which he views as the biggest challenge for students transitioning from high school to college.
Registrants, totaling 110, were from high schools in 4 different states –Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Maine. The participants were welcomed by Ruth Tanner,
Connections Program Chair and Chair of the NESACS Education Committee, and by Steve Lantos, Chair of the NESACS High School Education Committee. Following the workshops
and dinner, the keynote address was given by Dr. Bruce Bursten entitled The Central Science Live! which focused on the central aspect of chemistry in our lives.
His address was followed by our traditional raffle of American Chemical Society items and subscriptions to the Journal of Chemical Education (2 of which were donated by the journal)
and memberships in CTC (Chemistry Teacher Connection) which includes an online subscription to the Journal of Chemical Education along with membership in the ACS Division of Chemical Education.
All of the participants received a one year’s subscription to ChemMatters, an award–winning magazine for high school chemistry, published by the ACS. In addition, the Merck Co. generously donated copies of the Fourteenth Edition of the Merck Index to the participants, in celebration of National Chemistry Week.
Click here to see photos from the event


 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
                                       
                                       

 

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