from Laura Slocum, JCE High School Associate Editor
A couple of years ago I started making small changes to the order in which I teach some of the topics in my first-year chemistry course. I did this because I had noticed that when I followed the traditional chapter order of the text, I was transitioning back […]

by Mary M. Kirchhoff and Richard N. Zare
What can a professional society with 160,000 members do that can have a special, transformative effect on education in the United States? That is the question posed by the American Chemical Society (ACS) Board of Directors to the newly created Board-Presidential Task Force on Education. The Task Force […]

The 20th century is often called “The American Century”, reflecting the broad influence of the United States of America on world affairs during the past 100 years. Claudia Goldin and Lawrence F. Katz, authors of The Race between Education and Technology, argue that a major factor in America’s becoming the richest and most influential nation […]

One trillion dollars. That’s a lot of money. It’s what the U.S. government is likely to spend to shore up (bail out) financial institutions that got into trouble through their own excesses. European governments are likely to spend a similar amount in a similar cause. It is also what we owe to China in the […]

Mathematics is fundamental to science because a great many aspects of science are best described and elucidated using mathematical tools. Lack of preparation in mathematics hampers many students’ efforts to learn science and prevents many other students from pursuing science at all. Consequently, mathematics education is important not only for mathematicians, but for all scientists. […]

I recently had the pleasure of listening to a talk, “Scientific Challenges in Sustainable Energy Technology”, by Nathan S. Lewis, California Institute of Technology. Lewis summarized data on energy resources and provided his analysis of their implications for the future of human society. He has provided slides, text, and a streaming audio/video version at his […]

 
If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. Thomas Jefferson, letter to Charles Yancey, 1816
Thinking is hard. Writing is hard because it requires thinking. Both thinking and writing involve time and concentration-commodities that these days are hard to come […]

Als Ik Kan is the message in the logo of Gustav Stickley, creator of the Mission style of furniture. Loosely translated from Flemish it means “to the best of my ability”. Jim D. Roach, Emporia State University, KS uses Als Ik Kan as the theme for his call for greater dedication by everyone, teachers, students, […]

According to Gresham’s Law, bad money will drive out good money (1). In economics the law applies to situations where two things of different value are either perceived to have equal value or are required to be accepted as having equal value. For example, if a government requires that all coins of the same denomination […]

The National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine have just published a book, Science, Evolution, and Creationism that should be read by all scientists and teachers of science (1). An eight-page brochure summarizes the book and is an excellent way to stimulate and inform discussions of evolution, creationism, and “intelligent design”.
The brochure describes […]