[neact] Math-Prep Symposium at the BCCE

Hello all,
     As you may know the 20th Biennial on Chemical Education will be held at 
Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana from July 27-31 this summer (2008).
     More information can be found at the website:
      http://bcce2008.indiana.edu
     
     I am scheduled to chair the following symposium:
The Preparation and Use of Mathematics in Problem Solving in College 
Preparatory, AP, and General Chemistry

     I am encouraging you to pass the word to anyone whom you think might 
want to know about this, and/or prepare a 20-minute presentation yourself.
     The deadline for submissions is February 15, and you can submit directly 
to the website.
     Feel free to write or call me with any questions you may have.
     Thank you,
     Cary Kilner -- University of New Hampshire
     7 Salmon St.
     Newmarket, NH 03857
     603-659-6825 (hm)   
     603-380-0351 (cell)
     603-862-4052 (office)
     wkilner@xxxxxxx

     We all know that “mathematics” has been the bane of chemistry students 
since time immemorial. But “mathematics” is a huge field. 
•What mathematics is truly necessary to become successful in learning 
chemistry (or even to practice chemistry)?
•How do we apply and use mathematics differently from mathematics as pure 
number theory?
•When should students learn it? 
•Can traditional mathematics instructors teach the mathematics our students 
need to have?
•What mathematics should students be able to do upon entering your class, and 
what mathematics are you responsible for teaching them? 
•Why don’t they learn this mathematics, whoever teaches it? 
•What are some bad mathematical habits that students bring to chemistry that 
must be broken down before students will become facile in chemical 
calculations? 
•How can we tell who will be self-sufficient mathematically, and who will 
need extra help with their mathematics?
•How can we tell who will scrape through with recitation instruction in 
mathematics, and who needs a whole remedial course in mathematics before taking 
chemistry?

     There has been much research in the physics education community 
regarding the use of mathematics in their discipline. Some of it is applicable 
to 
chemistry but our mathematical demands are far less extensive. However our 
demands 
upon proportional reasoning are very great. Can this cognitive modality be 
readily developed while students learn the conceptual aspects of chemistry?
     Far less research has been done on these questions in the chemical 
education community. We may have to rely more on “action research” conducted by 
practitioners in their classrooms.
     Although new knowledge is desirable, it should provide guidance to 
practitioners however esoteric and theoretical it might be.

     Audience: college & high school


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