Integrating Chemical Information
Instruction into the Community
College Chemistry Curriculum
SOUNDS DULL!
Chicago-2007
BOB LANDOLT
TEXAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY
ONLINE ACCESS
IS THE ANSWER
BUT
WHAT ARE THE
QUESTIONS?
Chicago-2007
BOB LANDOLT
TEXAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY
QUESTIONS ARISE
BECAUSE:
• COMMUNITY COLLEGES ARE PUIs
(Primarily Undergraduate Institutions)
• RESEARCH INCREASINGLY IS
IMPORTANT
• TRANSFERABILITY CRUCIAL
• MULTIPLE CAREER PATHS SERVED
• PURPOSE(S) OF SCIENCE EDUCATION
PURPOSE(S) OF SCIENCE
EDUCATION
(Faculty View of Student):
Students’ View of Their Situation:
1944 Cartoon, From Morrison and Boyd, 6th Ed.
1992, p. 474-(Note Bump on Donald’s Head)
Heart-Cut Question: HOW to
“Distinguish Sense from Nonsense?”
David Saxon, 1983, President, U. California, “Educating
students for life in a technological society is enormously
difficult ...ability to distinguish sense from nonsense is
an indispensable aspect….”
"The Place of Science and Technology in the Liberal Arts Curriculum" David S. Saxon
Leonardo, Vol. 16, No. 4 (Autumn, 1983), pp. 316-319
“Education is entirely an inner condition… unlike training,
… not really "about" the world outside of the person. It
must include--the ability to distinguish sense from
nonsense, …not only in others, but in the self.”
“The Panamanian Panda Paradigm,”
http://www.sourcetext.com/grammarian/newslettersv12/12.5.htm
‘INFORMATICS’
Challenges for PUI
Chemistry Generally
SOARING COSTS!
FEW SCIENCE LIBRARIANS!
ELECTRONIC SEARCHING REQUIRES SPECIAL
EXPERTISE (?)
ACS 2-Year Program Guidelines (S57):
http://www.chemistry.org/portal/resources/ACS/ACSContent/education/institutional/2ycbroc.pdf
“Because of the increasing volume and complexity of chemical literature,
students are no longer able to acquire skills in information retrieval without
some formal instruction.”
Skills (e.g., using Chemical Abstracts, other compilations):
integrating them into courses
through library exercises and/or research papers
online interactive computer file experiences.
Accomplished by:
cooperative library arrangements and
electronic access.
ABOUT TRANSFERABILITY?
•ACS Library Guidelines (4 Year Schools)
•http://www.chemistry.org/portal/a/c/s/1/acsdisplay.html?DOC=education\cpt\library.html
• CA full abstracts access required!
• CA online? Students must have good,
timely access.
• Minimum of 14 current journals
subscriptions
• Online journals acceptable if full material
routinely is accessible to students.
• Computer access by students must not
be unduly limited by cost or impractical
access times.
NEEDS OF MULTIPLE CAREER
PATHS?
• CHEMISTRY FOR SCIENCE MAJORS
• NURSING AND OTHER HEALTH
SPECIALTIES
• ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE/SAFETY
ORIENTATION
• LIBERAL ARTS/ NON-SCIENCE
MAJORS
From “Today’s Chemist At Work,” ACS Publications, Feb. 2003, p80
RESEARCH?
• Community Colleges Tackle Research,
C&E NEWS, October 16, 2006,
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/education/84/8442education.html
• Community College Led Advances in
Undergraduate Education, Tom
Higgins,, Harold Washington College,
tbhiggins@ccc.edu
• Summer ‘URP’/ ‘RUI’/ ‘SURFing’
http://pubs.acs.org/cgibin/abstract.cgi/joceah/2005/70/i02/abs/jo0490651.html
RESOURCES HUGE
AND GROWING!
Date
Wed Jul 19 13:09:04 EDT 2006
28,885,178 organic and inorganic
Count
substances
57,673,004 sequences,
CAS
RN
894495-18-2 is the most recent
CAS Registry Number
~8 MONTHS LATER
Date
Fri., Mar. 16 19:22:37 EDT 2007
31,095,401 organic and inorganic
Count
substances ~2 million more
58,703,712 sequences ~1 million
CAS
RN
927021-36-1, the most recent CAS
Registry Number as of above date
http://www.cas.org/cgi-bin/regreport.pl
UCAIR
(a)
UNDERGRADUATE
COOPERATIVE
ACCESS
To
INFORMATION RESOURCES
(a) http://department.txwes.edu/che/rlandolt/ucair2003.html
WONDERFUL TIME FOR
PUIs!
SIZE AND LOCATION NEUTRALIZED
AS LIMITING FACTORS:
THE INTERNET
RESOURCES ARE ONLINE
CONSORTIA
UCAIR OBJECTIVES
Provide FACULTY with fundamental sophistication
in Chemical Informatics.
Teach STUDENTS to determine if information
exists, how to retrieve it and assess its quality.
Enable DECISION-MAKERS to see how
institutional resources may be used efficiently.
UCAIR IN A NUTSHELL!
(‘E’=ELECTRONIC; PUI= PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE
INSTITUTIONS)
1993 4 TEXAS PUIs-CHEMICAL INFORMATICS LITERACY
1998 30 TEXAS PUIs- CHEMICAL ABSTRACTS ‘E’ ACCESS
2000 24 U.S PUIs- ACS JOURNALS ‘E’ ACCESS
2003 10 PUIs-ACS JOURNALS ARCHIVES ‘E’ ACCESS
2006- PROTOTYPE WORKSHOP AT COMMUNITY COLLEGE
“HCC-Central organic chemistry students seem to be having
fun as Dr. Robert Landolt checks out their progress.”
Reproduced, with consent from The Egalitarian, the Newspaper of the Houston
Community College Central Campus
Searching CA
Command Language:
“Standard
Transmission”
User Friendly Software:
“Automatic
Transmission”
Web-based STN Easy:
(chemistry’s “Google”}
“Taking a Taxi”
SciFinder Scholar:
“Chauffer-Driven
Limo”
Starting Point!
DROP-DOWN
MENUS SELECT
BY WORD,
CAS#, DATE,
ETC.
WITH ACADEMIC
DISCOUNT (10-20%),
COST < $5-10
STUDENTS SHOULD INCLUDE COST
FACTORS AS PART OF THEIR REPORT!
UCAIR ‘ON THE ROAD’
PUIs USING ACS WEB EDITIONS
AT 24 SCHOOLS FOR18 MONTHS
Journals Use Profile (57,650)
JACS
Env. Sci. & Tech.
J. Phys. Chem.
10.1%
12.2%
14.2%
J. Org.C hem.
9.3%
8.7%
Analyt. C hem.
Biochem .
10.3%
8.0%
2.0%
2.3%
6.3%
2.4%
3.9%
3.1%
3.6%3.6%
Inorg. Chem .
J. Ag. & Food Chem.
Langmuir
14 @ <2% each
Chem. R ev.
Org. Letters
Organom et.
Macrom ol.
J. Med. Chem .
USE IN COURSES
Physical
Adv. Analytical
Biochemistry
Adv. Inorganic
Analytical (i.e., Quant.)
Organic
8.0%
5.8%
9.5%
8.0%
5.8%
8.8%
4.4%
5.8%
8.8%
5.8%
12.4%
5.8% 6.6%
4.4%
Adv. Organic
Adv. Physical
Chemical Lit.
Gen. Chem
Non-Majors
Other (i.e. Adv. Lab)
Research
Seminar
WHAT’S NEXT?
• ESTABLISH COLLABORATIONS
– Two Year College Chemistry Conferences
(Consortium) --2YC3
– Resource Publishers, including ACS Pubs, STN,
Merck, CRC, etc.
– Undergraduate Library Community
• Create Problem-Oriented Exercises
– Teaching Chemistry
– Open-Ended
– Internet Deliverables
• On-campus, Regional and/or Online
Workshops
FAMILIER TO ORGANIC STUDENTS?
EFFORT
TRADITIONAL VIEW
YEAR
application
skill
1
2
3
4
G. SCHOOL
EFFORT
UCAIR APPROACH AT PUIs
YEAR
application
skill
1
2
3
Both Steps Earlier and Easier
4
G. SCHOOL
Usually the time it takes a system to become outdated is just about the same amount of time it takes
me to understand it!
EFFORT
PROJECTED APPROACH AT
COMMUNITY COLLEGES
YEAR
Not
Just
Skills
1
2
3
WHAT’S NEEDED?
4
G. SCHOOL
NEEDED: A DROMEDARY!
THANKS TO WIKIPEDIA FOR BOTH CAMELS!
EFFORT
PROJECTED APPROACH AT
COMMUNITY COLLEGES
Skill/Application*
lower
YEAR
1
2
*Through Problem-Oriented Activities
Integrated into Course
PROBLEM-ORIENTED “LAB”
FOR ENTRY LEVEL COURSES
”FOOD ADDITIVES”
• IDENTIFY 10-20 “ADDITIVES”
• LOCATE
LD50s and Safety/Health Issues
Function in product
Do ‘pluses’ out weigh ‘minuses?’
• REPORTS INVOLVE 3 COMPONENTS
TASK FORCE APPROACH
COOPERATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING
PLAN OF ATTACK NEEDS TO BE AGREED UPON
JOB TO BE BROKEN INTO SUBTASKS
CAS#’S MUST BE DETERMINED
INDIVIDUALS CHOSEN FOR ROLES
CO-LEADERS!
REPORT COMPILERS
REQUIRED REPORT FORMAT
THREE CLEARLY LABELED SECTIONS
INTRODUCTION-A PROBLEM STATEMENT
EXPERIMENTAL-WHAT WAS DONE
RESULTS/ CONCLUSIONS/ EVALUATION
(REFERENCES PROPERLY FOOTNOTED!)
REPORT MUST BE SIGNED BY
EVERY TEAM MEMBER, UNDER
STATEMENT:
“I have contributed to and read
this report”
______________(TYPED NAME)
SIGNATURE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ACS
PUBLICATIONS DIVISION
CA/STN INTERNATIONAL
THE WELCH FOUNDATION
CAMILLE AND HENRI DREYFUS
FOUNDATION
RESEARCH CORPORATION
Your Task Force
PROBLEM
• PROVIDE A REPORT
• SUITABLE FOR THE EPA
on the
• ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
of
• CHLORINATED BENZENES
in the
• OCEAN ENVIRONMENT