photo by J. J. Jacobsen

Rather than presenting an abstract overview of my philosophy of chemical education, I'd like to illustrate it by examples from my experiences on the chemistry faculty at the University of Wisconsin since 1968.

Undergraduate Education

Wisconsin has a very strong tradition in chemical education and has a tradition of combining excellence in both teaching and research. While I was chair of our department from 1998 to 2001, we received the first Chancellor's Award for Teaching by a Department, and we revised our curriculum. I've benefitted from advice and encouragement from my colleagues in chemical education in teaching undergraduate organic chemistry to more than 6,000 students in my career. This fall I'll be teaching a one-semester organic chemistry course to 200 students with majors ranging from zoology to dietetics, to exercise physiology, and to materials science. I try to convey the relevance of organic chemistry to their specialties and to give them an appreciation for the structure and properties of organic compounds. Encouraged by my chemical education colleagues, I've begun using “concept tests” during class and found that they greatly improve the involvement of students in the learning process. I've also introduced workshop problem sessions in which students work in groups on tough problem sets, and I've found that it improves their engagement in the material and their ability to communicate science with one another.

Graduate Education and Research

Graduate education and research are necessarily intertwined. In carrying out research on organometallic chemistry and catalysis, I've had the opportunity to direct the research of more than 45 Ph.D.s in both inorganic and organic chemistry and to work with over 35 postdoctoral research associates. I've taken great pleasure in watching new graduate students, who begin their research with little knowledge or background, make important research discoveries and develop into independent scientists. In addition to helping my students develop expertise in organometallic chemistry, I encourage them to critically evaluate their data, to conceive of follow-up experiments, and to put their research into a broader perspective. In my graduate course in organometallic chemistry, the major assignment is an original research proposal—this is the most difficult task we as chemists face. The skills and mind-set needed for writing successful research proposals are crucial to success as researchers in industry and universities. In both my course and in joint group meetings, students make presentations to a broad audience and develop their communication skills. I always have students write the first drafts of our papers to gain this experience and to develop their written communication skills. I've been very successful in helping graduate students become independent scientists capable of confidently attacking new problems (often far from their Ph.D. research) and I'm proud of their success in both industry and academe.

Continuing Education

I've taught in the ACS short course on “Frontiers in Organic Chemistry“ since 1982 and have seen how valuable this can be to industrial chemists who have been in industry for 10+ years. Continuing Education will become increasingly important as chemists face the challenges of keeping up with advances in their specialty, learning emerging technologies, and moving into new areas when they change employers. The ACS Research Divisions should be given incentives to encourage running tutorials in conjunction with symposia and should be called upon to cooperate in developing ACS Short Courses.

K–12 Education

K–12 education is crucial for the development of a scientifically literate public and for attracting students into science. A recent ACS Presidential Task Force on K–12 Education highlighted the need for increasing the number of qualified K–12 science teachers, for improving their training in science and mathematics, and for developing novel ways to support continuing education for science teachers. While I've had little direct involvement in K–12 science education, I strongly support the ACS's advocacy for increased investment in science education.

Charles P. Casey is Homer Adkins Professor of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53706; casey@chem.wisc.edu; WWW.