All chemistry faculty teach, some a lot, others less. Few of us, however, have any formal training in pedagogy, so we tend to teach in the way that we have been taught, sometimes with great success, sometimes with less. Since chemistry is a difficult subject that many students approach with fear, we all could use help in becoming better teachers. Chemical education researchers spend their time trying to figure out how to teach chemistry more effectively, or stated more precisely, how to help students learn chemistry more effectively and efficiently. Sadly, what chemical education researchers do is poorly understood by the larger chemistry community, and their results are not put into practice by many who teach chemistry.

This new book, an edited collection of articles by active chemical education researchers, provides a good entry point for those who want to know more about chemical education research: what it is, how it is done, and its value for the chemistry community. I can think of at least four audiences for this volume. First, people who would like to get started in chemical education research. Second, teaching faculty who would like to intelligently read, assess, and apply chemical education research. Third, faculty who are considering hiring a chemical education researcher in their department. Last, those faculty who are just curious about the questions that chemical education researchers investigate and the methods they use to try to answer them.

As with all edited volumes, I thought that some of the chapters were more successful than others. My view, of course, reflects my own background and interests. The more technical chapters that discuss research methods are less interesting to the more casual reader but will be valuable to someone who is actually planning a research project. For the reader who wants to read and assess the chemical education research literature, Melanie Cooper provides a valuable chapter, Drawing Meaningful Conclusions from Education Experiments, which fits nicely with an earlier chapter on constructing good research questions by Diane Bunce. For the working teacher, there is a nice chapter on assessing student learning. The final chapter by Gabriela Weaver provides a good perspective on the role of education research within a department of chemistry. This is only a sampling of the 14 chapters in the book.

Chemical education researchers are a growing part of the chemistry community, and they have much to offer. As Richard Zare points out in his chapter, the reflective teacher has many questions about chemistry education; he lists 20. These are questions that chemical education researchers can, and ultimately will, address. But for that research to have an impact, it is essential that chemical education researchers and the rest of the chemistry community learn to respect each other and to communicate effectively. This book is one step in that direction and deserves to be widely read. Unfortunately, the purchase price will discourage individuals from buying a personal copy, so it is essential that every library have one.