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American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1996. xiii + 259 pp + appendices. Figs and
tables. 17.6 x 25 cm. ISBN 0-841-23299-7. $36.95.
Dudley Herron is a veteran chemical educator,
whose contributions to this Journal are numerous and of
high quality. He has had experience in teaching both
secondary and tertiary chemistry, and The Chemistry
Classroom is a distillation (pardon the obvious metaphor) of what
he thinks teachers should know. Every effective teacher
develops a style of teaching that is consistent with his or her
own personality and experiences. Professor Herron sensibly
recognizes that truth, and warns the reader that no model
of teaching, even the vaunted and holy "Learning Cycle", is
appropriate for every situation. The textbook is intended
to convey some of the author's insights to less experienced
or less perceptive colleagues, so that they can
incorporate them into their own practice. Herron begins the text
with brief descriptions of his most memorable students,
types that any teacher will eventually encounter, and
throughout the book uses examples from his own history to
illustrate general principles of knowledge, teaching, and learning.
I find his descriptions of the specific difficulties that
students experience in learning and teachers have in
assessing chemical concepts to be particularly valuable. Herron's
recommended approaches to teaching are often described
in terms of the stages intellectual growth elucidated by
Jean Piaget, whose theories of knowledge and learning
permeate the book. In that respect, there are similarities to
Constructing Science, but the examples provided by Herron are
nearly all from chemistry. All three of these textbooks provide
profitable reading for any chemistry teacher interested in
learning better to teach. Both Constructing
Science and Teaching Secondary Science aim at the potential high school
teacher, but tertiary instructors could profit by reading them.
While it would certainly be useful for secondary school
teachers, The Chemistry Classroom will appeal more than the other
two books to college/university professors or graduate
teaching assistants who would like to do a better job. I hope
that many of them will read and use these books.
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