Mary Kirchhoff

Acting Director

Chemistry

Education Division

American Chemical Society

1155 16th Street NW
Washington, DC 20036

Phone:

202-872-4562

FAX:

202-872-8068

What are, to you, the key issues in creating learning resources that support your teaching style and your student's learning styles?

Learning resources should relate the material to the students' everyday lives. They should reflect the current state of the field and should promote critical thinking, not plug-and-chug or rote memorization.

What is your vision for the "textbook" of the future and what impediments do you see to realizing that vision?

The textbook of the future should include new interdisciplinary fields (materials science, green chemistry, nanotechnology) in a hands-on format. Too many textbooks still look the same, but there is reluctance on the part of faculty members, publishers, and editors to produce textbooks that deviate significantly from the norm.

Describe briefly any research you have undertaken on teaching or learning.

As part of the MADCP (Middle Atlantic Discovery Chemistry Project), I developed inquiry-based labs for the organic chemistry laboratory.

Have you created publicly accessible learning resources?

I served as co-editor on two green chemistry publications (Greener Approaches to Undergraduate Chemistry Experiments and Going Green: Integrating Green Chemistry into the Curriculum).

How would you like to contribute to the workshop?

I would like to share ACS' rationale for developing textbooks, raise awareness of ACS education materials, and explore potential collaborations that will enhance science education.

What would you like to take away from the workshop?

I would like to learn how other participants view the textbook (or lack thereof) of the future, and gain new perspectives on emerging trends in educational resources.