183rd Conference of 2YC₃
November 21-22, 2008

Eun-Woo Chang, Program Director, Division of Undergraduate Education, National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA

Undergraduate education is central to NSF’s mission in human resource development. The Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) serves as the focal point for agency-wide support for undergraduate education. The program activities of DUE aim to strengthen and continuously improve the vitality of undergraduate education for all students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses in all US institutions of higher education. Within DUE programs, particular emphasis is placed on improving access to STEM education for all segments of U.S. society, including persons with disabilities, populations underrepresented in STEM fields or in technical or teaching careers.

This presentation includes a brief description of the DUE programs that are most likely to be of interest to chemists involved in undergraduate education and funding opportunities for community colleges within DUE in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

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2:20-3:20
Interactive Discussion
CALT 107

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3:30-4:15
Presentation
CALT 205

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"Sharing National Chemistry Week on the Community Level"

Pam Clevenger, Chemistry Instructor, Hinds Community College, Raymond, MS

National Chemistry Week (NCW) has been celebrated by the American Chemical Society (ACS) every October. Chemistry instructors at Hinds Community College have used established connections in Raymond, MS to introduce chemistry to local children. Community college faculty and students organize demonstrations and classroom activities for K – 5th grade students, and have provided teachers with NCW materials from the ACS. Methods for the introduction of NCW to our local communities will be discussed as well as feedback from parents, teachers, and students for future improvements.

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9:00-10:00
Workshop
CALT 136

Raza Khan, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Department of Sciences, Carroll Community College, Westminster, MD

We all know the challenge for a student walking into our classroom with the notion that they are in our non-major chemistry classes because they have to or were told by the advisors that they should take this class as either part of Gen. Ed. Requirement or part of their major or graduation requirement.   It is a challenge from day one for them to see that they have ownership of the class and usually the first day impression stays with them for the term.    This interactive session will focus on how we can engage students from day one so that they KNOW that this is their class!  One of the outcomes for any Gen. Ed. course and non-majors classes is the student should be able to relate the content and the application learnt to an audience in some fashion of scientific format i.e. focusing on communication skills.   Innovative ideas will be brought forward in this session to bridge the gap between a class and the community that they live and work in which has proven to work for last several years.

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“Journal of Chemical Education Online Resources”

Linda N. Fanis, Assistant Editor, Journal of Chemical Education, Madison, WI

The Journal of Chemical Education (JCE) is the premiere chemical education publication in the world. It has provided invaluable print resources to chemical educators for over 80 years. In addition to the resources available in print, there is a vast quantity of resources available online. This workshop will explore the JCE online resources, showing participants how to search the JCE online and find the right resource for the job. We will also explore the Web-based software collection and suggest ways to incorporate this technology into your classroom.

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10:05-10:50
Presentation/Demo
CALT 101

Jerry DeMenna, FUN-SCIence Academics Group, Bronx, NY

See a *NEW* and IMPROVED way to teach “Tech” to your Students!  Watch a few "fun" and "interesting" (aka: non-boring!) experiments for Undergrad teaching Labs and basic Graduate research in Analytical Instrumentation using Electro-Chemistry (pH, Conductivity, Re-Dox), Physical Measurements (Temperature, Pressure, Friction), UV-Visible Spectrophotometry (UV-Vis), Fluorimetry, Phosphorimetry, Infra-Red Spectrometry (IR), Colorimetry (VIS), Flame Photometry (FEP), Gas Chromatography (GC) and Liquid Chromatography (HPLC).  Students can “measure” their World and determine everything from Caffeine in Sodas to Acids in Vinegar to Amino Acid in Energy Drinks to Alcohol in Mouthwash to Polyesters in Motor Oil to Calories in Potato Chips!

Basic measurement devices; such as pH Probes, Digital Thermometry, LED-based Colorimetry & Fluorimetry, Pressure Transducers and others; along with more sophisticated Analytical Instruments from EDU-CHEM Innovations; such as IR, UV-Vis, GC & HPLC; can be interfaced to the MeasureNet LIMS Network with their Universal Workstations instead of costly P-Cs, and can provide a rapid, foolproof Standardized Data Collection protocol for ANY Teaching Lab.

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11:10-12:10
Workshop
CALT 136

Brahmadeo Dewprashad, Associate Professor, Department of Science, Borough of Manhattan Community College, New York, NY

Initiating and sustaining undergraduate research at a two-year institution can be challenging in view of the fact that such institutions do not often have a history of such activities, or the necessary support systems in place. This presentation will describe my efforts and success at developing partnerships that led to the initiation and growth of a research group, and facilitated the mentoring of numerous students who presented at National meetings, co-authored peer reviewed papers and have transferred to and are very successful in professional and STEM programs at senior colleges. My experience developing partnerships with faculty from disciplines of Mathematics, Nursing and Biology and the community led to a funded community based research projects which provided many students with valuable research experiences and led to current active projects in Medicinal Chemistry. This experience will be discussed. In addition, partnerships forged with researchers from research intensive institutions and students’ experiences working in external labs will be discussed. Also, strategies for soliciting and obtaining funds to support undergraduate research and support student travel to present at national meetings will be discussed. The challenges of developing and sustaining such partnerships will also be described.

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“Explore the Chemical Education Digital Library”

Linda N. Fanis, Assistant Editor, Journal of Chemical Education, Madison, WI

Interested in using digital resources in your classroom? Explore the multitude of resources found at the Chemical Education Digital Library ChemEd DL), a Pathway project of the National Science Digital Library. This hands-on guided-inquiry workshop will give you a head start on searching and using ChemEd DL content. Ultimately, the ChemEd DL will be the place on the Web to find or share digital content for chemical  sciences education. Learn about how you can use, contribute, share, and organize chemistry education materials through ChemEd DL.

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1:30-2:30
Workshop
CALT 209

“Molecular Modeling Experiment: High Tech to Very, Very Low Tech”

Crystal Yau, Chemistry Coordinator and Associate Professor, School of Math & Science, The Community College of Baltimore County, Catonsville, MD

Come and see how a high tech molecular modeling computer program can be used effectively in an introductory or general chemistry course. If your college cannot afford the software, not to worry! The workshop will also demonstrate how low tech and very, very low tech model kits could be possibly even more instructive in strengthening student understanding of VSEPR and Valence Bond Theory. Use of the models could become a springboard to an Internet search assignment on biochemical molecules of relevance to personal health.

Pauline Hamilton, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Eastside Science Department, The Community College of Baltimore County, Essex Campus, Baltimore, MD

It is an undisputed fact that students benefit from studying and doing homework. Yet, many community college chemistry students report that they do not know how to study and some never have the time to do homework.  Some instructors have tried to encourage students to study by assigning end-of-chapter questions for homework. However, many students will not spend the time to do homework if they know that they will not get a grade for it; and many instructors just do not have the time to do all that grading. When students do not spend time outside of the classroom to cement and build on what they learned in the classroom, this creates a serious problem which hampers teaching and learning. In this presentation, we will look at graded electronic homework using WileyPlus and Cengage’s OWL systems as a partial solution to this problem.

Crystal Yau, Chemistry Coordinator and Associate Professor, School of Math & Science, The Community College of Baltimore County, Catonsville, MD

Are you finding students ill-prepared to enter your General Chemistry?  At the Community College of Baltimore County, we are requiring students who want to register for our General Chemistry, to have a passing score in our chemistry placement test or a grade of C or better in our Preparatory Chemistry course.  Students who took chemistry in high school are not exempted.  How well the prerequisite is working will be discussed, including problems we are facing and possible solutions that we are planning to implement.