Pilot Teachers Training in Bozeman

A cadre of twenty-three high school chemistry teachers underwent a week of Active Chemistry training in August in Bozeman, Montana. The lovely campus of Montana State University provided the setting and the participants enjoyed the modern laboratory facilities of the chemistry department. The group was selected from a much larger group of teachers who applied to participate in this phase of the NSF-sponsored grant. The difficult selection process was guided by multiple criteria such as: years of experience teaching chemistry, experience and familiarity with "inquiry," and diversity in school size (large vs. small), setting (urban vs. rural), and regional.

Arthur Eisenkraft, Project Director, led the week-long training process and guided the introduction of the Active Chemistry approach and instructional methodology. The Active Chemistry program elements were outlined and the research upon which the program is based were presented on the first day. Teachers then grouped into four-member teams to work together throughout the week as they became "experts" in their group's assigned chapter.

They were asked to not only present their Chapter Challenge (group project) to the larger group at the end of the week, but to present how the various activities (labs) within each of their chapters led to their final project.

Each morning, Field Coordinator Jean Pennycook led a warm-up activity to engage the group and to set the stage for the collaborative process. Members of the evaluation team, Frances Lawrenz and Nate Wood were present to describe the data collection system and how the pilot teachers fit into the bigger picture. The other principal investigators for the project, Barbara Zahm, Darlene Schuster, and Gary Freebury, as well as Donna McGrail, former Project Coordinator, and Liz Garcia, assistant trainer, were all kept very busy, trying to meet the needs of the workshop activities and all the pilot participants.

The week culminated on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning as each team made a presentation of their assigned chapter to the entire group. A great deal of creativity was exhibited in the Chapter Challenge Presentations, as was a general sense of enthusiasm and excitement about the Active Chemistry program.

While a tremendous amount was accomplished during a short period, there was also some time for relaxation. Some elected to relax with a swim in the university pool while others took bike rides and walks around Bozeman. The more adventurous followed Dr. Eisenkraft on a hike up a nearby mountain which was emblazoned with a huge, white "M" for Montana (see photo). Everyone agreed that going down was easier than going up the 25-degree slope.

The next phase of the project is the actual pilot testing of the Active Chemistry chapters in the classrooms of these twenty-four teachers as well as an additional fifty teachers throughout the country. The Pilot will be coordinated by Jean Pennycook, new Project Coordinator, Gary Hickernell, and evaluated by a team lead by Frances Lawrenz from the University of Minnesota.