This lesson will lead you to materials and sources that will assist in either teaching or study of chemistry, and ultimately, in finding a job in this field.
There are not a lot of books available to teach you how to teach chemistry, particularly at the post-secondary level. Attempting to fill that gap is a work by J. Dudley Herron The Chemistry Classroom: Formulas for Successful Teaching (1996). More general works are Teaching Science: A Guide for College and Professional School Instructors. (1991) and A Handbook for Teachers in Universities and Colleges: A Guide to Improving Teaching Methods. (1995) Notable examples of chemistry courses on the Internet showcase efforts to harness the power of the Web to chemistry teaching. More traditional approaches are found in such journals as the Journal of Chemical Education, the Journal of College Science Teaching, and The Crucible. The Bibliography of Chemical Education Journals and newsletters from relevant professional groups, such as CHED (the newsletter of the ACS Division of Chemical Education), can also be of assistance. The JCE Index Online can be searched for author names and titles from 1924 onward, but a complete list of keyword index terms has been supplied for articles published since mid-1995. The Journal of Chemical Education's laboratory experiments are now easily accessible through the Project CHEMLAB database. Several printed sources of demonstrations are availble, for example,
A database for the broader field of education is ERIC, which has extensive coverage of relevant journal articles as well as research reports from 1966 onward.
At the college level, the ACS's Committee on Professional Training issues guidelines for certification of programs of chemistry instruction. Those can be found on the Web as: "Undergraduate Professional Education in Chemistry: Guidelines and Evaluation Procedures."
The ACS Directory of Graduate Research (DGRWeb) can be a great help in selecting a graduate school in the US or Canada. Issued every two years by the American Chemical Society Committee on Professional Training (CPT), it covers the main disciplines of chemistry, including biochemistry, medicinal chemistry, and chemical engineering.
The CPT has a number of publications on the Web, such as Planning for Graduate Work in Chemistry" (6th ed., 1997).Many colleges subscribe to CollegeSource ONLINE, with over 23,000 catalogs from many colleges and universities. Both US and non-US institutions of higher learning are included. Peterson's is another standard source to help find information about college or university programs.
The ACS operates a National Employment Clearing House at each of the ACS regional and national meetings. Career assistance is provided in a variety of other ways, such as resume review, mock interview sessions, and career-related literature and videos. Also an ACS product, JobSpectrum.org is a comprehensive career Web site offering chemistry jobs and career development resources: data on degrees and employment in the chemical labor force; resources for more effective resume writing, interviewing, networking, and negotiating; chemical employment trends; and salary information. The ACS book Employment Guide for Foreign-Born Chemists in the United States is available free from the Department of Career Services. Other books that can assist in career planning, resume writing, and preparing for interviews include:
The weekly news journal Science has a career service called NextWave. The subscription service is devoted to scientific training and career development. It provides global news, profiles of emerging careers, and advice from experts and role models drawn from an international scientific community. Some of the resources of NextWave are available without charge. For example, the JobsNet section provides free access to the last four weeks of job ads in Science, plus links to other Web job sites.
Link to Web resources on teaching and other educational aspects of chemistry.
Copyright
Gary Wiggins
9 December 1995