The latter activity is described in this highlight. My participation and experience in those projects strongly influenced the philosophy, organization, and content of the Chemical Perspectives and Practice course. The title fairly conveys the goal of the course, which is to foster a broader and deeper understanding of a few fundamental chemistry concepts by group discussion, instructor exposition, and participant-developed laboratory and demonstration activities. The course has been offered for the last three years. It is a small-enrollment course in which student participation is the ultimate requirement.
New material is brought in regularly.
For example, recently TI-CBL data acquisition and processing technology, and computer graphics and computational capacity were introduced. Copies of most other assignments are collected for instructor use and assessment. Data taken are the number of pages formally devoted to the concept, the location of the introduction, major applications of the concept, and any places where the concept emerges informally. This provides a rudimentary textbook analysis for the future teacher and further exposure to concept principles. Typical activities have been participation in a chemistry concept workshop with practicing teachers, presentation at the annual meeting of the Montana Science Teachers Association, and participation in the Montana State Science Olympiad as event preparers or monitors.