A Note from the Chair of 2YC3 Today, more than ever before, the two-year college with its unprecedented growth and its highly diversified program has become an extremely important segment of higher education. Although two-year colleges in their transfer programs provide academic preparation comparable to that offered in the first two years of four-year institutions, there are many aspects of two-year college chemistry teaching that are unique.This new column, The 2YCg Viewpoint, hopes to address issues, problems, and points of view that are of particular interest to two-year college chemistry teachers and of general interest to all chemistry educators.The following paper was presented to a group of community college teachers from Delta College, Michigan, at their Spring Professional Growth Development Conference. The theme of the conference was "Striving for Excellence" and the special topic was "Coping with Shifting Student Expectations." The point, of view expressed here may be a provocative one, at least in the context of the two-year college.
I am a teacher who has not felt totally committed to the use of computer-based materials in the teaching of chemistry. However, in reviewing Stanley Smith's seven disks on "Organic Chemistry," 1 became aware of the compelling power of the medium. This program may represent the best in computer software at the present time. Stanley Smith is an old master of a very new art and there are many instances of his mastery here. Nonetheless, in reviewing such a program one must judge its comparative merits with respect to other long-established methods of teaching: the classroom, the laboratory, and the textbook. One must evaluate what the computer, with its instant response, vivid graphics, and infinite patience, can do supremely well as opposed to what a competent instructor can provide in flexibility and responsiveness.
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