An Industrial Chemistry Course That Optimizes the Value of Plant Tours

Hartman, J. Stephen

doi:10.1021/ed082p234

Cited by 6 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…To maximize the effectiveness of the visits several ideas from previous work were included in the approach. Prior to the visit or guest speaker, students prepared a “cut sheet” to provide an itinerary, introduce the field to their classmates, provide background knowledge necessary to understand the topic, and highlight relevant safety information when applicable. , Potential sites needed to be within a 60 mile radius of campus and substantial enough to last between 1.5 and 3 h. Seminars typically lasted between 30 and 60 min. Periodically during the semester, there were class periods when there were no visits or speakers scheduled.…”

Section: Commercial Chemistry Capstone Coursementioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a Highly Flexible, Interdisciplinary Program in Chemical Commerce and a Capstone Course in Commercial Chemistry

2019

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Higher education is faced with the challenging problem of preparing students for their careers while developing them to be well-rounded, life-long learners. Employers report they desire candidates who use a broader set of skills and have higher levels of learning and knowledge to meet the increasingly complex demands of today's workplace. At Mercer University, the Department of Chemistry offers a traditional ACS-certified B.S. degree in Chemistry, but for some students, this course of study does not address their desire for the interdisciplinarity that is becoming more common in today's work environment. The department has developed a program in Chemical Commerce that focuses on developing students' foundational knowledge in several of the chemical disciplines while also providing them with a business curriculum. The program provides a high degree of flexibility for students, with B.A. and B.S. tracks and three areas of focus in business to choose from (Accounting, Business Management, and Economics). An upper-level chemistry course titled "Traditions in Commercial Chemistry" was developed for advanced Chemistry, Chemical Commerce, and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology majors and served as a capstone experience for these students. This course focused on the application of advanced chemistry and its associated principles in a variety of business sectors. With the broad skills students have acquired in the program, they have gained employment in industry and matriculated into medical, pharmacy, and business-administration programs. Though not intended to replace a full chemistry degree, this program is in high demand and is experiencing exceptional growth from students who seek components of a chemistry degree while gaining business acumen. Approaches used in developing these degrees and course are highly transferrable to other institutions and may provide more options for students interested in a wider variety of career paths.

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Section: Commercial Chemistry Capstone Coursementioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a Highly Flexible, Interdisciplinary Program in Chemical Commerce and a Capstone Course in Commercial Chemistry

2019

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“…These exercises ended with the teams presenting their proposed solutions to the problems assigned for discussion and comparison with the actual responses of industrial consultants. Hartman discusses the optimal use of industrial plant tours. He recommends the submission of a brief “pretour report” before the visit, followed by a detailed report, answering key questions provided to the students (see Figure 1 of ref ), after the tour.…”

Section: Third-year Chemistry Projectmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hartman discusses the optimal use of industrial plant tours. He recommends the submission of a brief “pretour report” before the visit, followed by a detailed report, answering key questions provided to the students (see Figure 1 of ref ), after the tour.…”

Section: Third-year Chemistry Projectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Introducing Chemistry Students to the “Real World” of Chemistry

et al. 2010

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A majority of chemistry graduates seek employment in a rapidly changing chemical industry. Our attempts to provide the graduates with skills in entrepreneurship and the ability to understand and communicate with their chemical engineering colleagues, in addition to their fundamental knowledge of chemistry, are described. This is done at second-year level with practical projects in which student teams formulate and prepare relatively simple chemical products for marketing, followed a year later by a more advanced study of the feasibility of producing and marketing a fine chemical on a commercial scale.

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“…Field trips have proven to be successful methods of presenting science that is of less or little interest to students or to those who find the sciences more difficult and less relevant. Research suggests that, with planning, field trips can have a positive impact on the attitudes and motivation of most students, including the nonscience major. − Well-planned field trips that represent the real-life application of scientific concepts motivate most students. As one author said, “In school, the facts are for the sake of knowing only.…”

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confidence: 99%

The Grapes of Class: Teaching Chemistry Concepts at a Winery

Luck

Blondo

2012

J. Chem. Educ.

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Nonscience majors often believe that the concepts and techniques in chemistry have little relevance to someone outside the "ivy-covered walls of academia". The challenge for science instructors is to develop and implement lessons that present science in a way that will capture the interest of the nonscience major, while remaining rigorous enough to satisfy the college's and program's student-learning outcomes. We have used an activity, a trip to the vineyard, to engage nonscience-major college students in a "laboratory" using scientific instruments in a real-world setting. Students were given a tour of the vineyard and shown the process of wine making. At various points on the tour, each student was guided in the usage of laboratory equipment to determine sugar content, pH, specific gravity, alcohol content, and to perform random sampling. This activity introduced the students to chemistry instrumentation as well as general science concepts.

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An Industrial Chemistry Course That Optimizes the Value of Plant Tours

Cited by 6 publications

References 16 publications

Development of a Highly Flexible, Interdisciplinary Program in Chemical Commerce and a Capstone Course in Commercial Chemistry

Development of a Highly Flexible, Interdisciplinary Program in Chemical Commerce and a Capstone Course in Commercial Chemistry

Introducing Chemistry Students to the “Real World” of Chemistry

The Grapes of Class: Teaching Chemistry Concepts at a Winery

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