Trajectories of Chemistry Education Innovation and Reform

The Symposium Series of books from the American Chemical Society (ACS) serves as a repository of important trends in chemical science and education. This collection provides, in essence, a set of snapshots of the field and helps establish matters of sufficient importance to merit discussion, by highlighting the topics of specific symposia held at ACS scientific meetings. This particular volume fits within this paradigm well. Funding for projects in science or science education has inherent importance for any of a variety of reasons, but this symposium was not rooted in the economics, but rather in the sense of the continuity of leadership throughout an array of changes in how reform was approached by the NSF. In a practical sense, what the continuity of the permanent program officers provides is a means by which reform efforts can grow incrementally, even while specific funding initiatives come and go. This symposium, therefore, provided a moment to look at the trajectories of reform, and it served as the generating moment for this volume. The broad concept of educational reform in science and particularly within chemistry is a pervasive one in the United States and has been for decades (1-4). Nonetheless, the ability to enact large scale change, based on theories and evidence of efficacy has been modest at best. This collection of articles offers the suggestion that the fragmented nature of many reform efforts represents one critical reason for the modest success. By gathering a group of articles that describe reform endeavors that have been sustained over some length of time, this book shows the importance of continuity in funding for both reform efforts and the concomitant assessment of the outcomes of these reforms.