Erik Joling Microscale chemistry in the Netherlands U NIVERSITEIT VAN A MSTERDAM Faculty of Science
23 May 2000MicroQuim Four points of view Industry and government (I) Teachers in secondary education (T) University (U) Pupils (P)
23 May 2000MicroQuim Where are the Netherlands?
23 May 2000MicroQuim What are the Netherlands? A small country between England (overseas), Germany and Belgium 9220 km (5730 miles) from Mexico City 15,750,000 people World’s largest port: Rotterdam Home of Shell, Akzo-Nobel, Unilever, DSM
23 May 2000MicroQuim What is produced in the Netherlands? Windmills (a few) Wooden shoes (some more) Flowers (lots) Peanut butter (World’s #2) Chemicals (tons)
23 May 2000MicroQuim Chemical industry (I) Largest branch of industry 60% bulk / 40% fine 15% of industrial production 20% of industrial export 10% of employment
23 May 2000MicroQuim Chemical industry (I) Twice as much academics as in other branches Achilles heel: number of chemists educated
23 May 2000MicroQuim Interest in chemistry Final exams 1999 (I)
23 May 2000MicroQuim Interest in chemistry Final exams 1999 (I)
23 May 2000MicroQuim Interest in chemistry First-year students in 1999 (I) University537 (≈2%) Higher Laboratory Education472 Higher Vocational Education214
23 May 2000MicroQuim Consequences for secondary chemistry education (I) Chemical industry and government are willing to spend money! Schools adopted by companies Projects are initiated and supported AXIS-project to promote science and technology
23 May 2000MicroQuim Change of doctrine in upper- secondary education (T) ‘Studiehuis’ ≈ study-home independent learning streams projects introduced summer 1998 and 1999
23 May 2000MicroQuim Consequences for secondary chemical education (T) Need for a real-life approach Need for example projects Need for a student oriented lab
23 May 2000MicroQuim Late eighties (U) Universiteit van Amsterdam: Desire for a microscale laboratory in second year Mayo, Pike & Trumper Microscale Organic Laboratory very interesting too expensive
23 May 2000MicroQuim Method and kit (U) Williamson ‘Macroscale and microscale organic experiments’ economical
23 May 2000MicroQuim Introduction into the curriculum (U) Williamson visited Europe instruction for PhD students summer 1989 half of the second year organic lab miniaturised winter 1990 conversion complete
23 May 2000MicroQuim Results (U) Reduction of waste chemicals cost of breakage to 15%
23 May 2000MicroQuim Further steps (U) summer 1997 second year inorganic lab miniaturised Szafran, Pike, and Singh ‘Microscale inorganic chemistry’
23 May 2000MicroQuim Consequences for secondary chemical education (U) Lecturer was member section chemical education of the Royal Netherlands Chemical Society promoted microscale chemistry initiated a project
23 May 2000MicroQuim Project Microscale experiments Universiteit van Amsterdam & Chemistry Communication Center Foundation November December 1999 glassware low-cost heating device manuals training
23 May 2000MicroQuim Glassware
23 May 2000MicroQuim Low-cost heating device
23 May 2000MicroQuim Manuals Adaptation of existing experiments Teachers manual and students manual are loose-leaf: flexible rearrangeable supplements
23 May 2000MicroQuim Training Over 330 schools (> 50%) 600 teachers One afternoon training on-site at the University
23 May 2000MicroQuim Future plans more experiments projects including a teacher-training coupling with computer (Coach 5) PhD-research project: another road to organic chemistry Axis-project: Industry on microscale
23 May 2000MicroQuim Industry on microscale 3-year project teachers and industrial chemists work together to make: teaching materials related to real contexts blueprint for school-company co-operation
23 May 2000MicroQuim Other microscale initiatives (U&I) Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam & Chemistry Communication Center Foundation Chemistry in droplets
23 May 2000MicroQuim Other microscale initiatives (T) Frans Killian (teaching assistant) & Aonne Kerkstra (teacher): Miniaturisation of their own school laboratory 96-well microplates micro titrations µ-GLC
23 May 2000MicroQuim (P) Why microscale experiments? Michael Schallies (Heidelberg, Germany): “We must focus on the 95% pupils that do not choose to become a chemist” “Their chemistry in school is the only change in their lives to explore nature by experimenting”
23 May 2000MicroQuim Contact me …/MicroQuim2000