Louisiana’s strong ties to the petroleum and related chemical industries make strong chemistry backgrounds a key factor for success for the state’s emerging workforce.  Unfortunately, several difficulties stand in the way of this need.  Recent reports indicate that many teachers assigned to teach chemistry in Louisiana are not properly certified or are teaching outside their certification area.  As a result, teacher retention and student comprehension are suffering. Louisiana has been engaged in education reform for several years, but none of these projects focus specifically on chemistry.  Therefore, some chemistry teachers lack a deep understanding of chemical processes and the ability to serve as leaders in their school systems.  Another consideration is the recent No Child Left Behind legislation, which requires teachers to achieve higher levels of skill by improving their content knowledge.  Clearly, there is a strong need for an effective program to improve high school chemistry education.  

Chemical Concepts and Connections (C₃) for Teacher Leaders is a two-year professional development program for high school teachers of chemistry and physical science that was developed by Louisiana Tech University faculty members Dr.William C. Deese (College of Engineering and Science), Linda L. Ramsey (College of Applied and Natural Sciences), and Cathi Cox (CATALyST: Center For Applied Teaching and Learning to Yield Scientific Thinking) to address this problem.  Funded by the National Science Foundation in 2001, C₃ follows a model of professional development first developed in Project LIFE, an earlier successful professional development program for middle school and high school biology teachers. The C₃ program is designed to help teachers develop an in-depth understanding of chemistry concepts, the instructional and assessment skills to help their students learn chemistry through the process of inquiry, and key leadership skills.  According to Ms. Ramsey, teachers in the program participate in learning experiences that help them to “connect the observable world, the molecular world, and the symbolic world, which are all critical components of chemistry.”  In addition, through C₃ teachers discuss ways to incorporate into their classrooms the new instructional and assessment strategies that are modeled throughout the program.

By the end of the 2005-2006 school year, 110 teachers from Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas will have completed the C₃ program.  Each of these teachers will have participated in at least 180 hours of professional development and served as collegial coaches for two other teachers in their school systems.  Teachers who successfully complete all program requirements are fully prepared to apply for National Board Certification, a process that requires teachers to demonstrate excellence in the classroom as well as leadership abilities.  Achievement of National Board Certification not only documents high teacher quality but also results in increased pay for teachers who are so certified.  In addition to the workshops hosted at Louisiana Tech, the C₃ program is also being redelivered this summer in Baton Rouge with the help of a partnership with Louisiana State University’s new Engineering Research Center and the Cain Center.  High school teachers surveyed indicated a high degree of interest in the program, and numerous institutions have sent letters of support.  The C₃ program is in its final year of NSF funding, but with such a high level of interest and proven effectiveness, further funding would allow this and similar programs to continue improving education and teaching.  Building on the previous success of Project LIFE, C₃ appears poised to bridge the gap in high school chemistry teaching and, with proper funding, will continue contributing to better quality of teaching both in Louisiana and nationwide.

For more information on C₃, visit http://c3.latech.edu.