Chemistry and chemical education. The formation of chemical elements and substances
Address: St. Petersburg, emb. R. Moiki, d.48
E-mail of the Organizing Committee: [email protected]
Organizers: Russian State Pedagogical University im. A.I. Herzen
Conditions of participation and housing: 400 rubles.
Dear colleagues!
We invite you to take part inII All-Russian student conference with international participation "Chemistry and Chemical Education XXI century”, dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Faculty of Chemistry of the Russian State Pedagogical University. A.I. Herzen and the 100th anniversary of the birth of Professor V.V. perekalina.
The conference will be held on the basis of the Russian State Pedagogical University. A.I. Herzen.
Dates of the conference - from 15 to 17 April 2013 The purpose of the conference is to exchange the results of studying modern problems of chemistry and chemical education between young researchers and to actively involve students in research work. The conference will present sectional(up to 10 min) and poster presentations by studentsundergraduate students, cn ecialite and magistracy. It is possible to participate in absentia with the publication of the abstracts of the report. The abstracts of the reports selected by the Organizing Committee will be published in the collection of conference materials with the assignment of the ISBN number. Plenary presentations will be made by invited leading chemists of St. Petersburg.
The main scientific directions of the conference:
- Section 1 - organic, biological and pharmaceutical chemistry
- Section 2 - physical, analytical and environmental chemistry
- Section 3 - inorganic and coordination chemistry, nanotechnologies
- Section 4 - chemical education
To participate in the conference you need:
Before February 15, 2013, send the registration form of the participant and abstracts of the report, drawn up in accordance with the requirements, to the conference e-mail address: conference [email protected].ru
Performance on the second
Moscow Pedagogical Marathon
subjects, April 9, 2003
The natural sciences around the world are going through hard times. Financial flows are leaving science and education for the military-political sphere, the prestige of scientists and teachers is falling, and the lack of education of most of society is growing rapidly. Ignorance rules the world. It comes to the point that in America, the Christian right is demanding the legal repeal of the second law of thermodynamics, which, in their opinion, contradicts religious doctrines.
Chemistry suffers more than other natural sciences. For most people, this science is associated with chemical weapons, environmental pollution, man-made disasters, drug production, etc. Overcoming "chemophobia" and mass chemical illiteracy, creating an attractive public image of chemistry is one of the tasks of chemical education, the current state of which in Russia we want to discuss.
Modernization (reform) program
education in Russia and its shortcomings
In the Soviet Union, there was a well-functioning system of chemistry education based on a linear approach, when the study of chemistry began in the middle grades and ended in the senior ones. A coordinated scheme for ensuring the educational process was developed, including: programs and textbooks, training and advanced training of teachers, a system of chemical olympiads at all levels, sets of teaching aids ("School Library", "Teacher's Library" and
etc.), public methodical magazines (“Chemistry at school”, etc.), demonstration and laboratory devices.
Education is a conservative and inert system, therefore, even after the collapse of the USSR, chemical education, which suffered heavy financial losses, continued to fulfill its tasks. However, a few years ago Russia began a reform of the education system, the main goal of which is to support the entry of new generations into the globalized world, into the open information community. For this, according to the authors of the reform, communication, informatics, foreign languages, and intercultural education should occupy a central place in the content of education. As you can see, there is no place in this reform for the natural sciences.
It was announced that the new reform should ensure the transition to a system of quality indicators and education standards comparable to the world. A plan of specific measures has also been developed, among which the main ones are the transition to a 12-year school education, the introduction of a unified state exam (USE) in the form of general testing, the development of new education standards based on a concentric scheme, according to which, by the time the nine-year period is over, students should have a holistic view about the subject.
How will this reform affect chemistry education in Russia? In our opinion, it is strongly negative. The fact is that there was not a single representative of the natural sciences among the developers of the Concept for the Modernization of Russian Education, so the interests of the natural sciences were not taken into account in this concept at all. The USE, in the form in which the authors of the reform conceived it, will spoil the system of transition from secondary to higher education, which universities worked so hard to form in the first years of Russia's independence, and destroy the continuity of Russian education.
One of the arguments in favor of the USE is that, according to the ideologists of the reform, it will provide equal access to higher education for various social strata and territorial groups of the population.
Our many years of distance learning experience related to the holding of the Soros Olympiad in Chemistry and part-time admission to the Faculty of Chemistry of Moscow State University shows that distance testing, firstly, does not provide an objective assessment of knowledge, and secondly, does not provide students with equal opportunities . Over 5 years of Soros Olympiads, more than 100 thousand written papers in chemistry passed through our faculty, and we were convinced that the overall level of solutions very much depends on the region; in addition, the lower the educational level of the region, the more decommissioned works were sent from there. Another significant objection to the USE is that testing as a form of knowledge testing has significant limitations. Even a correctly designed test does not allow for an objective assessment of a student's ability to reason and draw conclusions. Our students studied the USE materials in chemistry and found a large number of incorrect or ambiguous questions that cannot be used to test schoolchildren. We came to the conclusion that the USE can only be used as one of the forms of control over the work of secondary schools, but by no means as the only, monopoly mechanism of access to higher education.
Another negative aspect of the reform is related to the development of new education standards, which should bring the Russian education system closer to the European one. In the draft standards proposed in 2002 by the Ministry of Education, one of the main principles of science education was violated - objectivity. The leaders of the working group who drafted the project suggested thinking about abandoning separate school courses in chemistry, physics and biology and replacing them with a single integrated course in Natural Science. Such a decision, even if made for the long term, would simply bury chemical education in our country.
What can be done in these unfavorable domestic political conditions to preserve the traditions and develop chemical education in Russia? Now we are moving on to our positive program, much of which has already been implemented. This program has two main aspects - substantive and organizational: we are trying to determine the content of chemical education in our country and develop new forms of interaction between centers of chemical education.
New state standard
chemical education
Chemistry education starts at school. The content of school education is determined by the main regulatory document - the state standard of school education. Within the framework of the concentric scheme adopted by us, there are three standards in chemistry: basic general education(8th–9th grades), base mean and specialized secondary education(grades 10–11). One of us (N.E. Kuzmenko) headed the working group of the Ministry of Education on the preparation of standards, and by now these standards have been fully formulated and are ready for legislative approval.
Taking on the development of a standard for chemistry education, the authors proceeded from the development trends of modern chemistry and took into account its role in natural science and in society. Modern chemistry
– it is a fundamental system of knowledge about the surrounding world, based on rich experimental material and reliable theoretical positions. The scientific content of the standard is based on two basic concepts: "substance" and "chemical reaction".
“Substance” is the main concept of chemistry. Substances surround us everywhere: in the air, food, soil, household appliances, plants and, finally, in ourselves. Some of these substances are given to us by nature in finished form (oxygen, water, proteins, carbohydrates, oil, gold), the other part is obtained by a person by a slight modification of natural compounds (asphalt or artificial fibers), but the largest number of substances that used to be in nature did not exist, man synthesized independently. These are modern materials, medicines, catalysts. To date, about 20 million organic and about 500 thousand inorganic substances are known, and each of them has an internal structure. Organic and inorganic synthesis has reached such a high degree of development that it is possible to synthesize compounds with any predetermined structure. In this regard, the foreground in modern chemistry comes
applied aspect, which focuses on relationships between the structure of matter and its properties, and the main task is to find and synthesize useful substances and materials with desired properties.
The most interesting thing about the world around us is that it is constantly changing. The second main concept of chemistry is "chemical reaction". Every second, an innumerable number of reactions take place in the world, as a result of which one substance turns into another. We can observe some reactions directly, for example, the rusting of iron objects, blood clotting, and the combustion of automobile fuel. At the same time, the vast majority of reactions remain invisible, but it is they that determine the properties of the world around us. In order to realize one's place in the world and learn how to manage it, a person must deeply understand the nature of these reactions and the laws that they obey.
The task of modern chemistry is to study the functions of substances in complex chemical and biological systems, to analyze the relationship between the structure of a substance and its functions, and to synthesize substances with given functions.
Based on the fact that the standard should serve as an instrument for the development of education, it was proposed to unload the content of basic general education and leave in it only those content elements whose educational value is confirmed by domestic and world practice of teaching chemistry at school. This is a minimal in volume, but functionally complete system of knowledge.
Basic general education standard includes six content blocks:
- Methods of knowledge of substances and chemical phenomena.
- Substance.
- Chemical reaction.
- Elementary foundations of inorganic chemistry.
- Initial ideas about organic substances.
- Chemistry and life.
Basic Average Standard education is divided into five content blocks:
- Methods of knowledge of chemistry.
- Theoretical Foundations of Chemistry.
- Inorganic chemistry.
- Organic chemistry.
- Chemistry and life.
Both standards are based on the periodic law of D.I. Mendeleev, the theory of the structure of atoms and chemical bonding, the theory of electrolytic dissociation and the structural theory of organic compounds.
The Basic Intermediate Standard is designed to provide the high school graduate primarily with the ability to navigate the social and personal problems associated with chemistry.
AT profile level standard the system of knowledge has been significantly expanded, primarily due to ideas about the structure of atoms and molecules, as well as about the patterns of chemical reactions, considered from the point of view of the theories of chemical kinetics and chemical thermodynamics. This ensures the preparation of secondary school graduates for the continuation of chemical education in higher education.
New program and new
chemistry textbooks
The new, scientifically based standard of chemical education has prepared fertile ground for the development of a new school curriculum and the creation of a set of school textbooks based on it. In this report, we present the school curriculum in chemistry for grades 8–9 and the concept of a series of textbooks for grades 8–11, created by the team of authors of the Faculty of Chemistry of Moscow State University.
The program of the chemistry course of the main general education school is designed for students in grades 8–9. It differs from the standard programs currently operating in secondary schools in Russia by more verified interdisciplinary connections and an accurate selection of the material necessary to create a holistic natural-scientific perception of the world, comfortable and safe interaction with the environment in production and at home. The program is structured in such a way that it focuses on those sections of chemistry, terms and concepts that are somehow related to everyday life, and are not “armchair knowledge” of a narrowly limited circle of people whose activities are related to chemical science.
During the first year of studying chemistry (8th grade), the main attention is paid to the formation of elementary chemical skills, "chemical language" and chemical thinking in students. For this, objects familiar from everyday life (oxygen, air, water) were selected. In the 8th grade, we deliberately avoid the concept of “mole”, which is difficult for schoolchildren to perceive, and practically do not use calculation tasks. The main idea of this part of the course is to instill in students the skills to describe the properties of various substances grouped into classes, as well as to show the relationship between the structure of substances and their properties.
In the second year of study (9th grade), the introduction of additional chemical concepts is accompanied by a consideration of the structure and properties of inorganic substances. In a special section, the elements of organic chemistry and biochemistry are briefly considered in the scope provided for by the state standard of education.
To develop a chemical view of the world, the course contains broad correlations between the elementary chemical knowledge obtained by the children in the class and the properties of those objects that are known to schoolchildren in everyday life, but before that they were perceived only at the everyday level. Based on chemical concepts, students are invited to look at precious and decorative stones, glass, faience, porcelain, paints, food, modern materials. The program expands the range of objects that are described and discussed only at a qualitative level, without resorting to cumbersome chemical equations and complex formulas. We paid great attention to the style of presentation, which allows the introduction and discussion of chemical concepts and terms in a lively and visual form. In this regard, the interdisciplinary connections of chemistry with other sciences, not only natural, but also humanitarian, are constantly emphasized.
The new program is implemented in a set of school textbooks for grades 8-9, one of which has already been submitted for printing, and the other is in the process of being written. When creating textbooks, we took into account the change in the social role of chemistry and public interest in it, which is caused by two main interrelated factors. The first one is "chemophobia", i.e., the negative attitude of society towards chemistry and its manifestations. In this regard, it is important to explain at all levels that the bad is not in chemistry, but in people who do not understand the laws of nature or have moral problems.
Chemistry is a very powerful tool in the hands of man; there are no concepts of good and evil in its laws. Using the same laws, you can come up with a new technology for the synthesis of drugs or poisons, or you can - a new medicine or a new building material.
Another social factor is the progressive chemical illiteracy society at all its levels - from politicians and journalists to housewives. Most people have absolutely no idea what the world around is made of, they do not know the elementary properties of even the simplest substances and cannot distinguish nitrogen from ammonia, and ethyl alcohol from methyl alcohol. It is in this area that a competent textbook on chemistry, written in a simple and understandable language, can play a great educational role.
When creating textbooks, we proceeded from the following postulates.
The main tasks of the school chemistry course
1. Formation of a scientific picture of the surrounding world and the development of a natural-scientific worldview. Presentation of chemistry as a central science aimed at solving the pressing problems of mankind.
2. Development of chemical thinking, the ability to analyze the phenomena of the surrounding world in chemical terms, the ability to speak (and think) in a chemical language.
3. Popularization of chemical knowledge and the introduction of ideas about the role of chemistry in everyday life and its applied significance in society. Development of ecological thinking and acquaintance with modern chemical technologies.
4. Formation of practical skills for the safe handling of substances in everyday life.
5. Awakening a keen interest among schoolchildren in the study of chemistry both as part of the school curriculum and additionally.
The main ideas of the school chemistry course
1. Chemistry is the central science of nature, closely interacting with other natural sciences. The applied possibilities of chemistry are of fundamental importance for the life of society.
2. The surrounding world consists of substances that are characterized by a certain structure and are capable of mutual transformations. There is a connection between the structure and properties of substances. The task of chemistry is to create substances with useful properties.
3. The world around us is constantly changing. Its properties are determined by the chemical reactions that take place in it. In order to control these reactions, it is necessary to deeply understand the laws of chemistry.
4. Chemistry is a powerful tool for transforming nature and society. The safe use of chemistry is possible only in a highly developed society with stable moral categories.
Methodological principles and style of textbooks
1. The sequence of presentation of the material is focused on the study of the chemical properties of the surrounding world with a gradual and delicate (i.e. unobtrusive) acquaintance with the theoretical foundations of modern chemistry. Descriptive sections alternate with theoretical ones. The material is evenly distributed over the entire period of study.
2. Internal isolation, self-sufficiency and logical validity of the presentation. Any material is presented in the context of general problems of the development of science and society.
3. Constant demonstration of the connection of chemistry with life, frequent reminders of the applied significance of chemistry, popular science analysis of substances and materials that students encounter in everyday life.
4. High scientific level and rigor of presentation. The chemical properties of substances and chemical reactions are described as they really are. Chemistry in textbooks is real, not paper.
5. Friendly, light and impartial style of presentation. Simple, accessible and competent Russian. The use of “plots”—short, entertaining stories that link chemical knowledge to everyday life—to facilitate comprehension. Extensive use of illustrations, which make up about 15% of textbooks.
6. Two-level structure of material presentation. "Large print" is a basic level, "small print" is for a deeper study.
7. Wide use of simple and visual demonstration experiments, laboratory and practical work to study experimental aspects of chemistry and develop students' practical skills.
8. The use of questions and tasks of two levels of complexity for a deeper assimilation and consolidation of the material.
We intend to include in the training package:
- chemistry textbooks for grades 8–11;
- methodical instructions for teachers, thematic lesson planning;
- didactic materials;
- a book for students to read;
- reference tables in chemistry;
- computer support in the form of CDs containing: a) an electronic version of the textbook; b) reference materials; c) demonstration experiments; d) illustrative material; e) animation models; f) programs for solving computational problems; g) didactic materials.
We hope that the new textbooks will allow many schoolchildren to take a fresh look at our subject and show them that chemistry is an exciting and very useful science.
In addition to textbooks, chemistry Olympiads play an important role in developing the interest of schoolchildren in chemistry.
Modern system of chemistry olympiads
The system of chemistry olympiads is one of the few educational structures that survived the collapse of the country. The All-Union Olympiad in Chemistry was transformed into the All-Russian Olympiad, retaining its main features. Currently, this Olympiad is held in five stages: school, district, regional, federal district and final. The winners of the final stage represent Russia at the International Chemistry Olympiad. The most important from the point of view of education are the most massive stages - school and district, for which school teachers and methodological associations of cities and regions of Russia are responsible. The Ministry of Education is responsible for the entire Olympiad.
Interestingly, the former All-Union Chemistry Olympiad has also been preserved, but in a new capacity. Every year, the Faculty of Chemistry of Moscow State University organizes an international Mendeleev Olympiad, in which winners and prize-winners of chemical Olympiads of the CIS and Baltic countries participate. Last year, this Olympiad was held with great success in Alma-Ata, this year - in the city of Pushchino, Moscow Region. The Mendeleev Olympiad allows talented children from the former republics of the Soviet Union to enter Moscow State University and other prestigious universities without exams. The communication of chemistry teachers during the Olympiad is also extremely valuable, which contributes to the preservation of a single chemical space on the territory of the former Soviet Union.
In the last five years, the number of subject Olympiads has increased dramatically due to the fact that many universities, in search of new forms of attracting applicants, began to hold their own Olympiads and count the results of these Olympiads as entrance exams. One of the pioneers of this movement was the Faculty of Chemistry of Moscow State University, which annually holds correspondence olympiad in chemistry, physics and mathematics. This Olympiad, which we called “MSU Applicant”, is already 10 years old this year. It provides equal access to all groups of schoolchildren to study at Moscow State University. The Olympiad is held in two stages: correspondence and full-time. first - absentee- This stage is introductory. We publish assignments in all specialized newspapers and magazines and send assignments to schools. It takes about six months to make a decision. Those who have completed at least half of the tasks, we invite you to second stage - full-time tour, which takes place on the 20th of May. Written assignments in mathematics and chemistry make it possible to determine the winners of the Olympiad, who receive advantages when entering our faculty.
The geography of this Olympiad is unusually wide. Every year it is attended by representatives of all regions of Russia - from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok, as well as several dozen "foreigners" from the CIS countries. The development of this Olympiad has led to the fact that almost all talented children from the provinces come to study with us: more than 60% of the students of the Faculty of Chemistry of Moscow State University are from other cities.
At the same time, university Olympiads are constantly under pressure from the Ministry of Education, which promotes the ideology of the Unified State Examination and seeks to deprive universities of independence in determining the forms of admission of applicants. And here, oddly enough, the All-Russian Olympiad comes to the aid of the ministry. The idea of the ministry is that only participants of those Olympiads that are organizationally integrated into the structure of the All-Russian Olympiad should have advantages when entering universities. Any university can independently conduct any Olympiad without any connection with the All-Russian, but the results of such an Olympiad will not be counted when entering this university.
If such an idea is legislated, it will deal a pretty severe blow to the university admission system and, most importantly, to graduate students, who will lose many incentives to enter the university of their choice.
However, this year admission to universities will be held according to the same rules, and in this regard, we want to talk about the entrance exam in chemistry at Moscow State University.
Entrance exam in chemistry at Moscow State University
The entrance exam in chemistry at Moscow State University is taken at six faculties: chemistry, biology, medicine, soil science, the faculty of materials sciences and the new faculty of bioengineering and bioinformatics. The exam is written and lasts 4 hours. During this time, students must solve 10 tasks of different levels of complexity: from trivial, i.e., "comforting", to rather complex ones, which allow differentiating grades.
None of the tasks requires special knowledge that goes beyond what is studied in specialized chemical schools. Nevertheless, most problems are structured in such a way that their solution requires reflection based not on memorization, but on mastery of the theory. As an example, we want to give several such problems from different branches of chemistry.
Theoretical chemistry
Task 1(Department of Biology). The rate constant of the A B isomerization reaction is 20 s -1 , and the rate constant of the reverse reaction B A is 12 s -1 . Calculate the composition of the equilibrium mixture (in grams) obtained from 10 g of substance A.
Solution
Let it turn into B x g of substance A, then the equilibrium mixture contains (10 – x) g A and x d B. At equilibrium, the rate of the forward reaction is equal to the rate of the reverse reaction:
20 (10 – x) = 12x,
where x = 6,25.
The composition of the equilibrium mixture: 3.75 g A, 6.25 g B.
Answer. 3.75 g A, 6.25 g B.
Inorganic chemistry
Task 2(Department of Biology). What volume of carbon dioxide (n.a.) must be passed through 200 g of a 0.74% solution of calcium hydroxide so that the mass of the precipitated precipitate is 1.5 g, and the solution above the precipitate does not give color with phenolphthalein?
Solution
When carbon dioxide is passed through a solution of calcium hydroxide, a precipitate of calcium carbonate is first formed:
which can then be dissolved in excess CO2:
CaCO 3 + CO 2 + H 2 O \u003d Ca (HCO 3) 2.
The dependence of the sediment mass on the amount of CO 2 substance has the following form:
With a lack of CO 2 the solution above the precipitate will contain Ca(OH) 2 and give a violet color with phenolphthalein. By the condition of this staining, there is no, therefore, CO 2 is in excess
compared to Ca (OH) 2, i.e., first all Ca (OH) 2 turns into CaCO 3, and then CaCO 3 partially dissolves into CO 2.
(Ca (OH) 2) \u003d 200 0.0074 / 74 \u003d 0.02 mol, (CaCO 3) \u003d 1.5 / 100 \u003d 0.015 mol.
In order for all Ca (OH) 2 to pass into CaCO 3, 0.02 mol CO 2 must be passed through the initial solution, and then another 0.005 mol CO 2 must be passed through so that 0.005 mol CaCO 3 dissolves and 0.015 mol remains.
V (CO 2) \u003d (0.02 + 0.005) 22.4 \u003d 0.56 l.
Answer. 0.56 l CO 2 .
Organic chemistry
Task 3(chemical faculty). An aromatic hydrocarbon with one benzene ring contains 90.91% carbon by mass. When 2.64 g of this hydrocarbon is oxidized with an acidified solution of potassium permanganate, 962 ml of gas is released (at 20 ° C and normal pressure), and upon nitration, a mixture is formed containing two mononitro derivatives. Establish the possible structure of the initial hydrocarbon and write the schemes of the mentioned reactions. How many mononitro derivatives are formed during the nitration of a hydrocarbon oxidation product?
Solution
1) Determine the molecular formula of the desired hydrocarbon:
(S): (H) \u003d (90.91 / 12): (9.09 / 1) \u003d 10:12.
Therefore, the hydrocarbon is C 10 H 12 ( M= 132 g/mol) with one double bond in the side chain.
2) Find the composition of the side chains:
(C 10 H 12) \u003d 2.64 / 132 \u003d 0.02 mol,
(CO 2) \u003d 101.3 0.962 / (8.31 293) \u003d 0.04 mol.
This means that two carbon atoms leave the C 10 H 12 molecule during oxidation with potassium permanganate, therefore, there were two substituents: CH 3 and C (CH 3) \u003d CH 2 or CH \u003d CH 2 and C 2 H 5.
3) Determine the relative orientation of the side chains: two mononitro derivatives during nitration give only a paraisomer:
Nitration of the complete oxidation product, terephthalic acid, produces only one mononitro derivative.
Biochemistry
Task 4(Department of Biology). With complete hydrolysis of 49.50 g of oligosaccharide, only one product was formed - glucose, during alcoholic fermentation of which 22.08 g of ethanol was obtained. Set the number of glucose residues in the oligosaccharide molecule and calculate the mass of water required for hydrolysis if the fermentation reaction yield is 80%.
N/( n – 1) = 0,30/0,25.
Where n = 6.
Answer. n = 6; m(H 2
O) = 4.50 g.
Task 5(Faculty of Medicine). Complete hydrolysis of Met-enkephalin pentapeptide yielded the following amino acids: glycine (Gly)—H2NCH2COOH, phenylalanine (Phe)—H2NCH(CH2C6H5)COOH, tyrosine (Tyr)—H2NCH( CH 2 C 6 H 4 OH)COOH, methionine (Met) - H 2 NCH (CH 2 CH 2 SCH 3)COOH. Substances with molecular masses of 295, 279, and 296 were isolated from the products of partial hydrolysis of the same peptide. Set two possible amino acid sequences in this peptide (in abbreviated notation) and calculate its molar mass.
Solution
Based on the molar masses of peptides, their composition can be determined using the hydrolysis equations:
dipeptide + H 2 O = amino acid I + amino acid II,
tripeptide + 2H 2 O = amino acid I + amino acid II + amino acid III.
Molecular weights of amino acids:
Gly - 75, Phe - 165, Tyr - 181, Met - 149.
295 + 2 18 = 75 + 75 + 181,
tripeptide, Gly–Gly–Tyr;
279 + 2 18 = 75 + 75 + 165,
tripeptide, Gly–Gly–Phe;
296 + 18 = 165 + 149,
dipeptide - Phe-Met.
These peptides can be combined into a pentapeptide in this way:
M\u003d 296 + 295 - 18 \u003d 573 g / mol.
The opposite amino acid sequence is also possible:
Tyr–Gly–Gly–Phe–Met.
Answer.
Met-Phe-Gly-Gly-Tyr,
Tyr-Gly-Gly-Phe-Met; M= 573 g/mol.
Competition for the Faculty of Chemistry of Moscow State University and other chemical universities has remained stable in recent years, and the level of training of applicants is growing. Therefore, summing up, we argue that, despite the difficult external and internal circumstances, chemical education in Russia has good prospects. The main thing that convinces us of this is the inexhaustible flow of young talents, passionate about our favorite science, striving to get a good education and benefit their country.
V.V. EREMIN,
Associate Professor, Faculty of Chemistry, Moscow State University,
N.E.KUZMENKO,
Professor of the Faculty of Chemistry, Moscow State University
(Moscow)
From April 28 to April 30, 2014, the All-Russian Scientific Conference with international participation on the theme: “Chemistry and chemical education. XXI century”, dedicated to the memory of Doctor of Sciences, Professor, Corr. RANS Nikolai Kaloev.
Scientists from Moscow State University, Samara Regional State University, Kabardino-Balkarian, Chechen, Ingush State Universities and, of course, our university will present their scientific works devoted to the great science - chemistry.
The grand opening of the conference took place today, followed by the first plenary session of the three-day event. The vice-rector of SOSU Galazova S.S. addressed the participants of the event with a greeting, then the dean of the Faculty of Chemistry and Technology Fatima Agayeva spoke. Being one of the organizers of such a significant forum, she spoke about the invaluable contribution of Nikolai Kaloev to the development of chemistry in North Ossetia-Alania.
“Today we opened the first conference held by the Faculty of Chemical Technology. It is dedicated to the memory of our first dean, head of the department of inorganic and analytical chemistry, Nikolai Iosifovich Kaloev, our teacher, the person who inspired us to do science, instilled in us a love for pedagogical work. Without exaggeration, we can say that almost all the current employees of our faculty are his students,” said Fatima Alexandrovna.
Head of the Laboratory of Physical and Chemical Analysis named after DI. Mendeleev, Professor of Samara University Alexander Trunin spoke about the development of physical and chemical analysis of multicomponent systems using innovative technologies in Samara. I remembered such significant historical figures for science as Peter 1, Mikhail Lomonosov ...
Professor of the Department of Organic Chemistry of SOGU Vladimir Abaev presented his report at the conference on a new synthesis of indoles based on derivatives of furan, and Lera Alakaeva, professor of the Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry of KBSU, spoke about innovative technologies for training cadres of analytical chemists at KBSU.
Among the invited guests at the plenary session were the daughters of Nikolai Kaloev - Zalina and Albina Kaloev.
“I am very pleased that the conference is held in honor of the memory of our father. At one time, he also devoted a lot of time and energy to science, treated graduate students with great love, apparently, this paid off. We are grateful to the organizers of the conference, participants, students for the fact that they adequately appreciated the activities of our father. Thanks a lot!" - said Zalina Kaloeva.
After the plenary session, the participants continued their work, only at the Faculty of Chemistry and Technology. After all the reports were read, the participants were divided into groups in order to work in sections. The first day of the conference ended with a tour of Vladikavkaz. The next two days of the conference “Chemistry and chemical education. XXI century” promise to be no less interesting.
Zavyalova F.D., chemistry teacherMAOU "Secondary School No. 3" with in-depth study of individual subjectsnamed after the Hero of Russia Igor Rzhavitin, GO Revda
The role of chemistry in the modern world? Chemistry is a field of natural sciences that studies the structure of various substances, as well as their relationship with the environment. For the needs of mankind, chemical education is of great importance. In the second half of the 20th century, the state invested in the development of chemical science, as a result, new discoveries appeared in the field of pharmaceutical and industrial production, in connection with this, the chemical industry expanded, and this contributed to the emergence of demand for qualified specialists. Today, chemical education in our country is in an obvious crisis.
Now the school is consistently squeezing the natural sciences out of the school curriculum. Too much time has been reduced to study the subjects of the natural cycle, the main attention is paid to patriotic and moral education, confusing education with upbringing, as a result, school graduates today do not understand the simplest chemical laws. And many students think that chemistry is a useless subject and will not be of any use in the future.
And the main goal of education is the development of mental abilities - this is memory training, teaching logic, the ability to establish causal relationships, building models, developing abstract and spatial thinking. The decisive role in this is played by the natural sciences, which reflect the objective laws of the development of nature. Chemistry studies different ways of directing chemical reactions and a variety of substances, therefore, it occupies a special place among the natural sciences as a tool for developing the mental abilities of schoolchildren. It may happen that a person in his professional activity will never encounter chemical problems, but when studying chemistry at school, the ability to think will develop.
The study of foreign languages and other humanitarian disciplines alone is not enough for the formation of the intellect of a modern person. A clear understanding of how some phenomena give rise to others, drawing up an action plan, modeling situations and finding optimal solutions, the ability to foresee the consequences of actions taken - all this can be learned only on the basis of natural sciences. This knowledge and skills are necessary for absolutely everyone.
Lack of this knowledge and skills leads to chaos. On the one hand, we hear calls for innovation in the technological field, deepening the processing of raw materials, and the introduction of energy-saving technologies, on the other hand, we are seeing a reduction in natural science subjects at school. Why is this happening? Unclear?!
The next most important goal of school education is preparation for future adult life. A young person must enter it fully armed with knowledge about the world, which includes not only the world of people, but also the world of things, and the surrounding nature. Knowledge about the material world, about substances, materials and technologies that they may encounter in everyday life is provided by the natural sciences. Studying only the humanities leads to the fact that teenagers no longer understand the material world and begin to fear it. From here - they go away from reality into the virtual space.
Most people still live in the material world, constantly in contact with various substances and materials and subject them to various chemical and physico-chemical transformations. A person receives knowledge of how to handle substances at school in chemistry lessons. He may forget the formula for sulfuric acid, but he will handle it with care all his life. He won't smoke at a gas station, and not because he's seen gasoline burn. It was just that at school in a chemistry lesson they explained to him that gasoline tends to evaporate, form explosive mixtures with air and burn. Therefore, more time should be devoted to the development of chemistry, and I think that in vain they reduced the hours for studying chemistry in schools.
At the lessons of the natural cycle, students are prepared for their future profession. After all, it is impossible to predict which professions will be most in demand in 20 years. According to the Department of Labor and Employment of the Population, today professions related to chemistry top the list of the most demanded in the labor market. Now almost all goods that people use are in one way or another connected with technologies that use chemical reactions. For example, refining fuels, using food coloring, detergents, fertilizer pesticides, and so on.
Professions related to chemistry are not only specialists working in the oil refining and gas production industries, but also those professions that can guarantee work in almost any region.
List of the most demanded specialties:
- A chemist-technologist, an engineer-technologist, can always find a place in the production of the city. Depending on the profile of training, he can work in food or industrial enterprises. The main task of this specialist is to control the quality of products, as well as to introduce innovations into production.
- An environmental chemist, each city has a department that monitors the environmental situation.
- Chemist-cosmetologist is a very popular direction, especially in those regions where there are large cosmetic enterprises.
- Pharmacist. Higher education makes it possible to work in large drug companies, you can always find a place in a city pharmacy.
- Biotechnologist, nanochemist, alternative energy expert.
- Criminalistics and forensic examination. The Ministry of Internal Affairs also needs chemists, there is always a position of a full-time chemist, their knowledge can help in the capture of criminals.
- The profession of the future is researchers of alternative energy sources. After all, soon the oil supply will run out, the same will happen with gas, so the demand for such specialists is growing. And maybe in 10-20 years, chemists in this area will top the list of the most sought-after specialists.
The main requirements for modern specialists are a good memory and an analytical mindset, creativity, innovative ideas, a creative approach and a non-standard view of familiar things. The study of chemistry plays an important role in the formation of these skills and abilities. And a person deprived of the natural science base of education is easier to manipulate.
Unlike all other living beings, a person does not adapt to environmental conditions, but changes it to suit his needs. A sharp increase in the population on the planet occurred after the great discovery of chemists, these are the inventions of antibiotics and the start of their production on an industrial scale.
Considering all of the above, I think that it is necessary to increase the number of hours for studying chemistry, and start getting to know each other already at the junior level.
If at the beginning of the last century, education was understood as learning to count, read and write, then a century later, we invest in this concept ensuring the realization of a person's need for development. Education has become a sustainable development for us, and it must be of high quality.
Literature:
- Russian Academy of Sciences - about the Mendeleev Congress in Yekaterinburg
- What chemistry should be studied in a modern school? — Genrikh Vladimirovich Erlikh - Doctor of Chemistry, Leading Researcher, Lomonosov Moscow State University. M. V. Lomonosov.
