Erik Joling Microscale chemistry in the Netherlands

Erik Joling

Microscale chemistryin the Netherlands

UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM

Faculty of Science

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Four points of view

• Industry and government (I)

• Teachers in secondary education (T)

• University (U)

• Pupils (P)

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Where are the Netherlands?

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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

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What is produced in the Netherlands?

• Windmills (a few)

• Wooden shoes (some more)

• Flowers (lots)

• Peanut butter (World’s #2)

• Chemicals (tons)

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Chemical industry (I)

• Largest branch of industry

• 60% bulk / 40% fine

• 15% of industrial production

• 20% of industrial export

• 10% of employment

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Chemical industry (I)

• Twice as much academics as in other branches

• Achilles heel: number of chemists educated

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Interest in chemistryFinal exams 1999 (I)

VBO MAVO HAVO VWO

Dutch 31,061100%

51,790100%

52,257100%

34,275100%

Chemistry 10353.3%

17,12833.1%

13,87126.5%

13,60939.7%

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Interest in chemistry Final exams 1999 (I)

VBO MAVO HAVO VWO

Spanish 2<0.1%

3580.7%

6691.3%

4711.4%

Physics 975431.4%

19,34237.3%

14,32927.4%

16,00346.7%

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Interest in chemistryFirst-year students in 1999 (I)

• University 537 (≈2%)

• Higher Laboratory Education 472

• Higher Vocational Education 214

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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

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Change of doctrine in upper-secondary education (T)

‘Studiehuis’ ≈ study-home

• independent learning

• streams

• projects

introduced summer 1998 and 1999

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Consequences for secondary chemical education (T)

• Need for a real-life approach

• Need for example projects

• Need for a student oriented lab

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Late eighties (U)

Universiteit van Amsterdam:

Desire for a microscale laboratory in second year

Mayo, Pike & Trumper

Microscale Organic Laboratory

• very interesting

• too expensive

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Method and kit (U)

Williamson

‘Macroscale and microscale organic experiments’

• economical

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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

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Results (U)

Reduction of

• waste

• chemicals

• cost of breakage to 15%

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Further steps (U)

summer 1997

• second year inorganic lab miniaturised

Szafran, Pike, and Singh

‘Microscale inorganic chemistry’

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Consequences for secondary chemical education (U)

Lecturer was member section chemical education of the Royal Netherlands Chemical Society

• promoted microscale chemistry

• initiated a project

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Project Microscale experiments

Universiteit van Amsterdam &

Chemistry Communication Center Foundation

November 1996 - December 1999

• glassware• low-cost heating device• manuals• training

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Glassware

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Low-cost heating device

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Manuals

Adaptation of existing experiments

Teachers manual and students manual

are loose-leaf:

• flexible

• rearrangeable

• supplements

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TrainingOver 330 schools (> 50%)

600 teachers

One afternoon training• on-site• at the University

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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

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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

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Other microscale initiatives (U&I)

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam &

Chemistry Communication Center Foundation

• Chemistry in droplets

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Other microscale initiatives (T)

Frans Killian (teaching assistant) &

Aonne Kerkstra (teacher):

Miniaturisation of their own school laboratory

• 96-well microplates

• micro titrations

• µ-GLC

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(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”

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Contact me

micro@chem.uva.nl

www.chem.uva.nl/chemeduc/microschaal

…/MicroQuim2000