What Is "New Traditions"?

The New Traditions Project is one of five systemic chemistry curricular reform projects funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The name of the project reflects its primary goal: "establishing new traditions in the chemistry curriculum that optimize opportunities for all students to learn chemical facts and concepts, develop and pursue interests in chemistry and chemistry-related disciplines, and appreciate how an understanding of chemistry is important to life and living."

The overarching vision of the New Traditions Project is that we can facilitate a paradigm shift from faculty-centered teaching to student-centered learning throughout the chemistry curriculum, such that students obtain a deeper learning experience, improve their understanding and ability to apply learning to new situations, enhance their critical thinking and experimental skills, and increase their enthusiasm for science and learning. In support of this vision, our goals are to develop and thoroughly evaluate strategies and infrastructure that allow a variety of types of institutions to adopt and adapt what we have created, and to disseminate these as broadly as possible.

Why Reform Now?

Despite numerous calls for reform, the undergraduate chemistry curriculum has remained virtually unchanged for the past two decades. Chemistry faculty, faculty from "client" disciplines, and students have identified these opportunities for improvement:

The genesis of the New Traditions Project comes from a broad-based, shared desire to make lasting, beneficial changes that address these and other problems. The problems facing the discipline are not unique to any particular type or size institution. Thus, this project involves the collaboration of a two-year technical college, small private colleges, and research I and II institutions. Each member of the consortium develops and tests various aspects of the overall project.

The NT Consortium

Coordination is through the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which has developed and incorporated many of the NT innovations into its program. More information is available at the home page of the New Traditions Project:

Faculty at Franklin & Marshall College teach general and physical chemistry via a lecture-less format; it places greater responsibility for learning onto students.  http://madcp.fandm.edu

At the College of the Holy Cross, faculty have extended the Discovery curriculum, in which the laboratory occupies the central role into the physical chemistry course.

Faculty and staff at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed computer-based grading, quizzes, and communication systems for large lecture courses. (Click for CyberProf)

At San Jose State University, Professors Maureen Scharberg and Stephen Branz are developing, teaching, and evaluating a sequence of courses for the first two years that will integrate general and organic chemistry. http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/chemistry

At a two-year, technical college, Madison Area Technical College (MATC), Professor David Shaw is developing, adapting, and adopting classroom and laboratory innovations for use at both two-year and four-year institutions.

You can link to a page on which members of a related Two Year College Consortia are listed.

You can link to a page on which a number of the participants in the project are listed.

You can link to a page that lists the Leadership Team of the NT project.

Finally, the National Visiting Committee oversees the entire project and provides feedback to the Leadership Team and NSF regarding the project's effectiveness and direction.

What Does NT Have to Offer?

The NT project has developed a variety of products that can be used by faculty who want to help their students to take more responsibility for their own learning and improve the depth and long-term retention of that learning. These products include:

"My attitude towards teaching has become much more positive. It's a lot more fun to do this. It's very fulfilling to see the excitement that the students bring to this new method of learning and it is just like doing research but it's in a teaching context." John Wright, Professor of Chemistry, UW-Madison

 

How Do I Get Involved with NT...

The NT project addresses three fundamental questions:

We are finding answers to these questions and developing means for implementing improved approaches to the teaching of chemistry. We invite you to participate with us in this exciting endeavor.

The New Traditions project offers workshops to promote the benefits of active learning and to introduce instructors to its implementation. The first of these workshops was held last summer for faculty from two-year colleges. The second, held October 4-5, is for teams of faculty from colleges and universities. If you are interested in attending a workshop, please contact us (newtraditions@chem.wisc.edu). We will add you to our mailing list and send you information about workshops.

Whether or not you attend a workshop, we invite you to beta-test New Traditions innovations and adapt them for use in your own environment. It is not necessary to throw out everything with which you are familiar. Changes can and should be made incrementally. Active learning is not a one-size-fits-all pedagogy.

For more information, contact:

New Traditions Curriculum Project
Chemistry Department
University of Wisconsin - Madison
1101 University Avenue
Madison, WI 53706-1396

Phone: 608/262-3033
FAX: 608/265-8094
http://genchem.chem.wisc.edu/newtrad/
John Moore: jwmoore@chem.wisc.edu
Clark Landis: landis@chem.wisc.edu
Earl Peace: newtraditions@chem.wisc.edu

 

 

Sponsored by the National Science Foundation
Division of Undergraduate Education
Grant No. DUE-9455928