IUPAC

International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry

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Project: Inter-Union meeting on education

Number: 2001-054-1-025
Start: 01 November 2001
End: 31 December 2003
Project of
Chair:
Objective

To organize a meeting of scientific Unions in the physical sciences and mathematics to discuss strategies for developing education in basic sciences and mathematics and to establish collaboration between disciplines.

Description

The proposed meeting will bring together the heads of the education activities of IUPAC, IUBMB, IUBS, IUPAP, and IMU. The intention is to lay the groundwork for future interdisciplinary exchange and cooperation in this vital area. In the case of primary and secondary education, the activities of all the Unions are directed at the same classrooms. It is expected that sharing of experiences will bring new insights to the participants. Plans for future collaboration should also be a significant result of this meeting.

Progress
At a meeting of the chairmen of the education committees of some of the scientific Unions held 17-18 February 2002, it was decided that a useful first step towards collaboration on the solution of jointly pressing problems would be a workshop in which the Unions presented their problems and approaches to solutions to members of other Unions.

As a result, an Inter-Union Workshop on New Directions in the Teaching and Learning of Science has been arranged for Friday, August 9, 2002, in Beijing, China, and during the 17th ICCE. In it, we shall hear how members of two biologically orientated Unions (IUBS and IUBMB) tackle the problems of science education in their disciplines in the hope that we can learn new approaches from them. (Sponsored by UNESCO and ICSU, arranged by IUPAC)

Speakers:

  • Professor Ellis Bell, University of Richmond, Virginia (IUBMB)
    Teaching biochemistry and molecular biology for the 21 st century
  • Professor Rodolphe Toussaint, University of Quebec (IUBS) with Professor A. Giordan
    Scientific literacy and its implications for biology education

Chairman: Professor R. Bucat, University of Western Australia

> read workshop report, Chem Int Jan/Feb 2003, p.7