9450702 Fine A master plan will be developed for making sweeping changes in what we teach in chemistry and how we teach it, in light of revolutionary ways for improved learning that will be widely available before the end of this decade. At the heart of the systemic changes proposed is a broadening of the curriculum across traditional academic and professional boundaries to better reflect the needs of a productive lifetime in society for students of different backgrounds, abilities and interests. At the same time, by conceiving a new curriculum plan from the top down, it will be possible to produce one that is inclusive, not exclusive, allowing those who complete the major to share ideas and develop points of view and attitudes that have a common origin with those students who drop away earlier into alternate careers. For those who do drop away, the curriculum plan provides a realistic sense of what is exciting and important in chemistry and how it fits into their lives. Proposed curriculum changes depend on delivery systems that take advantage of the technological transformation that is presently altering learning through electronic communication and visualization of information. This planning proposal will have a significant impact in bringing about change in the entire chemistry curriculum at Columbia and it will be transferable to chemistry departments in other institutions. Other institutions working on this project are IIT, MIT, Stevens Institute, Northwestern, Wisconsin, North Carolina.
