My Talk and Posters for ChemEd 2011
by Craig Rusbult, Ph.D.  —  craigru178@yahoo.com 

        At the conference of ChemEd 2011, July 24-28, I did two related presentations, a talk and poster session.  Information about these is below, and...
        The talk-and-poster were based on ideas described in Ideas for Education.

TALK — Tuesday 2:00-2:45 pm, in Chemistry 1220
 
Combining Explanations, Activities, and “design method” Inquiry
Teachers can design eclectic instruction that creatively combines clear Explanations (using ideas from Ausubel), Activities (for application-and-extension), and Inquiry structured by a model of Integrated Design Method - developed based on my PhD work about Scientific Method - to help students learn scientific concepts, creative-and-critical thinking skills, and metacognitive learning strategies.		 blank spacer-gif (with no idea-content) POSTER — Tuesday 6:30-8:00 pm, in Exhibit Hall
 
Problem Solving & Metacognition — Inquiry using Design Method
During problem-solving inquiry activities, Design Method can help students develop their creative-and-critical thinking skills.  In a special type of design that is a problem-solving approach for personal education, students use metacognition to proactively take control of their own learning, to improve their ideas and skills.
 
Here is some personal history:  I've been excited about chemistry since middle school (when a chemistry kit for Christmas led to watching color-changes and textures, making a crude rocket ship,...) and later I became excited about thinking and learning (since graduate school when I read a book about "scientific thinking" by E. Bright Wilson).  Along the way, I earned a PhD in Curriculum & Instruction by studying scientific method and an inquiry classroom.  Recently, since late-September 2010, my enthusiasm for education has been renewed & increased, and I've invested lots of time reading and listening, thinking and writing.   /   For more information, there is a bio-page with a brief history of my life, and a web portfolio with major "influences on my thinking" and some results.