The Magic of Inquiry—from high school fundamentals to authentic research projects
The Magic of Inquiry—from high school fundamentals to authentic research projects
Steven G. Sogo, Caltech MS in Chemistry 1989, Laguna Beach High School
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Noyes 147
In this talk, Steve Sogo, winner of the NSTA 2013 Frey Scientific Award for Excellence in Inquiry-based Science Teaching, will present his methods for introducing high school students to the joys of scientific inquiry. After receiving an MS in Chemistry from Caltech in 1989, Sogo has enjoyed a 25-year career teaching chemistry in public and private high schools. For the past 15-years, he has been teaching at Laguna Beach High School, where he has developed the award-winning Advanced Chemical Research program (ACR). ACR engages 20-24 students each year in authentic bioorganic research projects using in-house instrumentation, such as UV/Vis spectroscopy, HPLC, and SDS-PAGE, as well as UC Irvine's NMR and Mass Spectrometry facilities. This talk will present teaching methods that are effective with students of a wide variety of abilities, from those who are muddled by moles to those who will become PhD chemists.