Intersociety Polymer Education Committee Reports

For the POLY Intersociety Polymer Education information see the main POLY Home Page.

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Spring 2002

Intersociety Polymer Education Council- IPEC F. Jones

IPEC develops and supports the introduction of polymers into the K-12 curricula. Its programs have proven to be an excellent way to interest students in polymers and, more broadly, in science and technology. Students at all levels can relate to polymers.

 

IPEC’s biggest activity is the Polymer Ambassadors. The Ambassadors are a group of about fifteen talented and dedicated classroom teachers, located coast-to-coast. After a training year, Ambassadors conduct workshops at regional and national teachers conventions, where they teach other teachers to use polymers in classroom instruction. Between July 2001 and July 2002, thirty workshops were or will be conducted. The workshops are well attended and well received by the teachers, who, in turn, use the materials in their classes. It is estimated that IPEC has reached over 500,000 students through face-to-face workshops. In addition, materials developed by the Ambassadors are now freely available on the www (See below.). Several Ambassadors have received major awards, including National Teacher of the Year Awards. They receive an expense allowance of $3000/year, but Ambassadors work as a labor of love.

IPEC also sponsors other workshops for high school teachers, such as "Discovery in Plastics Processing" taught annually at Eastern Michigan University and "PAW for Polymers," being taught for the first time at Clemson July 15-17, 2002. The EMU program has been highly successful for years, and similar success is anticipated at Clemson.

 

For the future, IPEC is working on three major initiatives:

1. Association with the Global Polymer Academy at the University of Akron. Polymer Ambassadors will develop and pilot online workshops (synchronous and asynchronous) using interactive classroom facilities at UA.

2. Development of a national network of interactive classrooms at several universities for dissemination of programs developed by the Polymer Ambassadors and possibly by others.

3. Collaboration with one or more universities with major teacher education programs to pilot inclusion of more polymer materials in the curriculum for undergraduates. Classroom materials developed by the Polymer Ambassadors would be used.

 

IPEC is seeking $10,000 seed money from the SPE Foundation to help with initiatives (2) and (3). Within the next year it plans to submit major proposals to NSF and possibly other funding sources.

 

IPEC’s budget is in good shape. On January 1, 2002 cash reserves were $96,018. For 2002 projected income from member dues, grants for special projects, and interest is $51,500. Projected expense is $51,700.

 

IPEC member organizations can be proud of what IPEC accomplished. Past financial support is greatly appreciated, and we hope it will continue at historic levels. Equally important, more volunteer workers from the member organizations are needed. IPEC would like to add a third board member from each sponsor. With more people involved, more could be accomplished.

 

The IPEC Board of Directors met at 10:30 A.M. Tuesday, April 9 at Hospitality Suite #1 of the Rosen Hotel in Orlando. It is an important meeting, as plans and assignments for future initiatives were set.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION: IPEC: www.uwsp.edu/chemistry/ipec/home.htm; Polymer Ambassadors: www.uwsp.edu/chemistry/ipec/ambassadors.htm (New site; includes instructional material); IPEC Newsletter: E-mailed to sponsor officers and executives.

 

IPEC supporting members includes: Society of Plastics Engineers, American Chemistry Council, and American Chemical Society Divisions of Polymer Chemistry, Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering, and Rubber.

 

IPEC Mission Statement: To significantly increase student interest and participation in science and technology subjects by incorporating the teaching of polymers and polymeric materials into K-12 curricula by utilizing the combined resources and infrastructures of the participating scientific societies.

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Fall 2001

 

Intersociety Polymer Education - IPEC A. Salamone

IPEC develops and supports the introduction of polymers into the K-12 curricula. Students at all levels can relate to polymers, so this activity is an excellent way to interest students in science and technology.

 

IPEC’s biggest activity is the Polymer Ambassadors. The Ambassadors are a group of about fifteen talented and dedicated classroom teachers. After a training year, they conduct workshops at regional and national teachers conventions. In the workshops, they teach other teachers to use polymers in classroom instruction at all levels. Nineteen workshops were or will be conducted in 2001. The workshops are well attended and well received by the teachers, who, in turn, use the materials in their classes. It is estimated that IPEC has reached over 500,000 students in this way. The Ambassadors receive a stipend of $3000/year, but they do the work mainly as a labor of love.

IPEC also sponsors other workshops for high school teachers, such as "Discovery in Plastics Processing" taught annually at Eastern Michigan University. Maximum enrollment is achieved every year. Additional workshops are being developed.

For the future, IPEC is taking its program to the world wide web. Already, classroom materials developed by the Polymer Ambassadors are available on the web. IPEC hopes to work with the University of Akron to develop interactive, remote learning courses and workshops for teachers.

 

IPEC’s budget is in good shape. The budget for 2001 is $60,500; break-even operation is projected. Reserves at the end of 2000 were $81,430.

 

IPEC needs your help:

- Past financial support is greatly appreciated, and we hope it will continue.

- IPEC would like to add a third board member from each sponsoring organization. With more people involved, more could be accomplished.

For more information:

- IPEC: www.uwsp.edu/chemistry/ipec/home.htm

- Polymer Ambassadors: www.uwsp.edu/chemistry/ipec/pa (New site; includes instructional material)

- IPEC Newsletter: E-mailed to sponsor officers and executives quarterly.