1. Florida students locate, comprehend, interpret, evaluate, maintain, and apply information, concepts and ideas found in academic and technical documents, prose, the arts, symbols, recordings, video and other graphic displays, and computer files, in order to perform tasks and/or for enjoyment.---- Students receive all of their information and ideas using all of the items listed in this objective. Our students use reference materials built into the menu bar of this program that include movies, picture files, a glossary and a limited science encyclopedia. These items are always available as they work. They also have commercial electronic dictionaries, encyclopedias, and atlases available at all times. Topics or projects are assigned that require them to use these materials. Other video material is available on short tapes(less than 10 minutes each) that are played on their computer terminals or VCR/Monitor combinations. These materials and the ACS text CHEMCOM are their reference materials as they learn chemistry.

2. Florida students communicate in English and other languages using information, concepts, prose, symbols, reports, audio and video recordings, speeches, graphic displays, and computer-based programs. This program requires a lot of writing in a bound journal. Students are also regularly required to present information to other students formally and informally. Role playing is regularly used. During these activities students are encouraged to use a variety of techniques to present their viewpoint. They videotape some of their activities. Claris Works is always available on their computers to allow them to use the word processor, data base, graphics or other functions of this program.

3. Florida students use numeric operations and concepts to describe, analyze, disaggregate, communicate, and synthesize numeric data, to identify and solve problems. All of the usual math associated with chemistry is included. They regularly use the lab to collect data and analyze it. Activities are used to teach the numeric skills required to solve problems such as the stoichiometry of a quantitative reaction. Data is collected using computer interfaced devices to collect temperature, pH, radiation counts, etc.. Graphing programs and calculators are available through the menu on their computer.

4. Florida students use creative thinking skills to generate new ideas, make the best decisions, recognize and solve problems through reasoning, interpret symbolic data, and develop efficient techniques for lifelong learning. A great deal of emphasis has been placed on this objective. The program has built in activities to build their skills from critical reading skills such as identifying what is being asked in a question to giving them complex information and asking them to organized it in a new way so that they can solve a problem that is posed. A lot of time is spent teaching them how to organize information and define the problem so that they can use their creative thinking skills to solve the problems. The small group organization of this program makes this feasible.

5. Florida students display responsibility, self-esteem, sociability, self-management, integrity, and honesty. The cooperative learning component helps with this objective. Students are taught ways to get to know others and work with them each time their groups are changed. A major component of this program involves letting students accomplish the assigned tasks in their own way on their own time frame within broad boundaries set by the program. This is self management and it is one of the most painful lessons the students learn. By the end of the year they are much better at managing their time and learning styles. Their grade is totally within their control to change at any time through repeating sections they had difficulty with. Tests are large banks of questions so they are encouraged to take them over untill they have the scores they wish. The last score counts. The cooperative competency based nature coupled with the semi-self-paced nature of this course lends itself well to this objective.

6. Florida students will appropriately allocate time, money, materials and other resources (this may be demonstrated through a classroom project). This program heavily emphasizes time management though the other parts of this objective come into play at times.

7. Florida students integrate their knowledge and understanding of how social, organizational, informational, and technological systems work with their abilities to analyze trends, design and improve systems, and use and maintain appropriate technology. The CHEMCOM text was written specifically as a science, technology and society approach. Chemistry is taught in the context of society and some of its major problems. They explore problems such as air, water, resources, nuclear energy, petroleum, etc. through everything from consumer choices to hard chemistry to government. They even role play a town council meeting to show how complex it can be to solve a chemistry problem associated with a water resource. This is probably the greatest strength of the text and the format of the program allows a lot of individual exploration of various methods of solving problems involving society and science.

8. Florida students help a group successfully complete a project or activity by working cooperatively and teaching others. Every day all day is cooperative. This is true cooperative learning as described in the literature and not simply redoing group work. Each new team assignment is begun with an activity that helps them get to know each other and that emphasizes the program motto of "Their success is your success and your success is their success." Except for the computer bank tests and quizzes all other activities are team graded. When students are required to teach each other material, each individual is held accountable and this is factored into the group grade. Though this takes some work in the beginning of the year the students eventually prefer it. Many college chemistry courses are now being taught this way. Chemistry and chemical engineering are almost always team activities. Increases in the number of students in our classrooms and less time and flexibility for our extra duties and planning periods are eroding the time we have to spend giving individual attention. In chemistry this is further compounded by taking away the credit for lab assistants, OSHA rules that dictate how chemicals should be stored and inventoried, fund raising to maintain lab programs, ordering supplies and grading ever increasing numbers of papers. Cooperative learning environments will return some of the individual attention that students need.

9. Florida students establish credibility with their colleagues through competence and integrity, and help their peers achieve their goals by communicating their feelings and ideas to justify or successfully negotiate a position which advances goal attainment. Again cooperative education that insures that every student works with every other student builds these goals. Before the year is over all students have demonstrated the talents that they excel at.