“Teach 1, do 1 … better”

Do historians or chemists write better history of chemistry? (1).

This paper was the response to a challenge set me as the senior historian of chemistry (in age) serving on the ACS National Historic Chemical Landmarks Committee. The challenge was to reflect on the history of chemistry in terms of the question posed in the paper’s title. Although there is a “tongue in cheek” quality to the question, it also has its serious side and it challenged me. I have to ...

Do computers teach better? A media comparison study for case-based teaching in radiology.

A prospective study was performed to better define the role of computers in teaching radiology to medical students. Two hundred twenty-five 3rd-year students were randomly assigned to one of four groups and exposed to 10 radiology cases as well as to a voluntary weekly radiology lecture. Group A used computer-based cases with interactive elements; group B used computer-based cases without inter...

How do climbing fibers teach?

Four decades ago, Marr and Albus suggested that the climbing fiber (CF) pathway from the inferior olive (IO) to the cerebellum instructs the cellular changes necessary for motor learning (Marr, 1969; Albus, 1971). Subsequent work has confirmed that CFs can drive specific forms of associative motor learning (Gilbert and Thach, 1977; Mauk et al., 1986; Raymond et al., 1996; Jirenhed et al., 2007;...

Do nurses do it better?

“ What Do We Do Now , Ollie ? ” 1

A personal overview of why California is suffering billion-dollar-per-year costs and losses from wildland fire is presented. Two primary and ten supplemental factors contribute to the huge losses. The primary factors are lack of planning effectiveness and lack of adequate fuels management on a sustained basis. Supplemental factors target organizational and political weaknesses that contribute t...