Poë, Judith C.
Contact Information
3359 Mississauga Road North
Mississauga, Ontario
L5L 1C6
Trained as a bioinorganic chemist with interests in the mechanisms of catalysis by copper and iron containing metalloenzymes, my current research and scholarly activity are in the area of chemical education focusing on the areas of web-enhanced teaching and learning, writing as a tool for learning and Problem-Based Learning. Throughout my practice as a science educator, the following are key: 1. continuing to learn from the literature in my field; 2. developing skills of effectively transmitting information; 3. imbuing material with a freshness of application even when lecturing on well worn material; 4. ensuring that throughout a course students are made to appreciate why anyone would want to know the material in the curriculum, both in the context of development of the subject and in terms of existing and potential applications; 5. guiding students to problem-solving strategies; and 6. treating the sometimes routine tasks required in the early stages of learning in such a way as to guard against stamping out at the beginning of a student’s career the quality of creativity that will be essential for success at a later stage. In addition, I believe that one of our most important responsibilities in undergraduate education is to lead students into developing a respect for research and becoming comfortable dealing with a changing body of knowledge. They must be aware that the material in the chemical literature is not immutable truth but rather the current understanding of the structure and dynamics of matter as it is embodied today in a discipline that is constantly changing and being enlarged. They should appreciate that chemistry is a discipline in which discoveries, sometimes fundamental discoveries that challenge textbook wisdom, are constantly being made. And they must come to appreciate that learning is an ongoing process and that educated, albeit imperfect, judgments can be made throughout that process. The pedagogy to which I adhere, along with my involvement in the Canadian Society for Chemistry, is directed towards these ends. In 2000 I was elected to the position of President of the CSC. It was gratifying to see the Society choose to give a more prominent place in its planning to chemical education, while at the same time trusting me to articulate the research interests of its members.
Publications
Poë, J “Service Learning in the Chemical and Physical Sciences,” 2010 International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Societies, Honolulu, HI (2010)
Poë, J. “Melding Molecular Concepts of Acid/Base Reactions with an Algorithmic Treatment of the Data,” 240th American Chemical Society National Meeting, Boston, MA (2010)
Poë, J. “Active Learning Pedagogies for the Future of Global Chemistry Education,” 93rd Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition, Toronto, ON (2010)
Poë, J. “Those Who Can, Teach!,” 238th American Chemical Society National Meeting, Washington, DC (2009)
Poë, J. “The Labyrinth or the Maze: Strategies for Effective Teaching and Learning,” 91st Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition, Edmonton, AB (2008)
Poë, J. “Research Skills Acquired through Problem-Based Learning;” Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, Toronto, Ontario (2006)
Poë, J. “Problem-Based Learning: Learning Chemistry on a Need–to-Know Basis;” 229th American Chemical Society National Meeting; San Diego, California (2005)
Poë, J., Algar, R., Kanampuza, J. “Uniting Technology with the Problem-Based Learning of Chemistry;” 39th IUPAC Congress, Ottawa, Ontario (2003)
Poë, J. Reaching Beyond the Front Rows of Our Classes,” Union Carbide Award Address, 84th Canadian Society for Chemistry Conference, Montréal, Québec (2001)