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Joseph S. Schmuckler Papers
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Held at: Science History Institute Archives [Contact Us]315 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Science History Institute Archives. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Joseph Seymour Schmuckler was born in 1927 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was imbued at an early age with the notion of teaching as an honorable profession. Upon graduation from Roxborough High School in Philadelphia, in the middle of World War II, he enlisted in the newly formed U.S. Army Air Corps. After the war, Schmuckler decided to further his education, enrolling in the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Schmuckler earned a B.S. in 1952 and an M.S. in 1954.
Upon graduation, Schmuckler accepted a teaching position at Haverford High School in Haverford, Pennsylvania, supplementing his teacher's salary by summer work at Sun Oil Company and work as a consulting chemist for Sadtler Research Laboratories. An early and enthusiastic supporter of the experimental CHEMS (Chemical Education Material Study) Program for the teaching of high school chemistry, Joseph Schmuckler became one of the first high school teachers accepted to full membership in the American Chemical Society's Chemical Education Division, a division he would one day serve as its president. His involvement in ACS activities led to a lasting friendship with the future Nobel laureate Alan G. MacDiarmid, who encouraged Schmuckler to seek his Ph.D. and served as his dissertation advisor. Schmuckler was awarded his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968.
In 1968, Schmuckler left Haverford High School to accept a position at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where for many years he held a dual professorship as both Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Education. In 1971, he began the first of many trips to mainland China, becoming affiliated with Tianjin Normal University, which granted him an Honorary Professorship in Chemical Education. Serving as both educator and goodwill ambassador, Schmuckler was instrumental in bringing many talented Chinese chemists to the United States.
Among the many awards that Schmuckler received are Outstanding Science Teacher in the State of Pennsylvania (1963, 1967), the Benjamin Rush Award (1968), the James Bryant Conant Award (1969), the George Washington Carver Award (1986) and Temple University's "Great Teacher Award" (1989).
Schmuckler's approach to education has always been an activist "hands on" one. An unapologetic supporter of classroom demonstrations, he is a recognized authority in the training of secondary school teachers of chemistry and played a major role in the development of the Inquiry/Discovery Matrix as a teaching tool. Joseph S. Schmuckler passed away on December 26, 2011.
Sources
Alnsworth, Susan J. "Joseph S. Schmuckler." Chemical and Engineering News, March 12, 2012. https://cen.acs.org/articles/90/i11/Joseph-S-Schmuckler.html.
Joseph S. Schmuckler Papers, Science History Institute Archives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Joseph S. Schmuckler Papers contain the personal papers of American chemistry teacher and chemist Joseph S. Schmuckler. This collection deals chiefly with a program, the CHEM Study Project, for teaching chemistry to secondary school students. There is also correspondence and other supporting material. The collection is arranged into the following five series:
- The CHEM Study Project
- On the Teaching of Chemistry
- Correspondence
- Professional Documents
- Addenda
The Joseph S. Schmuckler Papers were donated to the Science History Institute (formerly the Chemical Heritage Foundation) by Joseph S. Schmuckler in two accretions: in 2005 and 2009.
The Joseph S. Schmuckler Papers were processed by Andrew Mangravite in 2009 and encoded into EAD by Samantha Brigher in 2021.
Organization
- Advisory Council on College Chemistry
- American Chemical Society
- Chemical Bond Approach Project
- Chemical Education Material Study
- National Science Foundation (U.S.)
- Temple University. Chemistry Department
Subject
- Publisher
- Science History Institute Archives
- Finding Aid Author
- The Joseph S. Schmuckler Papers were processed by Andrew Mangravite and encoded into EAD by Samantha Brigher.
- Finding Aid Date
- 2009
- Access Restrictions
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There are no access restrictions on the materials.
- Use Restrictions
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The Science History Institute holds copyright to the Joseph S. Schmuckler Papers. The researcher assumes full responsibility for all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.
Collection Inventory
This series contains The CHEM Study Project files of the Joseph S. Schmuckler Papers. Begun as America's answer to the challenge that the Soviet Sputnik project posed to the United States' scientific preeminence, the Chemical Education Material Study (CHEMS) Project was funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation. As the project's sub-title suggests, the program leaned heavily toward actual experimentation and lab work as opposed to rote memorization of descriptions and formulae. Joseph S. Schmuckler, then a high school chemistry teacher, was among the first educators exposed to the new program and his papers include a wealth of material relating the formation of the Ur-CHEMS Program.
Arranged in its original order, this series consists of forty files in Boxes 1-4. The contents of The CHEM Study Project files are arranged into the following three sub-series:
- The Evolution of CHEMS
- Drafts of CHEMS Material-2/CHEMS Exams
- CHEMS Solutions to CHEMS Chapter Questions
Arranged in its original order, this sub-series consists of twenty files in Box 1. These files contain copies of Chemistry: An Experimental Science, Volumes 1-3, copies of Laboratory Manual, Volumes 1-2, Chemical Education Material Study newsletters, correspondence, brochures, and teaching guides.
There is also material in this file from the Advisory Council on College Chemistry and selection of articles on CHEM Study.
Arranged in its original order, this sub-series consists of ten files in Boxes 2-3. These files contain a CHEMS Lab Manual, annotated copies and trial copies of the CHEMS Teachers' Guide, supplementary readings to the Teachers' Guide, and CHEMS achievement tests from 1963.
This is a mimeographed copy of the trial edition. Volume 2 is bound in with Volume 1; both are annotated by Schmuckler and his lengthier notes and observations are interleaved.
Arranged in its original order, this sub-series consists of twenty files in Box 4. These files contain the solutions to CHEMS chapter questions for Chapters 1-18, drafts of PCPS talks given by Joseph S. Schmuckler, student evaluations of CHEMS Project, and a copy of the CHEM Study Story.
This series contains the On the Teaching of Chemistry files of the Joseph S. Schmuckler Papers. Arranged in its original order, this series consists of twenty files in Boxes 5-7. The contents of the On the Teaching of Chemistry files are arranged into the following three sub-series:
- The Chemical Bond Approach Project
- Advisory Council on College Chemistry (ACCC)
- Miscellaneous Education Topics
The Chemical Bond Approach (CBA) Project was a rival program to CHEMS. CBA placed less emphasis on hands-on-experimental work and presented the material in a somewhat different order. The approach apparently was considered more difficult to teach than CHEMS and did not feature the wide array of supporting material available to CHEMS users. Consequently, it never enjoyed the popularity of CHEMS.
Arranged in its original order, this sub-series consists of four files in Box 5. These files contain CBA informational brochures and newsletters, a copy of Chemistry, Volume 2, 2nd revised edition, a copy of Chemical Systems-Teacher's Guide, and an article from the Journal of Chemical Education about the CBA Project and CHEM Study.
Arranged in its original order, this sub-series consists of nine files in Box 6. These files regard the Advisory Council on College Chemistry and contain ACCC newsletters, reports, resource papers, original copies and reprints from the Journal of Chemical Education, and agendas and correspondence of the K-12 Science Task Force for the Haverford Township School District in Haverford, Pennsylvania.
Henry A. Neidig was a major force behind the lab component of the CBA Project and Joseph S. Schmuckler's good friend.
Joseph S. Schmuckler began his teaching career at Haverford High School in Haverford, Pennsylvania and was a member of this task force.
Arranged in its original order, this sub-series consists of seven files in Box 7. These files contain lab safety manuals, American Chemical Society topic aids of "Instructional Resources for General Chemistry", a working draft of "Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics" for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), science course improvement projects from the National Science Foundation, and a Hebrew-language chemistry textbook.
This series contains the Correspondence files of the Joseph S. Schmuckler Papers. Arranged chronologically by year, this series consists of five boxes of forty-seven files in Boxes 8-12. These files contain correspondence between Joseph S. Schmuckler and others throughout his life, including his time as a student at the University of Pennsylvania, during his teaching career at Haverford Senior High School in Haverford, Pennsylvania, his teaching career at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and during his time in China. Topics include the CHEM Study Program and other science education programs, awards Schmuckler received, National Science Foundation budget cuts, Schmuckler's heart surgeries, doctoral programs at Temple University, his time as a member of the American Chemical Society, a Nova taping at Temple University, and prospects for science education at Temple University.
This series contains the Professional Documents files of the Joseph S. Schmuckler Papers. Arranged in its original order, this series consists of forty-one files in Boxes 13-15. The contents of the Professional Documents files are arranged into the following three sub-series:
- Biographical and Early Career at Haverford High School
- Teaching Career at Temple University
- Vita
Arranged in its original order, this sub-series consists of six files in Box 13. These files contain biographical information about Joseph S. Schmuckler and his teaching career at Haverford High School in Haverford, Pennsylvania. Included in these files are diplomas and certificates belonging to Joseph S. Schmuckler and his wife Shirley Schmuckler, newspaper clippings, materials about Schmuckler's pursuit of a Ph.D., correspondence and supporting materials about a grant from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and two folders of correspondence and reprints detailing Schmuckler's accomplishments.
Incl. correspondence and supporting materials, re: A 16mm sound film made by Joseph S. Schmuckler and Haverford High School students, Energy Absorption and Molecular Motion, done as a portion of Schmuckler's Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Pennsylvania.
Arranged in its original order, this sub-series consists of nine files in Box 14. These files regard Joseph S. Schmuckler's teaching career at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. These files contain correspondence, award program materials, a report on biology with supporting materials, National Science Foundation materials, and Wagner Free Institute materials belonging to Schmuckler.
Arranged in its original order, this sub-series consists of twenty-six files in Box 15. These files contain vita materials belonging to Joseph S. Schmuckler that serve as documentation of his work that could be used to assess merit pay, promotion, etc. The Vita files span Schmuckler's life from his work as a student up to his teaching career in the late 1980s.
These addenda consist of correspondence files organized by year. It essentially overlaps with the material found in Series III. Arranged in its original order, this series consists of sixteen files in Box 16.