IOWA PLAN (THE)

IOWA PLAN (THE). Between 1950 and 1952 the Iowa Department of Public Instruction published the nation's first comprehensive plan for atomic energy education. The Iowa Plan for Atomic Energy Education (generally referred to as "The Iowa Plan" was distributed to districts throughout the state. The first volume introduced the plan with each of the subsequent four volumes providing curricula for elementary, secondary, college and adult education.

Almost immediately the five volumes drew attention from those involved in national atomic energy policy. David E. Lilienthal, the first chairman of the federal Atomic Energy Commission, called the plan "one of the most heartening and imaginative programs in the entire country." The AEC reported that "there is probably a more coordinated effort being carried forward in Iowa to integrate atomic energy into the classroom at all levels of education than in any other area." The tone of the volumes was intended to meet the age of the audience. While the early volumes for younger students conveyed an optimistic view of life in the atomic age, later volumes emphasized concerns and warnings about what the atomic age introduced. Each volume emphasized the importance of international cooperation to further the science of atomic energy and to monitor international nuclear capabilities.

The Iowa Department of Public Instruction had recommended beginning in 1945 that teachers increase their focus on science and mathematics. "The Iowa Plan" continued this emphasis with a tutorial on basic atomic structure and chemical reactions for grade school students and more involved physics and chemistry of atoms in the volumes for older children.

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Source:

Goldman, Joanne Abel. "First in the Nation: The Iowa Plan for Atomic Education," The Annals of Iowa 73 (Summer, 2014) p. 201-205