Editorial pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Applying Science to Everyday Life Norbert J. Pienta* Department of Chemistry, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-2556, United States ABSTRACT: Basic science ideas and their application appear regularly in people’s daily lives. It should be the goal of chemistry educators and other teachers of science to provide their students (and others when given the opportunity) with an appreciation of some basic principles. KEYWORDS: General Public, High School/Introductory Chemistry, Continuing Education
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reported in this Journal and others.3 In this case, scale refers to the many difficulties related to the extensive range of values in mass, length, and energy, just to name a few examples, that students encounter in introductory chemistry. At the microscopic or atomic level, these values may be incomprehensibly small; extend this to the macroscopic or observable level and the range expands dramatically, adding to the potential for misunderstanding. With a little prompting, the recent UGA graduate student started citing potential examples concerning issues of scale in his own experiences. With a warning about avoiding personal empiricism in favor of evidence in the literature, he left with some level of inspiration for his pending project. The discussion about scale came to mind when trying to understand what information those fellow travelers used to inform their decisions to wear facemasks on the airplane. The media coverage shows healthcare workers suited up but certainly wearing masks. Those travelers might have invoked a basic plan of action, using the resources they had or could acquire. Those facemasks might prevent the wearer from breathing droplets or aerosols produced by a neighboring flyer with a cough. Do the wearers think about reasonable issues on this level? Did they read about the efficacy of masks and how they might interfere with a mechanism of transmission? Is the fabric of the facemask effective at removing airborne particles and droplets? What makes an effective facemask? And will individuals seek additional data that might be useful or even consider the correct variables? A well-informed citizen might appreciate that literature about cough-droplet size exists and can be accessed on the Internet: the average size distribution of cough droplets in one study was 0.58−5.42 μm, with 82% of droplet nuclei centered in 0.74−2.12 μm and with no statistical size difference among age groups or genders but with males producing higher concentrations than females.4 The Ebola virus itself is filamentous with a diameter of ca. 0.08 μm and lengths up to ca. 1 μm but often forms vesicles with a diameter 0.5−3.5 μm.5 This information might be helpful in considering whether facemasks are effective against transmission of the droplets or the virus particles, or at least you have been led to believe that there might be some relationship. The purpose of this discussion is not to provide useful information or to make suggestions about the use of facemasks
ecent air travel from one of the world’s busiest airports in Atlanta took your Editor to a northeastern U.S. city for his 40th college reunion. By current standards, the airplane was of moderate size, seating about 140. Given the opportunity to access my seat (in the 13th row) early in the boarding process also afforded me the opportunity to observe most of the passengers performing the same ritual. Among the members of that group were 8 individuals wearing masks on their faces covering mouth and nose. Although my data collection was not conducted in a scientific manner, it appeared that all of these masks were white cloth types attached by strings tied at the back of their heads. There was no evidence that they were traveling together, based on where they took seats. The influenza season is not upon us yet and few appeared to be coughing. This suggested to me that these individual were not trying to prevent the spread of some respiratory infection they possessed, but to protect themselves. The appearance of the Ebola virus in the United States and the secondary infection of hospital workers is certainly a matter of grave concern.1 The general population is certainly aware of Ebola-related events in Dallas, and that air travel and other exposures to large numbers of individuals could contribute to the spread of certain viral infections. One might also conclude that the individuals wearing the masks on my flight exhibited some skills in analytical reasoning and logic. Indeed, a facemask might afford an individual some protection from airborne infection. Does it show prudence on the part of the Editor to obtain similar masks and to wear them on future flights? That the couple seated in front of me did not attempt to disinfect their hands before enjoying those airline pretzels and cookies led me to believe that their due diligence was incomplete. (The reader is left to speculate about the Editor’s efforts in this regard.) The chance meeting a few days before my travels with a recent recipient of a University of Georgia chemistry master’s degree led to a discussion about what kinds of multimedia tutorials concerning chemistry might be most useful to middle school, high school, and introductory university students. As a suggestion, the literature about misconceptions would provide many fruitful suggestions.2 The thread of the conversation proceeded through several topics spanning the personal experiences and research accomplishments of the student and eventually led back to a potential topic for the tutorials. The importance of understanding scale has been studied and © 2014 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
Published: November 11, 2014 1751
dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed500833j | J. Chem. Educ. 2014, 91, 1751−1752
Journal of Chemical Education
Editorial
to prevent transmission of viral infections. In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved common facemasks as effective for preventing infection; some of the issues are related to whether users know how to use them properly.6 Furthermore, one might argue that this Journal should not be a forum for discussions about microbiology or infectious diseases. Rather, this discussion is about whether introductory chemistry courses can, should, and do prepare students to make informed decisions using reliable information. Instructional strategies focused on active learning and using pedagogies informed by evidence provide students with more than content knowledge or the ability to do the homework based on algorithmic or heuristic approaches. Can students think in useful and meaningful ways? It may be important to all of us that a substantial part of our population has these skills and that each of us helps people acquire and use these abilities.
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AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected]. Author Contributions
Norbert J. Pienta is Professor and Director of General Chemistry at the University of Georgia, where he teaches and conducts research and scholarship about the teaching and learning of chemistry, devising methods, instruments, and analytics to characterize student learning and increase student success. He currently also serves as the editor-in-chief for the Journal of Chemical Education. Notes
Views expressed in this editorial are those of the author and not necessarily the views of the ACS.
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REFERENCES
(1) For examples, see The New York Times and others. (2) For example, see Zoller, U. Students’ Misunderstandings and Misconceptions in College Freshman Chemistry (General and Organic). J. Res. Sci. Teach. 1990, 27 (10), 1053−1065. (3) (a) Tretter, T. R.; Jones, M. G.; Minogue, J. Accuracy of Scale Conceptions in Science: Mental Maneuverings across Many Orders of Spatial Magnitude. J. Res. Sci. Teach. 2006, 43 (10), 1061−1085. (b) Gerlach, K.; Trate, J.; Blecking, A.; Geissinger, P.; Murphy, K. Investigation of Absolute and Relative Scaling Conceptions of Students in Introductory College Chemistry Courses. J. Chem. Educ. 2014, 91 (10), 1526−1537. (4) Yang, S.; Lee, G. W.; Chen, C. M.; Wu, C. C.; Yu, K. P. The Size and Concentration of Droplets Generated by Coughing in Human Subjects. J. Aerosol Med. 2007, 20 (4), 484−494. (5) For a general discussion about the Ebola virus, see: http://en. wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebola_virus and http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/ (both accessed Oct 2014). (6) For a discussion about the use and efficacy of facemasks in preventing transmission of viruses, see: http://www.webmd.com/coldand-flu/features/swine-flu-h1n1-and-face-masks (accessed Oct 2014).
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