learning activitie~ Consumer Week: A Practical Application Willlam Lauris Lampeter-Swasburg High Schod 1007 Village Road Lampeter. PA 17537
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Consumer Week a t Lamoeter-Strasbure Hieh School started ten years ago a s an akempt to stimulate consumer awareness. From its modest beginnings it has grown into an annual event with many secondary benefits that include the contagious enthusiasm of the students, who welcome a break from "textbook" work for a week and springboard for continued interest in their projects. Students are also encouraged to enter these in the Lancaster Science and Engineering Fair. Late February is an ideal time because students have had a half year of chemistry and are familiar with lab techniques. Several weeks before the start of Consumer Week, students are given a presentation to stimulate interest and to s t a n them thinking i l l ~ o u tpossible exprriments. Proper experimental procedure is emohasized: use of controls. consideration of iariables, and dGplication of results. The next step is an individual student-teacher conference to decide on the nroduct to be tested and the procedure to be followed. At thk point many students supplement their procedures by consulting Consumer Report or various books on chemical analysis of foods, etc. ldras range from experiments that require a known procedure (butterfat content in milk, titrations of basiccontent of antacids, wax content in chocolates) to experiments that u
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Journal of Chemical Education
edited by TOMTIPTON University of Nebraska Lincoln. NE 68508
are designed completely by the student (absorbency of various brands of cat litter, dissolving rate of aspirin a t certain temperatures, percentage of noodles in three brands of soup). Because of the wide ability range of students involved, it is not important that there be a uniform degree of difficulty. I t is more important to channel the student's energy into an experiment with which he can achieve success. One of the most rewarding experiences of the week is to observe a student modifying his experiment on his own when a problem develops. The written portion of the study includes data tables, graphs, outcomes, conclusions, and a self-evaluation. The week concludes the following Monday with each student summarizing his work and displaying its results. A permanent chart is made listine - the student's name. nroduct tested. anda two-sentence summary of the results. The concept of Consumer Week is utilized in all chemistry courses taught at Lampeter-Strasburg High School (Chem Study, General Chemistry, and Practical Chemistry). As a chemistry teacher greets his 80 to 120 eager faces in September of every year, he must realize that not all of them will be college chemistry majors. However, all of them will be consumers for the rest of their lives.
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This featve will present activities which help shldenk tern chemisby. Most appropriate are activities designed to restructureme way shldents think as well as to present chemical concepts. Please submit papers tothe feature editor.
