Article pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Offering Community Engagement Activities To Increase Chemistry Knowledge and Confidence for Teachers and Students Joyce D. Sewry,*,† Sarah R. Glover,‡ Timothy G. Harrison,‡ Dudley E. Shallcross,§ and Kenneth M. Ngcoza∥ †
Department of Chemistry, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa Bristol ChemLabS, Bristol University, Bristol BS8 1TS, United Kingdom § School of Chemistry, Bristol University, Bristol, BS8 1TS, United Kingdom ∥ Department of Education, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa ‡
S Supporting Information *
ABSTRACT: Given the emphasis on community engagement in higher education, academic departments need to become more involved in the community. This paper discusses a number of outreach activities undertaken by the chemistry department at Rhodes University, South Africa. The activities range from service learning to community engagement with teachers and school students in partnership with other interested parties. Teachers who attended workshops reported that their subject knowledge and confidence had increased and they were subsequently doing more practical work in lessons. Practical chemistry demonstrations and workshops afforded opportunities for school students to observe or perform chemical experiments and interact with university students. Undergraduate students directly benefitted from involvement in community engagement through the development and implementation of credit-bearing service learning. KEYWORDS: General Public, Public Understanding/Outreach, Elementary/Middle School Science, Demonstrations, Continuing Education, Environmental Chemistry, Hands-On Learning/Manipulatives, Atmospheric Chemistry, Dyes/Pigments
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INTRODUCTION In 1997 the Ministry of Education of South Africa published a seminal White Paper1 in which it was stated that Universities in South Africa must have three core functions: Teaching/ Learning, Research, and Community Engagement (CE). Until then, the first two were generally accepted as functions of universities, but only some universities were involved in community engagement. Since then the debate has been to find an acceptable way for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to implement CE activities. This is in line with a global requirement of higher education: to produce citizens with a heightened sense of civic responsibility and the capacity to contribute to society as a whole.2 Many Higher Education Institutions have in the past few years embarked on various CE activities to address the welldocumented lack of qualified Science Educators,3−8 and the need for encouraging young people to study in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields.5,9−11 Chemistry CE activities either take science to the schools or invite teachers and learners to the university laboratories. Chemistry CE activities are happening throughout the world, notably in the United States of America,12−16 United Kingdom,17,18 Belgium,19 Malaysia,20 New Zealand,21 and Australia,22 among others. Hall23 cites the 2007 South African Council for Higher Education document which states that ‘community engagement is a process of creating a shared vision among the community (especially disadvantaged) and partners’ and that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and the community are partners in this engagement. A distinction should be made between the © 2014 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
different terms used to describe the voluntary work done by university students: volunteerism, community outreach, and service-learning.23,24 In volunteerism students undertake some form of community project, not related to their field of study, for example, working at a soup kitchen or painting a preschool. In community outreach, students and staff use their subject knowledge as a vehicle through which to reach out to the wider community (although they may also be volunteers), and in service-learning students obtain some form of academic credit for their community-based work. In South Africa, the communities in question are ‘generally the disadvantaged, materially poor residents of under-serviced urban, peri-urban or rural areas’.24,25 It is the aim of this paper to describe CE activities undertaken by the Rhodes University Department of Chemistry. The University is situated in a small town, and as such, interacts with resource-limited schools in peri-urban and surrounding rural areas. The CE activities described in this paper address the need for university students to participate in Community Engagement, while also trying to foster school student interest in chemistry through working directly with them, as well as through engagement with local high school teachers. In the Eastern Cape Province, where Rhodes University is situated, results for school-leaving examinations have been among the lowest in the country. Of the 72,138 grade 12 school students26 who wrote the school-leaving examinations in 2013, 25,218 wrote Physical Sciences and only 14,072 achieved a Published: June 11, 2014 1611
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Table 1. Summary of Community Engagement Activities’ Details Activity
Population Served
Khanya Maths and Science Club Science Teacher Training Service Learning School Laboratories
Grade 7−12 school students (ages 12−18), N = 60−100 High school teachers, N = 23 Grade 10 and 11 school students (age 15−17), N = 25 per session Grade 11 and 12 school students (age 16−18), N = 50 per session
mark of 30% or more.27 These results indicate the dire need for HEI’s involvement in schools.
Program Description Saturday morning homework and Content knowledge seminars and Laboratory work at the university Laboratory work at the university
enrichment club laboratory workshops laboratories laboratories
Water Monitoring Day, where they took samples of water along a local river course, and were shown how pollution affects the water quality. Grade 12 school students are further helped with career choices and completing of university application forms, as well as being invited to spend a day attending lectures at the university. Against the background of poor performance in science,27 two examples of the impact of the Khanya Maths and Science Club include: 1. Recently a member of the Khanya Maths and Science Club was asked why she came to the club every Saturday, and she said that she had been struggling with Mathematics and Science and needed extra help. Now she is in the top 5 in her class and she helps by tutoring the other school students after she has attended the club on Saturdays. 2. One of the former KMSC members, from a resourcelimited Grahamstown school, has graduated with a Master’s degree in the Mathematics of Finance at the University of Cape Towna role model to other school students from resource-limited schools. During informal conversations with teachers of students who attend the Khanya Club, the teachers reported that they have noticed an improvement in the students’ mathematical and scientific knowledge. One teacher said that on Mondays he asks members of the club to share what they have learnt with the rest of the class.
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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES A summary of the CE activities undertaken by the Department of Chemistry is given in Table 1. Khanya Maths and Science Club
Established in 2000, this club, Khanya Maths and Science Club (KMSC; Khanya means “light” in isiXhosa, the African language of the area),28,29 is coordinated and run by staff and graduate and undergraduate students of the Department of Chemistry. The aim of the club is to engender a love of Mathematics and Science among its members. The club meets every Saturday morning in term time and lessons and workshops are presented by scientists and Chemistry students in an accessible and easy to understand manner.11,12 An academic in the Department of Chemistry coordinates all staff and students from different departments in the Science Faculty who teach at the Club, and gives guidance as to the content of the lessons. The University expects staff to be involved in CE work, but work done by students is voluntary. When the club began, it was envisaged that it would be for approximately 30 grade 7 students drawn from all the schools in the town. However, 13 years on, most members are from resource-limited (“township”) schools (these are very poor state-funded, peri-urban schools which have virtually no science equipment, and few have laboratories). At the beginning of the club’s second year, not only did a new cohort of grade 7 students arrive, but the previous year’s members returned, effectively doubling the size of the club. It continued to grow dramatically in the early years. At the beginning of every year, an invitation is sent to local schools inviting them to encourage students who are interested in mathematics and science to join the club. No school students are forced to register, and there are no academic prerequisites; students self-select to attend. The club now starts every year with 120 school students from grades 7−12. These students are divided into three groups; grades 7 and 8, 9 and 10, and 11 and 12. The grade 7 and 8 group studies basic introductory mathematics and participates in informal science activities, with the aim of demonstrating the everyday nature of science. The other two groups attend 2 h of curriculum-based mathematics classes. All the teaching activities at the club are presented on a voluntary basis by undergraduates, graduates and staff of the university science faculty. Other activities include at least one outing per year, to the coast or a private game reserve (most of these children have never left the outskirts of the town), and basic computer lessons. A prize-giving ceremony is held at the end of the year where the school students receive certificates and/or books on science-related topics. In addition to Saturday activities, school students attending the club have, in the past, had the opportunity to be involved in other projects. In 2010, 11 school students took part in World
Chemistry Outreach Program
The Department of Chemistry has collaborated with Bristol ChemLabS (Bristol Chemical Laboratory Sciences) at the University of Bristol, United Kingdom, to put together a Chemistry Outreach Program.29 The program consists of a lecture-demonstration called “A Pollutant’s Tale” (APT) which uses demonstrations of gases in the atmosphere to give a climate-change message.30,31 APT can be adapted, according to the age of the school students to be suitable for students from grade 5 to grade 12 and includes presentations suitable for adults as well. (See the Supporting Information.) Over the past 5 years, over 5000 South African school students have been told about climate-change through APT. Most of the audiences are from resource-limited schools. The lecture-demonstration is performed entirely by Chemistry graduate students, but the demand is so great that these students are training colleagues in the Young Royals Society (the youth division of the Royal Society of South Africa) to assist them. The costs of this activity are funded by the running expenses of the Chemistry Department and coordinated by a lecturer in the department. Most of the presentations are presented in the vicinity of the university town, but they are also taken further afield to surrounding areas.31 APT is also presented to in-service teachers attending laboratory-based courses in the Chemistry Department. Afterward, these teachers have requested that APT be taken to their schools, some of which are in tiny, poverty-stricken rural villages. During an outreach visit to a rural village school, 1612
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the teacher poignantly said to his school students, “We always think the university is not for us. Today the university has come to us. Now we can go to the university”. For primary school students, APT can be supplemented by two hands-on practical workshops suitable for school students in grades 6 and 7. For these, school students are made to feel as though they are “real scientists” through performing scientific investigations for themselves. They are provided with appropriately sized laboratory coats and safety glasses. Apart from the health and safety benefits of the protective clothing, looking like a scientist is an important part of the experience for the participants. The school students are divided into two groups which enjoy two experiments: making slime and dissolving magnesium in different concentrations of hydrochloric acid.32 While observing the workshops at a local school, a teacher remarked that he had never seen his class so involved in any activity inside a classroom before. This program of APT and hands-on experiments for grade 7 school students has been adapted to serve as a service-learning module for Chemistry Honors (fourth year, graduate) students. Initial research on the impact of the presentation of APT to schools in the U.K. has been undertaken33 and research on the impact on South African and U.K. schools is ongoing.31 A survey among South African school students, after they had experienced APT, showed that 73% wanted to become scientists and 80% thought that they might enjoy watching science shows on television. In questions about school students’ attitudes toward the social implications of science, 72% felt that science makes life more pleasant and 80% agreed that people should study science.31
Science Teacher Training Program
As discussed by Bernstein (ref 3, p 4): The central objective of reform must be to improve learning outcomes. The only way to improve outcomes is to improve the quality and quantity of instruction in the classroom. Steps must be taken to improve teaching methods, classroom management, and curricula. Above all, teaching time and the quality of teaching must be maximised. In South Africa, 562,112 high-school students wrote the school-leaving examination in 2013,26 145,427 wrote Physical Sciences and only 95,520 achieved a mark of 30% or more in Physical Sciences.27 In the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Information Technology Report 2013, South Africa achieved the lowest scores for math and science education.42 It is clear that some form of intervention is required to assist teachers and students at schools to improve the uptake of science at school and to improve the teaching of this important subject. With the introduction of a new school Physical Sciences curriculum there was a need among local science teachers for a program of professional development workshops to help with its implementation. This was provided by the Departments of Education and Chemistry of the university. The topics for the weekly workshops were decided upon by the teachers. These were topics from the grade 10−12 physical sciences curriculum which teachers found challenging. Teachers also requested help with pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). According to Shulman,43,44 PCK refers to how teachers represent and transform subject content knowledge, taking into consideration students’ learning difficulties and preconceptions. It is recognized, however, that PCK develops over time and adequate subject content knowledge is a prerequisite. That is, subject content knowledge and PCK are intertwined.43 Thus, the workshops were designed with this in mind, to cover both the content knowledge and PCK needs of the participating teachers. Subject content knowledge workshops were managed by the Chemistry Department staff who coordinated chemistry graduate students in preparing and running the workshops within the university. Pedagogical content knowledge and administration were covered by the university’s Education Department in collaboration with officials from the Provincial Department of Education. As an incentive, teachers who attended more than 80% of the workshops received science equipment for their own schools.
School Laboratory Sessions
Laboratory work has existed in various forms in school science for nearly 200 years.34 However, its purpose and redeeming qualities have been contested by many.35−38 Despite this debate it has been generally accepted that laboratory work can make learning science more appealing for some students.39 Few teachers in South African schools engage in Chemistry laboratory work with their students. There are a variety of reasons for this; the teachers are not competent to teach laboratory work, they find it too much effort to organize and schools do not have dedicated laboratories, equipment, chemicals or technical assistance.40,41 The Department of Chemistry offers schools the opportunity of doing laboratory work in their teaching laboratories, and runs the sessions as and when schools request them. These laboratory sessions are directly linked to the school curricula. An acid−base titration lab (grade 11) and identification of organic functional groups (grade 12) are currently offered. Some teachers, at schools which are fully equipped to do these laboratory workshops, still bring their secondary school students to the department to give them the experience of a university laboratory. Again, in this community outreach project, the laboratory workshops are funded by the Chemistry Department, coordinated by Chemistry lecturers, but graduate students demonstrate voluntarily. In the evaluations of the activities, school students mention the excitement and enjoyment they get out of working practically in the university laboratories, the excellent input of the graduate students, and their realization that this is a practical application of theory they have covered in class. For many school students this may be the first time they enter a university building.
Implementation
Academics briefed the graduate demonstrators before each workshop with regard to the content and the level at which the material should be delivered. Both chemistry theory and laboratory work were covered in this program. Most laboratory sessions were created to use chemicals that can be bought cheaply at a pharmacy or grocery store. Using everyday materials had two aims: to reduce costs of chemistry experiments for the schools, and to show the teachers, and in turn the school students, that chemistry is accessible and present in everyday life and is not just confined to a formal laboratory. Workshops on classroom management were run by specialists in the university education department. Teachers were introduced to the idea that good classroom management starts with good planning, which can address and even prevent many common discipline issues. The necessity of developing 1613
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The graduate students have developed “soft skills”, which include improved communication skills, time management and team work29,45 and they have realized the context in which most schools students learn science. They have become aware of the need for Physical Sciences teachers in our local schools, how poorly qualified some of the teachers are, and under what circumstances they have to teach science. This realization adds to the quality of graduates produced by the HEIgraduates with a sense of civic responsibility.1,24 As Harrison et al. have noted (ref 45, p 13): Graduate students are excellent role models for school students, where their passion, knowledge and energy play a vital role in engaging younger students and spreading enthusiasm and excitement about science. However, participating in outreach is not a one-way activity for these graduates. During focus group discussions held with graduate students involved with Bristol ChemLabS outreach program the students were aware that there are many benefits for themselves, mentioning communication skills, being exposed to questions that test and refine their own understanding, giving insight into teaching and learning and providing a vehicle to widen a graduate student friendship base, among others.45 Similarly, the Rhodes university students have benefitted in these ways, with the last of these benefits being particularly remarkable as it has not only brought graduate students together that would not normally have an opportunity to meet but has on many occasions brought students together from seemingly disparate fields who are trying to solve a similar problem in their research. This benefit to research is particularly interesting.45 Additional benefits for graduate students are improved teaching skills. Since the graduate students demonstrate undergraduate laboratories as well as tutor undergraduates, this outreach teaching experience has helped with their own undergraduate teaching, not only because they have more experience, but also because they have an idea of the school curriculum and the level of expertise of the teachers.
confidence in content knowledge was emphasized as being necessary before good planning can take place. Monitoring and Evaluation
Qualitative monitoring of the Physical Sciences teachers’ program was achieved through reflection questionnaires which were given to the teachers and graduate students after the program. Twenty-three teachers took part in the program and 20 responses to these reflection questionnaires were received. Among the responses on how the program had helped them to improve their teaching, teachers’ responses were categorized as follows: • 7 responses where teachers felt they had improved skills and confidence in doing laboratory work with their students • Pedagogical content knowledge and curriculum/classroom management −11 responses citing how aspects related to this topic had improved especially their confidence • Content knowledge−one response indicated that this had improved, one response stated given further opportunities expert knowledge would increase. In answering questions on what would make the program more useful, teachers had concerns of the timing of the workshops (two teachers would have liked to see the workshops start at the beginning of the year, and another wanted them to run during holidays), and three teachers had hoped that they would have received resources to take away with them. Two of the teachers’ responses are included here: ‘I enjoyed the workshops a lot, both theory and practical sessions. I used the worksheets I received for my revision since all the topics we covered I had already taught. Thanks a lot for the support and input you have had in my professional development as it will directly enable my learners to perform better’.
Labs for In-Service Teachers Studying Part-Time at the University
[Teacher 1]
‘I found the workshops very good especially for me because I never did science but met it at the College and at Rhodes. So, I am very proud of the people who thought that there must be such workshops like these. And they must not come to an end because such unskilled educators like me are being empowered. So keep it up guys!!’
As a consequence of the chemistry teachers’ program, the university’s Education Department requested the Chemistry Department to assist in the laboratory program for teachers studying toward science education qualifications. During the courses, graduate students presented the lecture demonstration APT to the teachers before teachers did their own laboratory work. Teachers were provided with laboratory coats, gloves, and safety glasses before doing titrations or experiments on the heat of reactions and chemical equilibrium to enforce consideration of safety factors. Again, as far as possible, use was made of equipment and chemicals that are readily available, such as bicarbonate of soda, citric acid, vinegar, and polystyrene cups. This course aims to make laboratorybased science teaching achievable for these teachers. As one teacher reflected, ‘because of this course I would introduce Science at my school’.
[Teacher 2]
Postworkshop debrief meetings with the graduate demonstrators were organized to encourage their critical reflection on all aspects of the workshops. The graduate students were also asked to formally reflect on their experiences in teaching the teachers. The students mentioned that they participated in this program because they wanted to help teachers (4 responses), and one student participated for the benefit of him/herself. Students seemed to find the greatest challenge knowing at which level to pitch the workshops (4 responses), and three students did not experience any challenges, rather they mentioned how they themselves had benefitted from the experience. One student stated, ‘I would like to thank everyone involved in the organization as I can see it is made a big difference. I think this program is great and I enjoy being able to help where I can’.
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SERVICE-LEARNING
Service-learning, as a special form of CE, is seen as being at the intersection of two core functions, namely teaching/learning and CE.25 Bringle and Hatcher46 define service-learning as (ref 46, p 112) 1614
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Evaluation
[A] course-based, credit-bearing educational experience that allows students to participate in an organized service activity that meets identified community needs and reflect on the service activity in such a way as to gain further understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility. There are four phases to a service-learning module. These are (1) development and design, (2) implementation, (3) reflection and assessment, and (4) evaluation. In servicelearning, the students involved must gain some form of academic credit and be reflective about the experience.25 Morgan Theall and Bond15 distinguish between “science service learning” and service-learning, stating that science service learning does not require the students to reflect on their service. However, at Rhodes University all students participating in service-learning are required to do reflection on their work.
During the first lab, the demonstrators found that the undergraduate students were more engaged with the practical. The students tried to understand what they were doing more deeply than before, and thus, their learning was enhanced through this exercise. It was also found that undergraduate students reported a change in perception of themselves in relation to society and that they could communicate their science to someone else.47 Comments from undergraduate students include: ‘Chemistry is a unifying force that breaks these boundaries (background, race, home language, education). Working together and helping learners [school students] is very rewarding. It also helped me to appreciate the education and facilities I have been exposed to.’ ‘They got me to understand that a good scientist is just an inquisitive mind. The learners were engaging and enjoyed it.’ Comments from the secondary school students include: ‘Everything was fantastic, I mostly liked the experiment. I felt like I am a “Prof”.’ ‘I liked everything about this practical exercise. Especially communicating with the second year students. Everything was fun!’
Implementation of Service-Learning
In 2009 the Chemistry Department implemented its first service-learning module. This was achieved under the leadership and guidance of a graduate student who used this implementation of service-learning as the research toward her master’s thesis.47 The design and development phase25 used an existing undergraduate azo-dye lab as the basis of the module. The undergraduate students were required to write an essay entitled ‘The Chemistry of My Favorite Color’. The aim of the exercise was to encourage the students to engage with the chemistry and background of dyes before they went into the laboratory.47 The implementation phase consisted of two laboratory sessions. In the first session, pairs of students generated different brightly colored dyes, using the principles of combinatorial chemistry. The students also had to produce a lab writeup which had to include reaction mechanisms and the relationship between the color, chemical structure, and the UV−visible spectra of the compounds.47 As part of preparation for the community service-learning component, the undergraduate students were required to complete a pre-reflection and planning task. In this task students had to reflect by answering three questions (ref 25, p 67): “What?”, “So what?” and “Now what?” This was based on the model recommended by the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) Guide.25 For the second lab, grade 12 secondary-school students from two resource-limited schools (whose teachers had attended most of the chemistry teachers’ workshops) were invited to join the undergraduate students in the laboratory to make a purple dye. The undergraduate students worked in pairs, and each pair had to teach a secondary-school student. Once the dyes had been made, each secondary school student was given a t-shirt which they could tie-dye for themselves in the dye that they had made.47 In the reflection and assessment phase25 the undergraduate students again used the (ref 25, p 67) “What? So what? Now what?” model to reflect on their experiences. The undergraduate students were assessed on their lab writeups, the cleanliness of their benches, their engagement with the secondary-school students and the quality of their reflections. To evaluate the service-learning, the undergraduate students were given questionnaires about the exercise and their experience of service-learning and focus group interviews were held with the participating demonstrators.
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CONCLUSION Many students at this particular HEI participate in CE activities. There might be two reasons for the high number of volunteers: first that the “community” is easily accessible (the university is located in a small town) and second that the poverty of the town is all around and visible to students when they go shopping. As an HEI it is required that students are involved in the community in some way, and thus, the Department of Chemistry has for some years been involved in science education of the community. With the poor quality of science teaching in the country, the community benefits greatly from CE activities, and without our students volunteering their precious time, these activities would not happen. While the observed benefits for the school students and teachers participating in the various programs are valuable and manifold, the benefits to the university as an institution and its graduate students are also great. The university is able to fulfill its core function of Community Engagement while educating its students beyond the constraints of chemistry subject matter−producing civically aware and engaged students. As the teacher at the rural village school so poignantly pointed out, CE also provides a conceptual bridge between what would, without the outreach activities, remain two separate worlds. CE provides the opportunity for the intersection of the local, often disadvantaged community, and the privileged community of the university. This can raise aspirations among school going community members and improve “town and gown” relations. The benefits for the undergraduate and graduate students through soft skill development, understanding of civic responsibility and, for those involved, in service- learning, are considerable. The activities also allow students to consider teaching as a potential career. There is a paradigm shift25 when considering service-learning, as a particular form of community engagement in the sciences, especially when it comes to the reflection exercise. Community engagement is hard work, timeconsuming and requires extra funding as well as a person who is passionate about CE to drive it, but the benefits can be immense. 1615
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to High Schools Using a Mobile Chemistry Laboratory, ChemKits, and Teacher Workshops. J. Chem. Educ. 2012, 89, 1249−1258. (15) Morgan Theall, R. A.; Bond, M. R. Incorporating Professional Service as a Component of General Chemistry Laboratory by Demonstrating Chemistry to Elementary Students. J. Chem. Educ. 2013, 90, 332−337. (16) Thomas, C. L. Assessing High School Student Learning on Science Outreach Lab Activities. J. Chem. Educ. 2012, 89, 1259−1263. (17) Shallcross, D. E.; Harrison, T. G.; Shaw, A. J.; Shallcross, K. L.; Croker, S. J.; Norman, N. C. Outreach within the Bristol ChemLabS CETL (Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning). Higher Educ. Stud. 2013, 3, 1−10. (18) Shaw, A. J.; Harrison, T. G.; Shallcross, D. E. What Value Has Chemistry Outreach by a University Department to Secondary Schools? Teacher Perceptions of Bristol ChemLabS Outreach Events. Acta Didact. Napocensia 2010, 3, 15−23. (19) Guedens, W. J.; Reynders, M. Science Outreach Programs as a Powerful Tool for Science Promotion: An Example from Flanders. J. Chem. Educ. 2012, 89, 602−604. (20) Othaman, R.; Badri, K. H.; Hanifah, S. A.; Zakaria, Z.; Aziz, Y. F. A.; Daik, R. Chemistry Outreach Program and its Impact on Secondary School Students. Procedia Soc Behav. Sci. 2012, 59, 692− 696. (21) McMorran, D.; Warren, D. Taking Chemistry out of the Lab: Perspectives on Chemistry Outreach at Otago. Chem. N. Z. 2012, 76 (2), 56−61. (22) Tay, C. E.; Kofod, M.; Quinnell, R.; Lino, B.; Whitaker, N. How Does a High School Outreach Program Engage Our Future Scientists? http://www.academia.edu/1149997/How_does_a_high_school_ outreach_program_engage_our_future_scientists (accessed May 2014). (23) Hall, M. Community Engagement in South African Higher Education. In Community Engagement in South African Higher Education; South African Council on Higher Education: Pretoria, 2010. http://ahero.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=cshe&action= downloadfile&fileid=18409092513316751038744 (accessed May 2014). (24) Bender, G. Exploring Conceptual Models for Community Engagement at Higher Education Institutions in South Africa: Conversation. Perspect. Educ. 2008, 26, 81−95. (25) Bender, C. J. G.; Daniels, P.; Lazarus, J.; Naude, L.; Sattar, K. Service-Learning in the Curriculum: A Resource for Higher Education Institutions; The Council on Higher Education: Pretoria, 2006. http:// www.che.ac.za/media_and_publications/research/service-learningcurriculum-resource-higher-education-institutions (accessed May 2014). (26) 2013 National Senior Certificate: Technical Report. South African Department of Basic Education: Pretoria, 2014. http://www. education.gov.za/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket= YJf%2b0dkeWHo%3d&tabid=358&mid=1325 (accessed May 2014). (27) 2013 National Senior Certificate: Schools Subject Report; South African Department of Basic Education: Pretoria, 2014. http://www. education.gov.za/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket= h39W%2fQRLpOE%3d&tabid=358&mid=1325 (accessed May 2014). (28) Community Outreach - Chemistry Department - Rhodes University http://www.ru.ac.za/chemistry/communityoutreach (accessed May 2014). (29) Harrison, T. G.; Shallcross, D. E.; Norman, N. C.; Sewry, J. D.; Davies-Coleman, M. T. Publicising Chemistry in a Multicultural Society through Chemistry Outreach. S. Afr. J. Sci. 2011, 107, 53−58. (30) Tuah, J.; Harrison, T. G.; Shallcross, D. E. A Review of the Use of Demonstration Lectures in the Promotion of Positive Attitudes Towards, and the Learning of Science With Reference to ‘A Pollutant’s Tale’, a Demonstration Lecture on Air Quality and Climate Change. Romanian Journal of Education 2010, 1, 93−102. (31) Sunassee, S. M.; Young, R.; Sewry, J. D.; Harrison, T. G.; Shallcross, D. E. Creating Climate Change Awareness in South African Schools through Practical Chemistry Demonstrations. Acta Didact. Napocensia 2012, 5, 31−48.
While the huge inequality so evident in South Africa may not be so extreme elsewhere in the world, similar challenges affect HEIs worldwide in developing programs that widen access to the university and bridge the gap between the community and the HEI. In adopting such activities, other HEIs would be able to extend their academic programs to both benefit the local community and produce students who become compassionate, active members of society.
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ASSOCIATED CONTENT
S Supporting Information *
Content of the Lecture Demonstration “A Pollutant’s Tale”. This material is available via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org.
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AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
*E- mail:
[email protected]. Notes
The authors declare no competing financial interest.
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REFERENCES
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