Promoting Student Interest in Chemical Concepts by Implementing

Jul 24, 2013 - ... Student Interest in Chemical Concepts by Implementing Creative Learning Activities in a Chemistry in Society Course for Nonscience ...
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Promoting Student Interest in Chemical Concepts by Implementing Creative Learning Activities in a Chemistry in Society Course for Nonscience Majors Stephanie A. Brouet*,† and Amber M. Hupp*,‡ †

Department of Chemistry, Saginaw Valley State University, University Center, Michigan 48710, United States Department of Chemistry, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts 01610, United States

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S Supporting Information *

ABSTRACT: Creative activities designed for a nonscience-majors undergraduate chemistry course are described. Course topics were chosen in an effort to promote student interest, yet provide a means to address chemical concepts. Fundamental chemistry principles were presented in the context of atmospheric pollution, the ozone layer, global climate change, and acid rain. Activities were designed to accommodate diverse student backgrounds. Activities included attendance at seminars and on-campus events, discussion of current news events, creation of a children’s book, and development of chemical demonstrations. In addition, challenges encountered during the implementation of these activities are discussed.

KEYWORDS: First-Year Undergraduate/General, Curriculum, Communication/Writing, Atmospheric Chemistry

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INTRODUCTION Using creative learning activities in the classroom can be a wonderful experience for both instructors and students. Chemistry courses designed for nonscience majors offer more opportunity for chemistry instructors to use creativity in teaching, a luxury often absent while teaching core chemistry curriculum. The choice of content and organization of a course for nonscience majors is often left to the instructor’s discretion, adding versatility in course design.1−4 Additionally, students who take a nonscience majors chemistry course come from a variety of disciplines, each bringing a unique skill set and perspective. While many efforts have been made to develop courses for nonscience majors,1−4 a limited number of creative learning activities have been developed. Here, we share the design of a nonscience majors course in which creative learning activities were paramount. The activities were developed to spark interest in chemistry as well as deepen student understanding of the material. To achieve these broad learning goals, a number of activities encourage an interactive classroom, engage students outside the classroom, target the artistic abilities of students, and access writing and critical thinking skills. In this manuscript, activities that could be adopted (or adapted) into any chemistry course designed for nonscience majors are described.

challenge that could be encountered is the low interest level of some students upon entering the course. To make the subject matter appealing to students, the course was designed around environmental and societal topics that involve fundamental chemical principles. A comprehensive chemistry textbook aimed for nonscience majors5 was selected, as it addressed the topics of air pollution, the ozone layer, climate change, energy, and acid rain. The course format was a mixture of lecture and group work. Student grades were based on quizzes and exams (hourly and final, 50%), in-class activities (10%), and creative out-of-class activities (40%). Quizzes provided ongoing feedback to students regarding the mastery of concepts. The exams tested core chemical concepts through calculations, as well as the application of chemistry to societal problems through shortanswer questions and essay questions. In-class activities provided opportunities for group work and tended to encourage attendance. Creative Out-of-Class Activities

The out-of-class activities were used as the primary vehicle to creatively address many of the learning objectives of the course. Specifically, the ideal out-of-class activity should Provide opportunities to describe chemical concepts Apply to a recent societal event Encourage the use of each student’s unique background Appropriately challenge the student

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COURSE OVERVIEW The nonscience majors course was titled “Chemistry and Society” and has been conducted annually. Most students enroll to fulfill a science requirement for graduation. Thus, one major © XXXX American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.

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scheduled for a different presentation day during the semester. Students were encouraged to choose articles focused on the current theme in the course. For example, one student who presented during the energy section chose an article dealing with the increased use of wind turbines as alternative energy sources. Another student who presented during the climate change section focused on the impact that climate change has had on insect migration patterns and insects’ resistance to cold. Students were required to submit a copy of the original article at the time of the presentation. Students were evaluated based on article choice, quality of oral presentation, and overall comprehension. Each student was also required to participate at least three times by asking questions or commenting in other discussions. The requirements for the presentation were designed to analyze each student’s ability to summarize the content of a newspaper article, articulate and explain chemical concepts cited in an article, and carry out an oral presentation. The intended learning outcomes for the panel discussion were intended to allow each student to contribute to each discussion, analyze the scientific content of other students’ articles, and evaluate other students’ presentations. Interestingly, these discussions offered an opportunity to discuss the reliability of news sources as well as media presentation of scientific topics. For example, many scientific news sources are written by journalists who do not have degrees in a scientific field. These discussions offered the opportunity to address the importance of science education for all students, regardless of their career goals. In addition, questions that could not be answered by the student presenter or the instructor would be raised occasionally. Several students with smart phones were able to find information quickly to allow the discussion to continue. For example, when asked about the price of a typical wind turbine, one student in the “audience” used his smart phone to quickly search for the information. While smart phones were not used routinely in the classroom, they have been found to benefit student learning when carefully designed for routine classroom use.13 Indeed, the use of smart phones in our classroom allowed for enhanced discussions.

These goals are not unlike those for a traditional chemistry course.6−8 The use of creative writing in science courses has been an emerging area of student assessment, yet it can be further exploited.9,10 It has been shown that, when activities involve both critical thinking and writing, understanding of core concepts can deepen.11 Therefore, the activities were developed to involve both thinking and writing components. The guidelines and learning outcomes are presented here, as well as observations regarding the outcome of each activity. Detailed guidelines provided to the students and grading rubrics for each activity are supplied in the Supporting Information. Attend an Outside Event

In this activity, students were directed to attend an on- or offcampus event relevant to the course. A list of appropriate events, including seminars and museum exhibits, was provided at the beginning of the term, and periodic announcements were made as new experiences were identified. This activity was assigned at the beginning of the semester so that students had ample time to select an event. Each student wrote an evaluation of their experiences and provided some evidence of attendance (ticket stub, pamphlet, etc.). Students had the entire semester to complete this activity. The requirements for this activity were designed to promote students’ abilities to recognize chemical or societal concepts encountered in the classroom and then critically evaluate any claims made at the event. As a measure, the students’ written critiques were evaluated for both content and clarity. Although the activity was also intended to broaden student awareness of local events and expose students to scientific topics not discussed in class, these aspects were not assessed. Students chose to participate in activities such as: Earth Day activities; webinars on sustainability, energy usage, and green chemistry; scientific panels on traditional and alternative energy sources; and science museum exhibits. The student summaries revealed that many students found the events interesting and worthwhile. A small number of students provided poor summaries, and it can be surmised that they were not interested, had learned little, or were unclear on how to write a compelling summary. Several students noted that they learned something new (either chemical or societal) from attending. The students expressed a positive reception of the activity, noting the importance of the flexibility in choosing an event. Overall, this activity was easy to implement with proper planning on the instructor’s part. A challenging aspect was confirming student attendance. It is recommended that the instructor attend the events or contact the event coordinator to arrange confirmation of student attendance. We personally found it beneficial to attend the events ourselves. In one circumstance, we were able to enhance our air pollution lecture after having attended a panel on coal production. In another instance, we discussed local wind and solar energy sources after having attended an exhibit at a nearby museum. Teaching a course in the context of current events can be challenging as some topics are outside of the instructor’s field. Ironically, our learning objectives can apply to the instructor as well as the student.

Creation of a Children’s Book

Writing across disciplines has been a growing initiative in pedagogical circles.7,14 In addition, contextualizing chemical knowledge with a problem has been shown to improve understanding and connection of concepts.9−11 In an effort to combine these ideals, students were instructed to write and illustrate an original children’s book based on ozone depletion. This activity has been implemented with several variations in instructions over multiple offerings of the course. The books were graded based on scientific accuracy, depth and sophistication, and creativity. Books were sorted based on level of depth and creativity with similar books receiving similar points for those categories. The intended learning outcomes for this activity were to promote each student’s ability to recall and explain the chemical details of the hole in the ozone layer. In addition, the requirements were created such that each student could recognize complex chemical details in a simpler form in the children’s book, accessing higher-order thinking skills throughout the process. The activity was also meant as a way for students to apply creativity in the writing process through the creation of the story. The type and quality of the book submitted was greatly influenced by the instructions given to the students. Initially, the instructions asked students to write a book for a three-year-old

Panel Discussion of a Recent News Article

Use of current news in the classroom has been discussed recently in this Journal.12 Along those lines, this activity directed students to find an article from a reputable news media source and develop a short summary of the article. The students presented the article in a panel discussion in front of the class. Students were divided into three groups, each B

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principles. The requirements for this activity were designed such that the sophistication of the experimental design reflects the level of student engagement and comprehension. Most students proposed experiments that used simple acids (e.g., hydrochloric acid) to observe the effect upon a building material (e.g., metal or wood). Only a few pairs produced more elaborate, interesting experimental designs. For example, one pair proposed creating two ecotariums made of several different types of stone. The two ecotariums could then be sprinkled with water of two different pH values (natural rain water versus acid rain water) and the effects compared. Placement of this activity appeared to be an important factor as it was the last activity in the course. While the students showed excitement in performing an experiment, they seemed less enthusiastic about the work involved in the creation and design. We speculate that the students may have been “fatigued” from the number of out-of-class activities. In the future, the number of large out-of-class activities will be limited, hoping to avoid this sort of fatigue. Placement was also problematic because some of the best experiments proposed would have been timeconsuming to perform (i.e., the ecotariums would need to be set up and watered for several weeks). In the end, a simple penny in acid demonstration15 (proposed by several groups) was performed to observe the effect of acid on a metal surface.

child. The books that were submitted were colorful and creative but did not demonstrate in-depth scientific principles. Perhaps this level of sophistication was appropriate given the instructions. The books contained very simple analogies (i.e., an umbrella protects the earth) and did not discuss any scientific principles. Most were only a few pages in length. Thus, the learning objectives were not entirely met using these instructions to guide the students. When the instructions were modified the following year to write the book for a six-year-old child, the books remained creative and increased in the quality of the scientific principles that were addressed. Almost all books were in the form of a picture book with short captions. Most used analogies to bring complex topics to a level that a child could appreciate, such as comparing the ozone layer to a blanket, yet provided more scientific vocabulary (i.e., using the word “ozone”). Some books showed an intermingling of topics. For instance, certain students wrote about ozone depletion while using illustrations associated with global warming. In the latest version of this activity, the instructions were modified to target children aged 10−12 years. A large variety of book types emerged. The majority of books went into much more depth in terms of scientific principles. Many books were scientifically accurate, containing lists of numerous facts, but had no plot or storyline. Of 28 students in the class, three students produced “textbooks” in which the facts were organized into sections as one would find in a traditional science text. One textbook included a creative storytelling vehicle with each page narrated by “Professor G”. Eight students produced storybooks in which characters discussed ozone depletion as a part of a carefully constructed plot. One storybook was subdivided into chapters. Analogies were not used as often in these books. We speculate that students believed they did not need to simplify for a child of this age. It seemed that the students relied more heavily on the class notes and textbook. However, five students produced books with errors. Several students made inaccurate claims regarding the connection between global warming and the ozone layer depletion, while another student portrayed the ozone molecule with three oxygen atoms each connected to the next by a single bond forming a triangle. Overall, the students provided positive feedback for the creation of a children’s book, many stating that it was their favorite activity of the semester. Other students commented that the time spent creating the book was significant. There is potential for community outreach with this activity. For example, interested students could bring books to a local elementary school and read the books to younger students. Perhaps an extra-credit option could be implemented to reward students who have an interest in participating in this type of community-based learning.

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SUMMARY In this paper, several creative learning activities for students in a “Chemistry in Society” course are presented. Nonscience major undergraduate courses present a unique opportunity for chemistry instructors to assign creative learning activities to students who would typically have minimal exposure to fundamental scientific principles. We believe the inclusion of these creative activities helped meet our course goals. Students indicated through verbal comments to the instructor as well as written course evaluations that the material promoted student interest in learning chemical concepts, as well as students’ abilities to access critical thinking and writing skills in a science course. These creative activities allowed students to combine their own unique strengths with newfound knowledge of chemical topics to shape the structure of the course. Furthermore, these activities could be implemented in a variety of nonmajor science courses to enhance the classroom experience for both student and instructor.

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ASSOCIATED CONTENT

S Supporting Information *

Instructions and grading rubrics for each activity. This material is available via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org.

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Design a Chemical Demonstration

Demonstrations have proven to be a powerful method to model concepts in chemistry. To further engage the students, pairs of students were asked to design an experiment demonstrating the effects of acid rain. Students were instructed to develop a stepwise experimental procedure and provide a list of materials. In addition, they were required to include a novel aspect if the experiment was based on an existing demonstration. Students were also told that some of the most interesting experiments would be conducted during class time. The intended learning outcomes for this activity were designed for students to analyze the chemical principles underlying acid rain and to design an activity conveying those

AUTHOR INFORMATION

Corresponding Author

*E-mail: (S.A.B.) [email protected]; (A.M.H.) ahupp@ holycross.edu. Notes

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors would like to thank the students in our Chemistry and Society courses between 2008 and 2010. C

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