Implementing an Environmental Contaminants Deliberation Module in General Chemistry

• Sara A. Mehltretter Drury ^[1] ; Katherine R. Knobloch ^[2] ; Pamela Conners ^[3] ; Amanda Nienow ^[3] ; Chris Anderson ^[1] ; Sidra Aghababian ^[2] ; Jessica Imholte ^[3] ; Laura M. Wysocki ^[1]
  1. [1] Wabash College

     Wabash College

     Township of Union, Estados Unidos

     
  2. [2] Colorado State University

     Colorado State University

     Estados Unidos

     
  3. [3] Gustavus Adolphus College

     Gustavus Adolphus College

     City of Saint Peter, Estados Unidos

     

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• Localización: Journal of chemical education, ISSN 0021-9584, Vol. 101, Nº 8, 2024, págs. 3564-3569
• Idioma: inglés
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  • Placing chemistry in the context of complex societal issues is one way to help students see the application of fundamental ideas in the general chemistry curriculum. Here, we describe the impact of an in-class deliberation on environmental contaminants, which encourages students to consider different perspectives when addressing the issue of water and soil quality in communities. Student surveys were used to analyze the quality of the deliberation and several key factors regarding student attitudes before and after the activity. Students report a high-quality experience during the deliberation, wherein new ideas were introduced and they carefully considered different views on the issue at hand. Not only do students gain scientific knowledge about lead contamination, they also demonstrate statistically significant gains in their attitudes toward chemistry and their motivation to take action. As a complement to traditional teaching methods, this deliberation module can address key learning outcomes in systems thinking and the impact chemistry has on society.