Innovating Undergraduate General Chemistry by Integrating Sustainability-related Socio-Scientific Issues

Christian Zowada; Ozcan Gulacar; Ingo Eilks

doi:10.51724/arise.9

Authors

Christian Zowada Department of Biology and Chemistry, Institute for Science Education, Universität Bremen https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0522-464X
Ozcan Gulacar Department of Biology and Chemistry, Institute for Science Education, University of California-Davis https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5777-8871
Ingo Eilks Chemistry Education, Universität Bremen https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0453-4491

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51724/arise.9

Keywords:

Action research, Undergraduate Education, chemistry education, Socio-Scientific Issues

Abstract

Many general chemistry courses in U.S. undergraduate education focus on decontextualized content learning, driven by a structure-of-the-discipline approach. Due to this approach, many students perceive general chemistry to be of low relevance to their educations, their lives, and society as a whole. This paper reflects a process of innovation for the integration of sustainability-related socio-scientific issues into U.S. undergraduate general chemistry courses to make chemistry learning more meaningful and relevant to the learners. The innovation originated from teaching and learning materials developed in Germany. Digital learning environments were created on hydraulic fracturing and phosphate recovery, two hot socio-scientific issues, which were then transferred, adapted, and implemented in the USA. This paper reflects selected students’ feedback and how this process initiated ongoing curriculum innovation.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Andraos, J., & Dicks, A. P. (2012). Green chemistry teaching in higher education: a review of effective practices. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 13, 69–79.

Burmeister, M., Rauch, F., & Eilks, I. (2012). Education for sustainable development (ESD) and chemistry education. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 13, 59–68.

Cooper, M. (2010). The case for reform of the undergraduate general chemistry curriculum. Journal of Chemical Education, 87, 231-232.

Cooper, M. & Klymkowskiy, M. (2013). Chemistry, life, the universe, and everything: a new approach to general chemistry, and a model for curriculum reform. Journal of Chemical Education, 90, 1116-1122.

Eilks, I. (2002). Teaching "biodiesel": a sociocritical and problem-oriented approach to chemistry teaching and students` first views on it. Chemistry Education: Research and Practice, 3, 67-75.

Eilks, I. (2018). Action research in science education: a twenty-years personal perspective. Action Research and Innovation in Science Education,1, in print.

Eilks, I.; & Hofstein, A. (2014). Combining the question of the relevance of science education with the idea of education for sustainable development. In I. Eilks, S. Markic & B. Ralle (eds.), Science education research and education for sustainable development (pp. 3-14), Aachen: Shaker.

Eilks, I. & Markic, S., (2011). Effects of a long-term Participatory Action Research project on science teachers’ professional development. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 7, 149-160.

Eilks, I., & Ralle, B. (2002). Participatory Action Research in chemical education. In B. Ralle & I. Eilks (eds.), Research in Chemical Education - What does this mean? (pp. 87-98). Aachen: Shaker.

Eilks, I., Sjöström, J., & Zuin, V. G. (2018). The responsibility of chemists for a better world: challenges and potentialities beyond the lab. Revista Brasileira de Ensino de Quimica, 12, 97-106.

Elmose, S., & Roth, W.-M. (2005). Allgemeinbildung: readiness for living in risk society. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 37, 11-34.

European Commission (2014). Report on critical raw materials for the EU. www.catalysiscluster.eu/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/2014_Critical-raw-materials-for-the-EU-2014.pdf (March 31, 2018).

Griggs, D.; Stafford-Smith, M., Gaffney, O., Rockström, J., Öhman, M. C., Shyamsundar, P., Steffen, W., Glaser, G., Kanie, N. & Noble, I. (2013). Sustainable development goals for people and planet. Nature, 495, 305-307.

Gilbert, J. K. (2006). On the nature of ″context″ in chemical education. International Journal of Science Education, 28, 957−976.

Hodson, D. (2003). Time for action: science education for an alternative future. International Journal of Science Education, 25, 645-670.

Hoeg, D., DiGiacomo, A., El Halwany, S., Kirstovic, M., Phillips-MacNeil, C., Milanovic, M., Nishizawa, T., Majd Zouda, M., & Bencze, L. (2017). Science for citizenship: using Prezi™ for education about critical socio-scientific issues. In. L. Bencze (eds.), Science and technology education promoting wellbeing for individuals, societies and environments (pp .359-380). Dordrecht: Springer.

Hofstein, A., Eilks, I., & Bybee, R. (2011). Societal issues and their importance for contemporary science education—a pedagogical justification and the state-of-the-art in Israel, Germany, and the USA. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 9, 1459-1483.

Jenkins, E. W.; Nelson, N. W. (2005). Important but not for me: students´ attitudes towards secondary school science in England. Research in Science and Technology Education, 23, 41-57.

Killiches, F. (2013). Phosphat - Mineralischer Rohstoff und unverzichtbarer Nährstoff für die Ernährungssicherheit weltweit [Phosphate – mineral resource and essential nutrien for worldwide food supply security]. Hannover: Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe on behalf of the Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ).

Krause, M., & Eilks, I. (2014). Innovating chemistry learning with PREZI. Chemistry in Action, no. 104, 19-25.

Laudonia, I., & Eilks, I. (2018). Teacher-centred action research in a remote participatory environment – A reflection on a case of chemistry curriculum innovation in a Swiss vocational school. In J. Calder & J. Foletta (eds.), Participatory Action Research (PAR): Principles, approaches and applications (pp. 215-231). Hauppauge: Nova.

Mahaffy, P. G. (2014). Telling time: chemistry education in the anthropocene epoch. Journal of Chemical Education, 91, 463-465.

Mahaffy, P. G. (2015). Chemistry Education and Human Activity. In J. Garcia-Martinez& E. Serrano (eds.), Chemistry education: best practices, innovative strategies and new technologies (pp. 3-26). Weinheim: Wiley VCH.

Mahaffy, P. G., Holme, T. A., Martin-Visscher, L., Martin, B. E., Versprille, A., Kirchhoff, M., McKenzie, L., & Towns M. (2017). Beyond “inert” ideas to teaching general chemistry from rich contexts: visualizing the chemistry of climate change (VC3). Journal of Chemical Education, 94, 1027-1035.

Marks, R., & Eilks, I. (2009). Promoting scientific literacy using a sociocritical and problem-oriented approach to chemistry teaching: concept, examples, experiences. International Journal of Environmental & Science Education, 4, 231-245.

Marks, R., & Eilks, I. (2010). Research-based development of a lesson plan on shower gels and musk fragrances following a socio-critical and problem-oriented approach to chemistry teaching. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 11, 129-141.

Matlin, S. A., Mehta, G., Hopf, H., & Krief, A. (2015). The role of chemistry in inventing a sustainable future. Nature Chemistry, 7, 941-943.

McGuire, S. Y., & McGuire, S. (2016). Teach students how to learn: Strategies you can incorporate into any course to improve student metacognition, study skills, and motivation. Sterling: Stylus Publishing, LLC.

Nieveen, N., & Plomp, T. (eds.). (2013). Educational design research. Enschede: SLO.

Osborne, J. (2007). Science education for the twenty first century. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 3, 173-184.

Osborne, J., & Dillon, J. (2008). Science education in Europe: critical reflections. London: The Nuffield Foundation.

Sadler, T. (2004). Informal reasoning regarding socioscientific issues: A critical review of research. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 41, 513−536.

Sadler, T. D. (2011). Situating socio-scientific issues in classrooms as a means of achieving goals of science education. In T. D. Sadler (ed.), Socio-scientific issues in the classroom – teaching, learning and research (pp. 1-9). Dordrecht: Springer.

Simonneaux, L. (2014). From promoting the techno-sciences to activism – A variety of objectives involved in the teaching of SSIs. In L. Bencze & S. Alsop (eds.), Activist science and technology education (pp. 99-111). Dordrecht: Springer.

Sjöström, J., Eilks, I., & Zuin, V. G. (2016): Towards eco-reflexive science education - a critical reflection about educational implications of green chemistry. Science & Education, 25, 321-341.

Sjöström, J., & Talanquer, V. (2018). Eco-reflexive chemical thinking and action. Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry, 13, 16-20.

Stuckey, M., Hofstein, A., Mamlok-Naaman, R., & Eilks, I. (2013). The meaning of ‘relevance’ in science education and its implications for the science curriculum. Studies in Science Education, 49, 1-34.

Talanquer, V., & Pollard, J. (2017). Reforming a large foundational course: successes and challenges. Journal of Chemical Education, 94, 12, 1844-1851.

United Nations (2015). Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/70/1&Lang=E (April 15, 2018).

United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) (1992). Agenda 21. Rio de Janeiro: UNCED.

Zowada, C., & Eilks, I. (2018). Fracking: ein kontroverses Thema für den fächerübergreifenden Chemieunterricht multimedial umgesetzt [Fracking: a controversial topic for interdisciplinary chemistry teaching operated by multimedia]. MNU Journal, 2018, 246-252.

Zowada, C., Gulacar, O., & Eilks, I. (2018). Incorporating a web-based hydraulic fracturing module in general chemistry as a socio-scientific issue that engages students. Journal of Chemical Education, 95, 553-559.

Zowada, C., Siol, A., Gulacar, O., & Eilks, I. (under review). Phosphatrückgewinnung – angewandte Umwelttechnik in Schule und Schülerlabor [Phosphate recovery – applied environmental technology in school and the non-formal laboratory]. Chemie konkret.

Zuin, V. G., &, Mammino, L. (eds.). (2015). Worldwide trends in green chemistry education. Cambridge: RSC.

Zuin, V. G. (2012). Environmental dimension in chemistry teacher education. Guanabara: Editora Atomo.