Chemistry and the real world: Are students making connections

CHED 735

Kimberly Jo Smith, kimberly.smith@gcmail.maricopa.edu, Department of Chemistry, Glendale Community College, 6000 W Olive Ave, Glendale, AZ 85302
This paper will discuss the results of a hybrid study that investigated the connections general chemistry students make with course content and the real world. Most educators believe that students are more interested in the subject matter if they find it relevant to their life. Fourteen students were interviewed at the end of their second semester and were asked to provide examples of how twenty different chemistry topics relate to their daily lives. The topics covered both general chemistry semesters and included galvanic cells, acids, enthalpy, radioactivity, and even significant digits. It was hypothesized that there would be a positive correlation between course grade and the ability to make real world connections. The interviews were transcribed and graded on a rubric. Excerpts from the interviews will be presented, the interview scores discussed, and correlations drawn between the scores and course grades, conceptual test scores, and calculation test scores.
 

Chemistry Education Research
1:30 PM-4:55 PM, Monday, April 7, 2008 Hilton New Orleans Riverside -- Rosedown, Oral

Division of Chemical Education

The 235th ACS National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, April 6-10, 2008