Emmanuel Caballero, & Dr. Ariel Vaughn
Without active effort from chemistry professors, students often find it difficult to make connections between the material they are learning in their general chemistry courses and the world around them. This can cause students to have difficulty achieving a deeper understanding of the material, as they are not incentivised to learn “niche” topics that might have little perceived impact on their daily lives.The design of homework assignments is one possible solution to this problem. Students in the W.M. Keck Science Department at the Claremont Colleges who were enrolled in General Chemistry I completed a homework assignment every week in which they had to respond to the question, “How have you observed chemistry outside of class this week?” Responses were qualitatively coded using NVivo 14 based on how they related to the content that was discussed in class. Analysis is currently underway, but it is anticipated that more introductory concepts will be discussed in student responses throughout the semester, while traditionally challenging topics are only going to be covered following their coverage in class. Students are given a chance each week to practice applying the knowledge they have learned by actively trying to establish connections between the material they are studying in the classroom and the outside world. If students can identify chemistry in the world around them, it no longer feels like a “niche” topic, which could incentivize them to strive for a deeper level of understanding.