Grants Showcase
Creating an Atmosphere for Learning:
Learner-Centered Environmental Chemistry
Story by Jane Roberts
"Before this class, yeah, we'd heard about global warming," said a student. "We knew there were greenhouse gases in the air. But we didn't know what, if anything, could be done. This class got us thinking...
"Is global warming just another trend for the earth system or it is due to increased use of burning coal and the greenhouse effect? Is it anthropogenic [caused by humans]? Or is it happening naturally? Another thing we talked about was the chemical DEPH. This class made me open my eyes. It showed me that there are things we take for granted. Like DEPH. They use that stuff in hospitals! Who knew?"
Jeanne Franz, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, at Winona State University expects her students to understand the methods and mechanics of chemistry. But she also expects them to become informed, concerned citizens of the planet, requiring them to act as environmental professionals and confront complex issues facing the planet. In short, her goal is make of the students people who will be an asset to society, people who have creative problem solving skills, and people who may have the ability, the knowledge, and the chutzpa to try to solve some of the problems that vex our planet. As Franz sees it, learning to think critically is the first step.
In her course, Topics in Environmental Chemistry, she employs a plethora of techniques, including lecture augmented with discussion questions and problems, labs (even though this was not a lab course), small and large group discussion, role-playing games, jigsaw activities, hands on computer modeling and debates. The debate, for example, focused on whether the United States should adopt the Kyoto Protocol and required that students conduct a mock trial and assume the identities of various political figures. According to Franz, students dove into their assumed identities, playing characters such as George Bush, Karl Rove, Fred Singer, and representatives from the Virgin Islands, among others, complete with costumes. Playing these roles, students were obligated not only to consider perspectives that might not be their own, but to articulate these perspectives persuasively.
This course, an advanced elective, is new to the curriculum at Winona State University and was developed with the help of Learning by Doing Grant from the MnSCU Center for Teaching and Learning. Franz's aim was to teach it in a student-centered, active learning mode. "Most other chemistry classes aren't like this," said a student. "You don't usually work in groups a lot and there aren't as many projects... To me, this class was almost like an outreach. It was about expanding yourself in more than just an academic way. It would be great if more of my other classes could connect more to the real world, socially and politically, the way this one did," the student said.
Profound Influence
One student said this course influenced her so profoundly that she was considering political activism, a thought that had never occurred to her prior to the class. Talking to her again a couple months later, she announced that she is going to teach Chemistry to high school students and that she's definitely going to incorporate some of the techniques she learned from this class. "I grew up just taking in information at face value. Just absorbing it. But you have to be able to think for yourself. It's important to inform yourself and to inform others. That's a good part about being a teacher. And that's what I'm going to do," she said.
"Did you hear the State of the Union Address?" one student asked."I listened to it differently than I would have before this class. Like when President Bush talked about putting money aside for hydrogen powered cars and said there would be no pollution. I wondered if what he was saying was enough money for this to really work, and who is this really benefiting and will there really be no pollution? It just makes you think," she said.
Franz assigned two major projects, both of which matched job requirements of environmental professionals. The first assignment was to create a risk assessment, something environmental professionals are frequently asked to do. Some of the students performed the assessment on Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEPH), a chemical found in plastics that are used in containers for medical supplies and baby toys. Some research suggests that this chemical is toxic and may be absorbed by the body if it leaches into the content of the container. This assignment allowed students to see for themselves what their own data proved and whether they'd recommend it as safe for public use. Other students completed risk assessments on atrazine, a commonly used herbicide.
As part of the risk assessment, students conducted an experiment in which they observed the flow of various chemicals with different characteristics, such as lipophillicity, through different media such as sand, soil, clay, etc. Lipophillic chemicals are those that have an affinity for fats, such as oil. The concept being observed here is similar to the way oil and water do not mix. For example, if a chemical is like oil, it will not flow through the groundwater but will likely get stuck on things like clay or will stay in living things. Since these lipophillic chemicals are not water soluble, they cannot be easily excreted from the body or transported via water. In the body they could build up to dangerous levels, and in the environment they are not very mobile, which could be a good or bad thing.
Students were also expected to gather toxicology data, use the Internet for research purposes, and construct diagrams to illustrate what they'd learned.
The second major project was to build an environmental model. This activity is central to working scientists' understanding of global warming and is important in current understanding of bioaccumulation for important health issues such as fish advisories. To build these mathematical models, students used a software program called Stella. In addition, students investigated the infrared radiation-absorbing features of several gases that make up the atmosphere on an FTIR spectrometer and built mini-greenhouses whose temperatures they monitored. "Using Stella, we looked at the different ways that DEPH can get in your body, such as inhalation and skin exposure. It showed us statistically what the probability was of it absorbing into the body," said a student.
Additionally, Franz encouraged civic participation by asking students to write to their Senators regarding the Kyoto Protocol, a treaty limiting greenhouse emissions that has been ratified by many nations but not the United States.
Subject Mastery
Franz hoped the class would achieve mastery of subject and an improvement in general communication and critical thinking skills. In terms of subject specific learning, Franz says her goals were met. She delivered an unannounced test of the students' knowledge of global warming. Prior to the class, the average score was 23%. At the end of the semester, the same test was administered and students scored an average of 84%. In the projects and assignments, Franz said, there was also clear evidence of subject mastery.
"Students used their creative energies to go above and beyond the requirements of the assignment," said Franz. For example, to demonstrate how atrazine moves through the environment after it is applied to a field, a student built a working plywood model. Apart from the novelty of the demonstration setup, the piece was also extremely effective at communicating chemical movement through a watershed. Franz's web site includes PowerPoint slides of the DEHP and atrazine risk assessment projects.
Students reported that they learned a lot in this course. Six out of seven students said they'd learned a higher than average amount compared to other classes they'd taken. Students were asked to rank their progress on 1) gaining factual knowledge, 2) learning fundamental principles generalizations or theories, and 3) developing specific skills, competencies, and points of view needed by professionals in the field. On a scale of 1-5, students gave an average score of 4 for all three questions. "This greater than average mastery of knowledge comes despite the fact that most instructors believe that using active learning allows less material to be covered," said Franz.
Learning by Doing: Not Just For Students
Prior to beginning this grant, Franz had a good bit of informal and formal training in the techniques involved in active learning, including attending a workshop at WSU on active learning and participating in faculty development discussions at Winona State. According to Franz, "Learning is ongoing and continual," not just for her students but for herself. For example, Franz decided to incorporate Stella into the course, the software program for modeling environmental phenomena.. Franz hadn't used this program before and needed to learn it. She taught herself with tutorials and books. Close to 25% of the course directly used Stella, "a rather expensive but extremely useful software tool," said Franz. "Without this software-which the grant made possible-a much more passive approach to teaching would have had to be used," she said. The grant also funded the purchase of necessary equipment and supplies, allowing the course to be filled to the brim with content.
"In addition to subject specific outcomes, I also wanted to achieve improvement in general communication and critical thinking skills," said Franz. Success was also noted here. Students again were asked to rank their progress on:
- learning to apply course material to improve thinking, problem solving, and decisions;
- learning to analyze and critically evaluate ideas, arguments, and points of view;
- acquiring skills in working with others as a member of a team;
- developing skill in expressing myself orally and in writing.
Conclusion: Learner-Centered Classrooms Work
"This class was really valuable to me because I love to know what I'm talking about," said a student. "And in chemistry, you don't typically get many mechanisms to connect with people on topics going on in the world. It feels kind of isolating. But this class connected me. It brought what I was studying into the real world. And now I see connections I never noticed before." According to Franz, "This project was a positive learning experience for both students and faculty. Anecdotal and hard data demonstrate that switching to a learner-centered classroom improves student learning." This project was such a success, in fact, that Franz is enthusiastically planning on teaching more of her classes in the same way and disseminating her ideas to teach others to do the same. "Teaching this way is a ton of work," said Franz.
"The grant really allowed me to spend the time I needed to develop the curricular materials. It is extremely rewarding though. [This class] reminded me of why I got into teaching in the first place--to have a positive influence on students' lives," she said.
Related Links:
Professor Jeanne Franz | Department of Chemistry | Southeast Minnesota Analytical Service (SEMAS) | Winona State University
