Prev. Article Next Article Table of Contents

Article

Use of a Classroom Jury Trial To Increase Student Perception of Science as Part of Their Lives

Citing Articles

Your current credentials do not allow retrieval of the full text.

Purchase the full-text

PDF/HTML,
figures/images,
references and tables,
(where available)

Marjorie A. Jones

Department of Chemistry, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-4160

J. Chem. Educ., 1997, 74 (5), p 537

DOI: 10.1021/ed074p537

Publication Date (Web): May 1, 1997

Section:

History, Education, and Documentation

Abstract

The concept of a jury trial in the classroom setting was used to presentand discuss a current, controversial topic, the drug mifepristone (RU486).This drug is used as an abortion inducing agent although it has otherclinical uses. The major goal was for students to see that science is avery important part of their lives. The class project involved discussionsof the scientific, sociological, moral, ethical, religious, legal, as wellas financial aspects of a real trial which involved a major science issue.Students were involved in role playing which included obtaining informationand then participating in the mock trial. Student roles in this activitywere as judges, defendant, jury, witnesses, lawyers, and court reporters.This four week project involved both verbal and written participation.Grades were based on both their oral and written on this project. Thestudents found this a very interesting activity as evidenced by theirenthusiasm. This class activity could be adapted to a variety of timelytopics.

Keywords (Audience):

High School / Introductory Chemistry

Keywords (Subject):

Learning Theories

View: Hi-Res PDF | PDF w/ Links

Citing Articles

Citation data is made available by participants in CrossRef's Cited-by Linking service. For a more comprehensive list of citations to this article, users are encouraged to perform a search in SciFinder.

This article has been cited by 2 ACS Journal articles (2 most recent appear below).

Chemistry in the Real World
Martin B. Jones , Christina R. Miller
Journal of Chemical Education2001 78 (4), 484
- Chemistry in the Real World
  Martin B. Jones , Christina R. Miller
  Journal of Chemical Education2001 78 (4), 484
  This article describes a technique to maintain student interest in introductory chemistry classes, which has been used since 1997. Weekly "Chemistry in the Real World" discussions that focus on a topic related to the course material permit students to see ...
  Abstract | Hi-Res PDF | PDF w/ Links
Let's Talk about It! Using a Graded Discussion Procedure to Make Chemistry Real
Amy Roediger
Journal of Chemical Education2000 77 (10), 1305
- Let's Talk about It! Using a Graded Discussion Procedure to Make Chemistry Real
  Amy Roediger
  Journal of Chemical Education2000 77 (10), 1305
  Graded classroom discussions are a technique employed to extend students' classroom knowledge into real life. Students read a set of articles about a topic relating to the curriculum. The teacher poses an open-ended question to which the students propose ...
  Abstract | Hi-Res PDF | PDF w/ Links