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Thinking Outside the Classroom: Integrating Field Trips into a First-Year Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum

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Kaya Forest

Department of Chemistry, Okanagan College, Penticton, BC, Canada, V2A 8E1

Sierra Rayne

Water Treatment Technology Program, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC, Canada, V2C 5N3

J. Chem. Educ., 2009, 86 (11), p 1290

DOI: 10.1021/ed086p1290

Publication Date (Web): November 1, 2009

Section:

History, Education, and Documentation

Abstract

Studies on student learning during primary- and secondary-school course-related field trip activities have shown lasting cognitive and socio-cultural effects. However, fewer studies have investigated the potential benefits of incorporating field trip activities into post-secondary education. The curriculum in a first-year university chemistry course provides the foundations for understanding processes we encounter every day. Thus, field trips can provide an opportunity to help students see beyond their everyday experiences into the world around us through a chemist's eyes. As a way of seeing their lecture material in action, taking students on field trips to water treatment plants helps describe a real-world application of solution stoichiometry and polymer chemistry. Similarly, a trip to a winery assists understanding of chemical transformations that occur in organic molecules, and a trip to wastewater treatment plants enables students to see applications of acid–base and redox chemistry. These experiences allow students to engage the material on a level difficult to convey or appreciate in the classroom. Field trips can also satisfy instructor motivations to not only facilitate learning as a way of connecting with the curriculum, but also to engage students by (a) providing new learning experiences, (b) fostering interest and motivation in students, (c) promoting lifelong learning, and (d) engaging with the local science and technology communities.

Keywords (Audience):

First-Year Undergraduate / General

Keywords (Domain):

Curriculum

Keywords (Pedagogy):

Analogies / Transfer

Keywords (Subject):

Applications of Chemistry

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This article has been cited by 1 ACS Journal articles (1 most recent appear below).

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- UV–Visible Spectrometers: Versatile Instruments across the Chemistry Curriculum
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  Journal of Chemical Education2012 Article ASAP
  This article describes a wide range of commercially available UV–vis spectrometers, with particular emphasis on educational models, and how this technique can be included in all aspects of the chemistry curriculum. Portable instrumentation and new ...
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