Toward a Diverse Next-Generation Energy Workforce: Teaching Artificial Photosynthesis and Electrochemistry in Elementary Schools through Active Learning
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| Title: | Toward a Diverse Next-Generation Energy Workforce: Teaching Artificial Photosynthesis and Electrochemistry in Elementary Schools through Active Learning |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Brooke Soobrian (ORCID |
| Source: | Journal of Chemical Education. 2023 100(7):2686-2695. |
| Availability: | Division of Chemical Education, Inc. and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 10 |
| Publication Date: | 2023 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Elementary Education Grade 5 Intermediate Grades Middle Schools |
| Descriptors: | Elementary School Science, Elementary School Students, Science Instruction, Chemistry, Energy Conservation, Energy Education, Grade 5, Active Learning, Hands on Science, Botany, Achievement Gap, Minority Group Students, Equal Education |
| Geographic Terms: | California |
| DOI: | 10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c00085 |
| ISSN: | 0021-9584 1938-1328 |
| Abstract: | Artificial photosynthesis is a promising approach to generate commodity chemicals using abundant chemical feedstocks and renewable energy sources. Despite its importance, affordable and effective hands-on classroom activities that demonstrate artificial photosynthesis and teach key concepts, especially for primary school students, are lacking. Educating young students on this topic is a critical step in the development of the next-generation energy workforce, especially one that is diverse in race and gender. We hypothesize that an effective approach to educate a broad range of young students on the topic of artificial photosynthesis is through the use of an active learning-based lesson plan that employs cheap and accessible materials. This hypothesis is confirmed by evaluating the understanding of fifth grade students with a survey before and after a lesson plan on artificial photosynthesis that uses active-learning techniques and uses safe and highly accessible materials (baking soda, tap water, plastic jars, Ni coil, alligator clips, and a solar cell) to perform solar-powered water splitting. The lesson plan and survey questions are designed to align with the educational outcomes for fifth grade classrooms in California and to address four general learning objectives: (1) Motivations of Artificial Photosynthesis, (2) Applications of Artificial Photosynthesis, (3) Inputs and Outputs of Artificial Photosynthesis, and (4) Engineering Design for Artificial Photosynthesis. The survey data demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in overall student understanding from the lesson plan. Importantly, the data show that the lesson plan presented here is effective at narrowing the performance gap between minority students and overly represented groups. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2024 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1444508 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Artificial photosynthesis is a promising approach to generate commodity chemicals using abundant chemical feedstocks and renewable energy sources. Despite its importance, affordable and effective hands-on classroom activities that demonstrate artificial photosynthesis and teach key concepts, especially for primary school students, are lacking. Educating young students on this topic is a critical step in the development of the next-generation energy workforce, especially one that is diverse in race and gender. We hypothesize that an effective approach to educate a broad range of young students on the topic of artificial photosynthesis is through the use of an active learning-based lesson plan that employs cheap and accessible materials. This hypothesis is confirmed by evaluating the understanding of fifth grade students with a survey before and after a lesson plan on artificial photosynthesis that uses active-learning techniques and uses safe and highly accessible materials (baking soda, tap water, plastic jars, Ni coil, alligator clips, and a solar cell) to perform solar-powered water splitting. The lesson plan and survey questions are designed to align with the educational outcomes for fifth grade classrooms in California and to address four general learning objectives: (1) Motivations of Artificial Photosynthesis, (2) Applications of Artificial Photosynthesis, (3) Inputs and Outputs of Artificial Photosynthesis, and (4) Engineering Design for Artificial Photosynthesis. The survey data demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in overall student understanding from the lesson plan. Importantly, the data show that the lesson plan presented here is effective at narrowing the performance gap between minority students and overly represented groups. |
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| ISSN: | 0021-9584 1938-1328 |
| DOI: | 10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c00085 |
