Anesthesia as a Theme for Context-Based Learning in a Physical Chemistry Short Course

Abstract

Of the three main subdivisions in chemistry, physical chemistry often presents a challenge when delivered to those not majoring in chemistry or its cognate disciplines. This is, at least in part, due to the seemingly unrelatedness of the subject to students' anticipated career. We describe the redesign of a nested physical chemistry course for health science majors using a context-based learning approach. Each of the major themes of introductory physical chemistry (viz., gas laws, equilibrium, thermodynamics, kinetics, and electrochemistry) is taught and assessed using examples drawn from anesthesia. We summarize the motivations for this change and provide a range of examples demonstrating how basic physical chemistry can be related to anesthesia. The aim of this article is to provide instructors with interesting examples that they can incorporate either fully or in part into their curricula.

Integrating Real-World Contexts and Application Cards Activities in the General Chemistry I Course Increases Students’ Achievement Scores and Perceptions of Chemistry Relevance

“…As such, a few reported studies focused on chemistry for science majors have been reported. For example, McPherson and Johnston's (2022) 33 integration of anesthesia as the context in teaching introductory physical chemistry topics, such as gas laws, equilibrium, thermodynamics, kinetics, and electrochemistry indicated a significant increase in the performance scores on questions related to thermodynamics, equilibrium, and kinetics by 53% more than the decontextualized curriculum. 33 Overall, these studies indicate the limited use of real-world contexts in postsecondary chemistry courses for science majors.…”

“…For example, McPherson and Johnston's (2022) 33 integration of anesthesia as the context in teaching introductory physical chemistry topics, such as gas laws, equilibrium, thermodynamics, kinetics, and electrochemistry indicated a significant increase in the performance scores on questions related to thermodynamics, equilibrium, and kinetics by 53% more than the decontextualized curriculum. 33 Overall, these studies indicate the limited use of real-world contexts in postsecondary chemistry courses for science majors. In particular, reported investigations on the holistic integration of real-world contexts beyond a few selected topics in the General Chemistry courses, and the assessments of their impacts on achievement scores and students' perceptions of chemistry content relevance are rare.…”