Increasing Student Interest and Self-Efficacy in STEM by Offering a Service-Learning Chemistry Course in New Orleans

Abstract

There is a growing need for workers with STEM-aligned training in the modern global economy, but a paucity of workers to fill these positions. One important contributor to this issue is low student persistence in STEM. Nontraditional science courses that utilize more active-participation and learning are attractive as tools to increase student persistence and engender more interest in STEM. Herein is described the content and implementation of the undergraduate chemistry-based service-learning course, Chemistry 1898: Service Learning, that was offered in Spring 2019 at Tulane University. The goal of the course was to increase self-efficacy in chemistry and sustain undergraduate interest in STEM. The course also serves to increase STEM interest in the New Orleans public-school students. Chemistry 1898 features a well-rounded curriculum and diverse activities. The enrolled undergraduate students were not only taught chemistry concepts (general chemistry and supramolecular chemistry) but also asked to present the chemical concepts using attentiongrabbing demonstrations to public-school students in the New Orleans area. In addition, the course covered multiple nonscience topics, including the pedagogy of service-learning, background on the New Orleans publicschool system, and a guide for how to work with the community. The course also involved student reflection activities/surveys and interfaced with the Tulane Center for Public Service. Preliminary qualitative results from a set of anonymous pre-and poststudent surveys indicated that the undergraduate students gained self-efficacy in the general chemistry concepts covered in the course. Although the course did not have an effect on the career choices of the undergraduate students, the majority of the students were already very interested in a STEM career. Further, some students mentioned gaining a benefit in public speaking skills, and some considered the possibility of teaching and working with children in the future.

Teaching Sustainability and Environmental Justice in Undergraduate Chemistry Courses

“…Through a service-learning course in New Orleans, undergraduate chemistry students conducted chemical demonstrations for K-8 students in the area, explaining the key chemical concepts of the demonstrations to the students and increasing their senses of self-efficacy in the process. 52 In Baltimore City, middle school, high school, and undergraduate students participated a project on the collection and analysis of drinking water from the city using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. They collected samples directly from their kitchen faucets and mapped the metal concentrations of each sample onto a map of the Baltimore city zip codes, which students were "eager to take home...to share with their friends and family."…”

“…Through a service-learning course in New Orleans, undergraduate chemistry students conducted chemical demonstrations for K-8 students in the area, explaining the key chemical concepts of the demonstrations to the students and increasing their senses of self-efficacy in the process . In Baltimore City, middle school, high school, and undergraduate students participated a project on the collection and analysis of drinking water from the city using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.…”

Possibilities and Challenges of Using Educational Cheminformatics for STEM Education: A SWOT Analysis of a Molecular Visualization Engineering Project

“…The STEM approach has been applied in chemistry education for over a decade. Chemistry educators and researchers have been developing learning materials, pedagogical models, and contexts that offer possibilities to engage and inspire students to learn chemistry through multidisciplinary STEM projects. − However, there has been no STEM research carried out in the context of cheminformatics. This is the knowledge gap that this perspective paper aims to address.…”

Hybrid Service-Learning Group Project in the First Semester of a Biochemistry Lecture Course: Developing Interactive Lessons for the Public Library

“…Service-learning is a pedagogical approach to learning that integrates service to the community with curriculum from the classroom. − Service-learning has been incorporated into many courses over a variety of disciplines as a way to introduce community benefit to the content students learn while also instilling civic responsibility in students. There have been many proven benefits to utilizing service-learning in the classroom, and it has been increasingly utilized in the chemical sciences as a learning tool . Service-learning projects can help students see a new way to utilize traditional course material, improve student written and verbal communication skills, give the students a chance to create something in a group setting, and provide better self-awareness with regard to a student’s civic role in their own community. − …”

“…There have been many proven benefits to utilizing service-learning in the classroom, and it has been increasingly utilized in the chemical sciences as a learning tool. 5 Service-learning projects can help students see a new way to utilize traditional course material, improve student written and verbal communication skills, give the students a chance to create something in a group setting, and provide better self-awareness with regard to a student's civic role in their own community. 6−8 How service-learning is utilized in a scientific course can vary from local water testing to K−12 classroom assistance to informing the community about scientific or health related issues.…”