It's been a while since I've taught chemistry, and in all honesty, the content has always intimidated me a bit, in large part because I just couldn't relate to it on a human-level the way that I could in bio and even physics. In order to help my chemistry students connect with our content on a more personal level, I decided to take an unorthodox approach to our study of atomic structure and nuclear chemistry: a focus on the nuclear arms race, research ethics and the nature of science.* My original inspiration for this was a workshop I'd attended at the 2013 National Noyce Conference by Regina Toolin and Beth White of the UVM that was focused on teaching science for social justice. During the workshop, the facilitators had us participate in a gallery walk reviewing photos of the devastation of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, coupled with an audio experience listening to an interview of author Denise Kiernan talking about her book The Girls of Atomic City.
has photos of Oak Ridge and the female workers at Atomic City. Students use a "Noticings & Wonderings" T-chart to record observations and questions about the gallery they observe, then engage in discussion about their gallery before viewing the other gallery. Afterwards, students listen to the audio clip, then write a blog post reflecting on their perspectives regarding the ethics related to development of the bomb and hiring of workers to refine uranium without disclosing what they were doing (sample blog 1, sample blog 2).
Although I think this approach was effective at helping my students to connect with the content and scientists, I think I would modify this in the future to better diversify the story line.
Well, you never know until you try, right?!
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