“I just wanted to reach out and update you on my life,” the email began. As a high school teacher, I love receiving emails starting with a line like this. It is exciting to learn where my former students are in their life’s journey. Last month I opened an email starting with this line. My mind raced with the possibilities. Did they decide to major in chemistry, or education, or chemistry education like their favorite teacher?! 😉 My former student’s email continued, “I was just recently accepted into the school of engineering at my university and plan to pursue a material science engineering degree.” This was very exciting news. The last two sentences of his email made me pause. “I want to let you know that I don’t think I would’ve ended up where I am if it wasn’t for that engineering project you made us do in class. I never pictured myself liking engineering until that project.”
The lesson he referred to was a lesson I developed with my Science Coach 4 years ago. The Science Coaches program is an educational outreach initiative of AACT and ACS. They match K-12 science educators with chemists to enhance science experiences for students. I paired up with an engineer at a major equipment manufacturer in our community. He worked in the paint processes department. I toured his department and learned how they used electrochemistry to ensure the proper thickness of paint and titrations to ensure their wastewater had the correct pH value for disposal. He was a guest speaker and helped develop a real-life engineering project for my classroom. In the project, groups of students took on the role of chemical engineers hired to tackle the problem of rusting on the manufacturer’s parts. Students had to use their acid-base neutralization knowledge to develop a cost-effective engineering process to remove the rust and emit safe wastewater according to EPA guidelines. My Science Coach helped make the project very realistic. We used the websites his engineering team would access to buy supplies, confirm EPA guidelines, and check chemical compatibility between the equipment they planned to hypothetically purchase and the chemicals they would hypothetically use. The Science Coaches program donated $500 to my classroom so we could purchase rusty steel pieces and chemicals to test their rust removal potential. See the attached handouts at the end of this post for the project guidelines. My Science Coach gave students feedback on their engineering designs by pointing out strong areas as well as areas of concern. Groups would burst with pride when my Science Coach told them areas of their project were better than current industry designs. Students used his feedback to improve their final presentation. I graded the project based on their ability to use their acid-base chemistry knowledge to analyze their engineering plan. Students were self-conscious about presenting their ideas to a real engineer. However, students were surprised to receive positive feedback from the Science Coach which added a little more swagger to their walk for the next few days. Even though his feedback did not affect their grade, it was powerful to their self-esteem because he worked in the industry. From my former student’s email, I learned our partnership also helped spark interest in engineering careers as well.
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Project Template (see supporting information below)
Since that first collaboration I have teamed up with other Science Coaches. I partnered with a local pharmacist and did a drug kinetics lesson together. I am currently partnered with a doctor who successfully developed an FDA approved pediatric cancer drug. While the craziness of COVID last spring prevented a visit to my classroom and postponed our cancer-themed chemical bonding lesson, we hope to use Zoom and Google Meet to help my current Science Coach virtually meet and mentor my students.
I would highly recommend getting involved with the Science Coaches program! A Science Coach could help you develop a lesson as mine did or they could serve as a mentor, answer content questions, help organize chemicals, and/or organize virtual field trips. You might be concerned COVID will make working with a Science Coach difficult. I am very optimistic about working with my Science Coach this school year because meeting virtually has become easier for me. My comfort-level with setting-up and running virtual meetings through Zoom and Google Meet has improved due to COVID. I assume this is the case for many professionals across the country. I found all of my Science Coaches before I applied through various community contacts, but you do not need to. The Science Coaches program can help find a coach for you! The Science Coaches program is accepting applications through September 1, 2020. You can learn more about the Science Coaches program here: https://teachchemistry.org/professional-development/science-coaches and apply here: https://fs11.formsite.com/AACT/jvr1y9hhcp/index.html
What is my take-away from my former student’s email? Career education is important. Even though I have done similar types of engineering projects in my classroom, I feel partnering with a Science Coach in the industry made it more impactful. This email made me see the importance of having a science mentor for my classroom.
If you don’t feel ready to take on the Science Coaches program this year, maybe reach out to your local university’s minority student organizations to find a classroom mentor. The Black Lives Matter movement and the educational gap between white and minority students made me reflect on my teaching practices this summer. It got me thinking about how I can help underrepresented minority students view STEM careers as a viable possibility for them. As a female, I found it powerful seeing other females (including my mother) being successful while pursuing STEM careers. It made me believe I could do it too. These female role models in science helped me recognize when I was struggling with my college organic chemistry class it was not because I was a female and did not belong in STEM, but because I needed to spend more time studying like any other student in the class. I want this for my underrepresented minority students in science. Last month I decided to find an underrepresented minority mentor for my classroom. It took a quick internet search, a few “cold call” emails, and one virtual meeting to establish a partnership with a minority student organization from a local university. The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) agreed to help mentor my chemistry students this school year by meeting virtually with them throughout the year. I am very excited my LatinX students will be able to see someone like them successfully pursuing a career in STEM. I plan to reach out to my local university’s National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) student chapter for additional mentors soon. I hope these mentors will be impactful to all my students!
Have you had a successful science mentor or coach experience in your classroom? Please join the conversation by sharing in the comments below. Join ChemEd X for free and log in to comment.
NGSS
Analyzing data in 9–12 builds on K–8 and progresses to introducing more detailed statistical analysis, the comparison of data sets for consistency, and the use of models to generate and analyze data.
Analyzing data in 9–12 builds on K–8 and progresses to introducing more detailed statistical analysis, the comparison of data sets for consistency, and the use of models to generate and analyze data. Analyze data using tools, technologies, and/or models (e.g., computational, mathematical) in order to make valid and reliable scientific claims or determine an optimal design solution.
Asking questions and defining problems in grades 9–12 builds from grades K–8 experiences and progresses to formulating, refining, and evaluating empirically testable questions and design problems using models and simulations.
Asking questions and defining problems in grades 9–12 builds from grades K–8 experiences and progresses to formulating, refining, and evaluating empirically testable questions and design problems using models and simulations.
questions that challenge the premise(s) of an argument, the interpretation of a data set, or the suitability of a design.
Scientific questions arise in a variety of ways. They can be driven by curiosity about the world (e.g., Why is the sky blue?). They can be inspired by a model’s or theory’s predictions or by attempts to extend or refine a model or theory (e.g., How does the particle model of matter explain the incompressibility of liquids?). Or they can result from the need to provide better solutions to a problem. For example, the question of why it is impossible to siphon water above a height of 32 feet led Evangelista Torricelli (17th-century inventor of the barometer) to his discoveries about the atmosphere and the identification of a vacuum.
Questions are also important in engineering. Engineers must be able to ask probing questions in order to define an engineering problem. For example, they may ask: What is the need or desire that underlies the problem? What are the criteria (specifications) for a successful solution? What are the constraints? Other questions arise when generating possible solutions: Will this solution meet the design criteria? Can two or more ideas be combined to produce a better solution?
Constructing explanations and designing solutions in 9–12 builds on K–8 experiences and progresses to explanations and designs that are supported by multiple and independent student-generated sources of evidence consistent with scientific ideas, principles, and theories.
Constructing explanations and designing solutions in 9–12 builds on K–8 experiences and progresses to explanations and designs that are supported by multiple and independent student-generated sources of evidence consistent with scientific ideas, principles, and theories. Construct and revise an explanation based on valid and reliable evidence obtained from a variety of sources (including students’ own investigations, models, theories, simulations, peer review) and the assumption that theories and laws that describe the natural world operate today as they did in the past and will continue to do so in the future.
Engaging in argument from evidence in 9–12 builds on K–8 experiences and progresses to using appropriate and sufficient evidence and scientific reasoning to defend and critique claims and explanations about natural and designed worlds. Arguments may also come from current scientific or historical episodes in science.
Engaging in argument from evidence in 9–12 builds on K–8 experiences and progresses to using appropriate and sufficient evidence and scientific reasoning to defend and critique claims and explanations about natural and designed worlds. Arguments may also come from current scientific or historical episodes in science.
Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning behind currently accepted explanations or solutions to determine the merits of arguments.
Planning and carrying out investigations in 9-12 builds on K-8 experiences and progresses to include investigations that provide evidence for and test conceptual, mathematical, physical, and empirical models.
Planning and carrying out investigations in 9-12 builds on K-8 experiences and progresses to include investigations that provide evidence for and test conceptual, mathematical, physical, and empirical models. Plan and conduct an investigation individually and collaboratively to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence, and in the design: decide on types, how much, and accuracy of data needed to produce reliable measurements and consider limitations on the precision of the data (e.g., number of trials, cost, risk, time), and refine the design accordingly.
At the high school level students are expected to engage with major global issues at the interface of science, technology, society and the environment, and to bring to bear the kinds of analytical and strategic thinking that prior training and increased maturity make possible. As in prior levels, these capabilities can be thought of in three stages—defining the problem, developing possible solutions, and improving designs.
Defining the problem at the high school level requires both qualitative and quantitative analysis. For example, the need to provide food and fresh water for future generations comes into sharp focus when considering the speed at which world population is growing, and conditions in countries that have experienced famine. While high school students are not expected to solve these challenges, they are expected to begin thinking about them as problems that can be addressed, at least in part, through engineering.
Developing possible solutions for major global problems begins by breaking them down into smaller problems that can be tackled with engineering methods. To evaluate potential solutions students are expected to not only consider a wide range of criteria, but to also recognize that criteria need to be prioritized. For example, public safety or environmental protection may be more important than cost or even functionality. Decisions on priorities can then guide tradeoff choices.
Improving designs at the high school level may involve sophisticated methods, such as using computer simulations to model proposed solutions. Students are expected to use such methods to take into account a range of criteria and constraints, to try and anticipate possible societal and environmental impacts, and to test the validity of their simulations by comparison to the real world.
Connections with other science disciplines help high school students develop these capabilities in various contexts. For example, in the life sciences students are expected to design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing human impact on the environment (HS-LS2-7) and to create or revise a simulation to test solutions for mitigating adverse impacts of human activity on biodiversity (HS-LS4-6). In the physical sciences students solve problems by applying their engineering capabilities along with their knowledge of conditions for chemical reactions (HS-PS1-6), forces during collisions (HS-PS2-3), and conversion of energy from one form to another (HS-PS3-3). In the Earth and space sciences students apply their engineering capabilities to reduce human impacts on Earth systems, and improve social and environmental cost-benefit ratios (HS-ESS3-2, HS-ESS3- 4).
By the end of 12th grade students are expected to achieve all four HS-ETS1 performance expectations (HS-ETS1-1, HS-ETS1-2, HS-ETS1-3, and HS-ETS1-4) related to a single problem in order to understand the interrelated processes of engineering design. These include analyzing major global challenges, quantifying criteria and constraints for solutions; breaking down a complex problem into smaller, more manageable problems, evaluating alternative solutions based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs, and using a computer simulation to model the impact of proposed solutions. While the performance expectations shown in High School Engineering Design couple particular practices with specific disciplinary core ideas, instructional decisions should include use of many practices that lead to the performance expectations.
At the high school level students are expected to engage with major global issues at the interface of science, technology, society and the environment, and to bring to bear the kinds of analytical and strategic thinking that prior training and increased maturity make possible. As in prior levels, these capabilities can be thought of in three stages—defining the problem, developing possible solutions, and improving designs.
By the end of 12th grade students are expected to achieve all four HS-ETS1 performance expectations (HS-ETS1-1, HS-ETS1-2, HS-ETS1-3, and HS-ETS1-4) related to a single problem in order to understand the interrelated processes of engineering design. These include analyzing major global challenges, quantifying criteria and constraints for solutions; breaking down a complex problem into smaller, more manageable problems, evaluating alternative solutions based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs, and using a computer simulation to model the impact of proposed solutions. While the performance expectations shown in High School Engineering Design couple particular practices with specific disciplinary core ideas, instructional decisions should include use of many practices that lead to the performance expectations.
Defining the problem at the high school level requires both qualitative and quantitative analysis. For example, the need to provide food and fresh water for future generations comes into sharp focus when considering the speed at which world population is growing, and conditions in countries that have experienced famine. While high school students are not expected to solve these challenges, they are expected to begin thinking about them as problems that can be addressed, at least in part, through engineering.
Developing possible solutions for major global problems begins by breaking them down into smaller problems that can be tackled with engineering methods. To evaluate potential solutions students are expected to not only consider a wide range of criteria, but to also recognize that criteria need to be prioritized. For example, public safety or environmental protection may be more important than cost or even functionality. Decisions on priorities can then guide tradeoff choices.
Improving designs at the high school level may involve sophisticated methods, such as using computer simulations to model proposed solutions. Students are expected to use such methods to take into account a range of criteria and constraints, to try and anticipate possible societal and environmental impacts, and to test the validity of their simulations by comparison to the real world.