Students in a College Chemistry II course were required to develop and present hands-on science activities during science night events at local area schools. The impact of the project on the student and the community was analyzed using multiple components. Students were evaluated on their contribution to the activity and team. Additionally, their writing skills were measured through the assignment of a paper into the project and their communication skills assessed during the event. The student was also required to perform a self-evaluation, using a survey that involved selected-response and constructed-response tools, to determine the overall effectiveness of the incorporation of the project towards their understanding of the role they have, as educated individuals, towards the community. The impact of the hands-on science activity on the K-12 attendees at science nights was also evaluated using a combination of selected-response and constructed-response tools offered to the parents of the attendees. The results for all of the assessments demonstrated that the incorporation of an outreach project into the College Chemistry II curriculum had a positive impact on the students’ understanding of chemical concepts, teamwork skills, and their view about performing outreach in the community, as well as providing a wonderful opportunity to have a positive impact on future generations of scientists.

Impact of science nights: Incorporation of a hands-on science outreach/service-learning project into a freshman-level college chemistry course

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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