The AAAS runs a STEM volunteer program that partners scientists with public school teachers in the Washinton, DC area to bring the real world of science into the classroom. One of these partnerships is at Sherwood HS, where a retired analytical chemist volunteers one day a week for the entire school year, working with the chemistry teachers to help students relate what they are studying to the world around them.<br/>Over the past 9 years the volunteer and teachers have explored different strategies to increase student engagement including classroom presentations on topics like fracking, drug testing, fuel cells, and lead toxicity. One of the most recent projects was about chemical naming/formula writing of chemicals that pollute the Chesapeake Bay.  They held town hall meetings to further increase student engagement with topics like conflict minerals in the Congo used to make electronic components.  In particular, the volunteer explored with the students how Atomic Spectroscopy can be used to identify the source of these minerals.   Students learned to apply the concepts of chemistry to societal issues, and to recognize that real problems have more than one solution. <br/>Due in large part to the volunteers contacts with local analytical chemists and the strong relationship he has with the teachers and students, there have been a number of field trips, including visits to a police forensic lab, the regional water testing facility, and the NIST center for neutron research, exemplifying to students how spectroscopy and chromatography is used to solve problems.<br/>This collaboration has improved the educational experience of the students by allowing them to make connections between the classroom and the real world.  The volunteer and the teachers use their combined skills to motivate and engage the students to help them better understand they all have roles to play in the future of this planet.<br/>

Value of using retired scientists in the classroom: Connecting chemistry to the real world

254th National Meeting (2017)

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