Non-majors general chemistry courses offer a unique opportunity to instill and deepen a sense of civic responsibility in our students.  Developing civic responsibility is a core outcome of the general education curriculum at Independence Community College, and connecting chemistry with societal issues is the first learning outcome outlined by the Kansas Board of Regents for non-majors general chemistry transfer courses.  Therefore, 10% of the course grade comes from class discussions and an individual presentation geared towards connecting the details of chemistry to key civic issues.  Discussion topics target specific civic duties, including jury duty in: “Chemistry in real labs: Forensic Science Edition,” sharing information accurately in: “How does society see science?,” and voting in “Chemistry behind climate change.”  Chosen topics for the individual presentations were successful in developing awareness of important civic issues, including: “H in our Energy Future,” “Steroids Use in Professional Athletes,” and “Flint Michigan Water Crisis.”

Non-majors general chemistry course as a forum to promote civic responsibility

255th National Meeting (2018)

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