The STEM Residential College in Arkansas Hall on the University of Central Arkansas campus is a living and learning community of freshman pursuing majors in the sciences. The STEM Residential College instituted a Pseudoscience Fair as part of its co-curricular activities beginning in the Fall 2015 semester. The faculty of the general education classes of College Chemistry I, Biology I, American Nations II, General Psychology, Kinesiology and Physical Education, Philosophy and Music Appreciation courses have required their students to participate in the event over its three year history.  The objectives of the Pseudoscience Fair are multifold. (1) Students will learn to investigate claims made by the media and others for validity. (2) Students will learn to communicate effectively, through speech and writing, scientific concepts to a broad audience. (3) Students will learn the skill of working in groups even through dissension. (4) Students will understand the interconnectivity of multiple disciplines.<br/> <br/>The later of these objectives is completed through intentionality. The Resident Master for the STEM Residential College obtains a list of all participating general education course rosters. The students taking these courses are compiled, collated, and placed in groups. If a student is enrolled in more than one course, they are placed in groups with other individuals enrolled in those same classes. The professors for those classes then get together and determine a topic that appropriately meets the need of their combined courses. This intentionality has allowed students enrolled in, for example, Chemistry and Philosophy, Psychology and Chemistry, or Chemistry and Biology, to understand the connectivity of concepts within these courses. This talk will describe information obtained from student evaluations, and two student co-presenters will able to provide first-person perspectives about the Pseudoscience Fair projects. Additionally, some of the posters and power point presentations, presented at the Pseudoscience Fair, will be available for perusal.   <br/>

Pseudoscience fair crosses chemistry and other disciplines

255th National Meeting (2018)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.