The COVID-19 pandemic has turned the eyes of society to science, but there is still a gap between scientific communication to a broader audience and general public interpretation and application of STEM topics. Furthermore, most of us had to face teaching chemistry through a computer screen, limiting our students access to the lab. With these two ideas in mind, we developed an online course where our undergrad students were able to perform some home experiments to continue developing their lab skills. Online sessions were used to show their results and to explain the science behind the materials that surround us in our daily lives (<i>e.g</i>., fluorescence at home, crystallization process and solubility, hard water and chemical composition of eggshells, chocolate phase transitions, among others). Finally, a project-based activity allowed the students to design an experiment and to demonstrate their oral and written communication skills to a non-specialized audience.<br/><br/>A preliminary assessment of this work shows the interest of our students in learning more about the connection of science with our daily lives, in particular the chemistry around us. The students displayed a clear improvement in their communication skills, they felt they had a better understanding of how to design a hands-on activity, and they showed a positive attitude towards science outreach. Some of the students have mentioned they would be interested in continuing to develop this kind of activities as part of an outreach project with their local student chapter.

How a home chemistry virtual course could be used as a tool to improve our students’ communication skills to a broader audience

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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