How do we make undergraduate science education more inclusive for non-science majors? One strategy is to integrate elements of their daily lives into the course curriculum. This talk will highlight our efforts to utilize modification of a recipe as a real-world project for learning the scientific method in a non-laboratory science course for nonscience majors. Implementation of the scientific method project was conducted in two course formats – one-month and full-semester – and with varied student populations. Student learning was assessed through both presentation and exam formats for application and comprehension, respectively. Evaluation of student proficiency was measured by a series of assessment administrators, including instructors, peers, self, and an external panel consisting of chemistry faculty. Across course formats and student populations, all evaluators indicate that nonscience majors achieve proficiency in applying the scientific method; however, perception of student performance varied with assessment format, highlighting disparities.

Recipe modification: A means of learning and applying the scientific method, accessible to all

ACS Spring 2022

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