PETER E. CHILDS, SARAH HAYES AND ANNE O’DWYER

CHEMISTRY AND EVERYDAY LIFE:

RELATING SECONDARY SCHOOL CHEMISTRY TO
THE CURRENT AND FUTURE LIVES OF STUDENTS

Chemistry education in secondary school is often seen as divorced from real life. It
takes place in a school classroom or laboratory setting, using abstract concepts
and unfamiliar language. Consequently many students do not see the relevance,
interest or importance of what they study in school for their everyday life outside
school or for their future role in society. However, an understanding of basic
chemical and scientific ideas is more important than ever today for living in a
technological society and for understanding and dealing with the problems and
issues of everyday life: health, energy, environment, diet etc. Chemical literacy is
needed to understand, evaluate and make decisions about many current and future
issues, e.g. nuclear power, GM foods, climate change etc. Chemical education at
school needs both to help students understand and use basic chemical concepts but
also to relate these concepts to real-world issues and show how chemistry helps in
understanding and dealing with the many science-related issues that arise in
everyday life. This will provide them with foundation for life-long learning and the
ability to deal intelligently with issues in the future. The important of chemical
literacy for the citizen will be illustrated by mapping the secondary level chemistry
curriculum onto current societal issues, which impinge on the everyday lives of
students. Several of these topics will be described as case studies to show how the
chemical ideas studied at school are useful in understanding contemporary issues.
This will demonstrate how the chemistry taught in schools can equip a student to
meet the challenges of an increasingly complex and science-dependent world.

INTRODUCTION

In 1985 the Association for Science Education in the U.K. published a blueprint for
Education through Science (ASE, 1985) where they pointed out that science
education should have “relevance: science education should draw extensively on
the everyday experience of pupils.” In 1986 we ran a conference for Irish
chemistry teachers on ‘Everyday Chemistry’ (Childs, 1986).
This was at the start of the movement in the U.K. to introduce context-based
science curricula, with a focus on everyday applications of science. The main
speaker, Francesca Garforth, said in her talk on ‘Chemistry through the looking
glass’: “Few courses draw on the experiences that pupils bring from their

I. Eilks, A. Hofstein (eds.) Relevant Chemistry Education – From Theory to Practice, 00-00.
©2015 Sense Publishers, All rights reserved.
CHILDS, HAYES & O‘DWYER

everyday lives and this is much more true of chemistry than the other two
sciences” (Garforth, 1986). The 1980s were the era of new context-based courses
which started from the needs and interests of the students, rather than the needs and
interests of university scientists. This involved turning the curriculum process
around, so that it started from the students’ experiences and interests and developed
the appropriate science, rather than the traditional curriculum development process,
which started (and still does in many countries) from the subject content and often
finished there. These two approaches are contrasted in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Two curriculum approaches in science

In this chapter we want to explore the idea of what constitutes ‘everyday

chemistry’ and how it relates to the chemistry content of secondary level courses.
Too often the way students are introduced to chemistry puts them off the subject
for life: they meet abstract and difficult concepts almost in their first class (atoms,
molecules, electronic structure); they are warned about the dangers of chemistry
and the importance of safety when they enter the laboratory; they are expected to
use strange apparatus with difficult and unfamiliar names (burette, flask, pipette);
they use chemicals with unfamiliar names, which are impossible to spell; they are
bombarded with a new language; and the meet arcane symbols and terminology.
This strangeness and lack of connection to real life is greater for chemistry than it
is for biology and physics, where students have more immediate and obvious
contact with the subject matter. Chemistry teachers often enhance this strangeness
by the way they introduce chemistry, without any reference to the everyday lives of
their students or the real world relevance of chemistry. We could say that chemists
are their own worst enemy in the way they present their subject. Research has
shown that we should start with the familiar and move to the unknown; start with
the concrete and move to the abstract; start simple and build up the complexity.
Often chemistry teachers, following a traditional course and text book, do the exact
opposite to this and we wonder why students are put off and turned off.
Jevons said this many years ago, in his book The teaching of science: education,
science and society:
If the paramount place is given to the interests of the students, then the
educator must keep at the forefront of his mind that he is teaching students
rather than subjects, and for their own sakes first and those of their future
employers second. He has to think not how much of the subject he can get

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through, or how far he can meet the wishes of employers, but what and how
much his students should be given so as to do them most good. (Jevons,
1969, p. 4)
The idea of relating science education to the everyday lives of students is not
new and in themed 19th century there was a movement to teach the science of
common things in elementary schools in England, associated with the name of
Richard Dawes. This early but stillborn example of everyday science has been
described by David Layton in his book Science for the People:
Here was no crumb of upper-class education charitably dispensed to the
children of the labouring poor. Instruction was related to a culture which
was familiar to them and proved opportunities for the use of reason and
speculation by drawing upon observations which pertained to everyday life.
Understanding and the exercise of thought were not prerogatives of the
middle and upper classes. (Layton, 1973, p. 53)
What was taught sounds a lot like modern context-based curricula, as this
example from Dawes’ teaching scheme shows:
The materials used in building and furnishing their houses, whence obtained
and how prepared. Their clothing and its materials, which vegetable, which
animal; the comparative value and suitableness of different materials for
different purposes, specimens of each being shown. Articles of food,
whence obtained, how prepared; their dietetic properties and values; the
history of a cottage-loaf.
Changes of personnel led to this innovative way of teaching science being
dropped, which was fully integrated into the rest of the elementary curriculum, in
favour of a more academic, pure science.

WHAT IS EVERYDAY CHEMISTRY?

“Everyday chemistry is about the interaction of chemistry with the ordinary,

everyday lives, interests, problems and activities of our students” (Childs, 2006).
This is sometimes called real world chemistry (Hosteller, 1983) or authentic
chemistry/science (Bulte, Westbroek, De Jong, & Pilot, 2006; Lombardi, 2007),
although authentic contexts can mean either everyday contexts or professional
scientific contexts.
There are different ways of relating everyday chemistry to the school curriculum
and to the interests of secondary students. We could consider, for example,
materials that are used every day, or the chemistry of everyday objects, or that of
everyday activities students are involved in, or their hobbies or outside interests.
We could consider the chemistry involved in everyday issues, topical events that
come up in the news media and in discussion; many of these topics are about the
environment, energy and resources, and all involve science/chemistry, as well as
economic, ethical and social issues. Figure 2 shows some of the possible areas of
everyday chemistry.

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Figure 2. Possible areas of Everyday Chemistry

Everyday materials
In our everyday lives we use many materials for different purposes, which we
usually take for granted and do not consider what life would be like without them.
One interesting exercise is to get students to think what their day would be like
without any products produced by chemistry. Examples include: paints, paper,
metals, clothing, insecticides, food, fireworks, cosmetics, toys, plastics, building
materials etc. This is similar to the topic-based approach used in the Salters’ GCSE
Chemistry course (Table 1). There are many topics that could be included and each
one can bring in a lot of chemistry along the way. The specific topics would need
to be modified to the particular country and culture in which the teaching takes
place, and the approach of ‘everyday chemistry’ allows the starting points for
introducing chemical ideas to be tailored to the specific situation, e.g. we might
have a different selection of topics in European, Asian and African schools.

Table 1. Salters’ GCSE Chemistry (Garforth, 1986)

Year (Grade) 9 Year (Grade) 10 Year (Grade) 11

Clothing Transport Burning & Bonding
Drinks Minerals Electrochemistry
Food Plastics Keeping healthy
Metals Agriculture Energy today and tomorrow
Warmth Food processing
Emulsions
Buildings

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Everyday issues
Another approach would be to investigate the chemistry/science involved in topical
issues, such as: GM crops and foods, nuclear energy, climate change, water
pollution, fracking etc. The specific topics will change over time, but there are
always controversial science-based topics in the media and public debate. Acid rain
and ozone depletion have faded from public debate, but topics like climate change
and fracking have replaced them. In this approach an issue being covered in the
media is used as a starting point for an investigation of chemistry/science involved.
These topics are hot issues and may be a matter under discussion at home. This is
the approach taken in many of the TY Science modules developed at the University
of Limerick (see below). Many of the contemporary issues are environmental or
resource-based and nearly all involve chemistry. However, when we get into real
world issues the chemistry/science and the issues are often complex and
interdisciplinary. Such issues allow the teacher to use newspapers and other media
coverage in discussing the topic. (see Jarman and McClune, 2007, for example, in
using news media to teach science.)
Another approach to everyday chemistry is to use advertising materials, which
often make scientific claims (see the chapter by Belova et al. in this book). The
chemistry/science behind the claims could be investigated experimentally (which
product cleans best or lasts longest?) and finding out the best value for money is a
good example of consumer chemistry (Selinger, 1998; Emsley, 1994, 2007). What
is the chemistry involved in formulating a medicine or a cleaning product or in soft
drink or processed food?

Everyday activities
From the time they get up in the morning students are involved in a variety of
activities which have a scientific or chemical component. Such activities overlap
with the chemistry involved in everyday materials and objects, but here the focus is
on the activity in which the student is involved. Examples include: keeping clean,
cooking, transport, sport, entertainment etc.

Everyday objects
Everything we use every day has been made from raw materials, processed and
fabricated in various ways. Thus the everyday objects we use can be the starting
point for an investigation of the chemistry/science involved. Examples include: the
car, the paraglider, the bicycle, smart phones, laptop computer, space rockets,
gaslighters, contact lenses, batteries etc. Investigating how the object works, how it
was made, what materials it was made from will uncover a wealth of scientific
questions to be answered. In environmental impact analyses we often talk about
‘cradle to grave’ impact on energy and resources. We can do the same thing to
investigate the cradle to grave story of familiar objects and the science involved.
Michael Faraday was a pioneer of relating science to everyday life, as illustrated
by his popular lectures on ‘The Chemical History of a Candle’ given in 1848,

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which is a model of how to teach science through an everyday, familiar object.

Table 2 shows the topics covered in his 6 demonstration lectures, which went on to
be published and are still available online and in print (Halsall, 1998).

Table 2. The Chemical History of a Candle – lecture topics

Lecture Topic
I A candle: The flame Its sources
Structure mobility
Brightness
II Brightness of the Air necessary for combustion
flame Production of water
III Products of Water from the combustion
combustion Nature of water
A compound
Hydrogen
IV Hydrogen in the Burns into water
candle The other part of water- oxygen
V Oxygen present in Nature of the atmosphere
the air Carbonic acid
VI Carbon or charcoal Coal gas
Respiration and its analogy to a candle

Another example is Thomas Huxley’s popular 1868 lecture in Norwich on ‘A

piece of chalk’, in which he explains to a lay audience the geology and chemistry
of chalk (Huxley, 1868).

Other areas of interest

Everyday chemistry is also involved in other disciplines and areas of culture, which
broaden the scope of everyday chemistry to include the social dimension of science
to include economic, ethical and aesthetic issues. These will involve the whole
person, involving attitudes and values, rather than just the intellectual and practical
skills we usually focus on. This approach could look at subjects such as:
archaeology, art conservation and restoration, forensic science, history of
chemistry, ethics, economics, conservation, resource management, space
exploration etc.

TEACHING APPROACHES TO INTRODUCING EVERYDAY CHEMISTRY

The Salters’ science courses and other context-based (or applications-led) courses
start from the everyday contexts and use these as the curriculum framework. The
chemistry content is then introduced on a need-to-know basis to understand the
context. Table 1 shows the topics used in Salters’ GCSE Chemistry units.
Traditionally in chemistry teaching, applications are left to the end of the chapter,
almost as an afterthought; they may then be omitted altogether if the teacher runs
out of time and may or may not be examined. Another approach is to sprinkle

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applications and everyday examples throughout the course, like chocolate chips in
a muffin, so that the contexts are introduced on a nice-to-know basis. Context-lite
courses like Organic Chemistry in Action! (O’ Dwyer & Childs, 2012) a short
chemical story to introduce a topic, although the main focus is on the content.
These approaches represent a spectrum of using everyday chemistry in the
chemistry curriculum (Figure 3).

Figure 3. The everyday chemistry spectrum

In Tables 3 (a-f), we have tried to map examples of everyday chemistry onto the
typical content of a senior secondary chemistry curriculum, such as might be done
using context as an illustration or application.

Table 3a. Mapping everyday chemistry onto the curriculum (Introductory Chemistry)

Syllabus content Everyday examples

Atoms, molecules, elements, Lego blocks; cooking.
compounds, mixtures
Atomic structure Models, The world around us, differences in
atomic structure of different objects
Radioactivity Dating methods – carbon-14; age of the earth
Electronic structure of Fireworks; colour of gems; northern lights;
atoms/spectroscopy composition of stars
The Periodic Table - structure Organisational charts
Oxidation and reduction/oxidation Corrosion; spoilage/oxidation of wine, foods
states
Types of chemical compounds Food, Medicines, Clothing
Ionic bonding/compounds Rocks and minerals
Covalent bonding/compounds Cooking
Shapes of molecules Smell and taste
Metallic bonding/metals Metals and alloys
Molecular bonding/compounds Smell and flavour
Materials and properties Properties of materials linked to bonding
States of matter and properties Water cycle
Gas laws Bicycle pump; hot air balloons
The mole
Chemical formulae
Chemical equations
Chemical nomenclature

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Table 3b. Mapping everyday chemistry onto the curriculum (Solutions)

Syllabus content Everyday examples

Solutions – saturated/unsaturated Sugar in tea
Concentrations of solutions Value for money;
Water – structure and properties Icebergs and frozen lakes
Hydrogen bonding Fuels, medicines, biological functions (DNA,
proteins), chelation
Water treatment Purifying water; bottled waters
Sewage treatment Waste treatment
Hardness of water Washing; water softening
Dissolved gases; oxygen and BOD Fish life; soft drinks
pH scale Soil pH
Acids and bases Household products; foods;
Strong and weak acids and bases Food, Household cleaning products, medicinal
(i.e. relief from stings),

Table 3c. Mapping everyday chemistry onto the curriculum (analysis and separation)

Syllabus content Everyday examples

Volumetric analysis acids and bases Analysis of household products
Volumetric analysis – redox DO in water
Volumetric analysis – Hard water; stalactites and stalagmites
complexometric
Gravimetric analysis Quality control in food, ores in industry,
calibration
Instrumental analysis – AAS Metals in water
Colorimetry Fe and Cl2 in water
Mass spectrometry Quality control/analysis of drugs, food
IR spectroscopy Quality control/analysis of drugs, food
UV-visible spectroscopy Quality control/analysis of drugs, food
NMR spectroscopy Quality control/analysis of drugs, food
Re/Crystallisation Drug manufacture
Chromatography QC of medicines
Distillation – ordinary and reflux Drinks industry; desalination
Steam distillation Perfumes

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Table 3d. Mapping everyday chemistry onto the curriculum (Organic Chemistry)

Syllabus content Everyday examples

Oil, refining and petrochemicals Production of petrol
Aliphatic hydrocarbons – structure and Natural gas; dry cleaning
properties
Aromatic hydrocarbons – structure and Synthesis of drugs
properties
Carboxylic acids Vinegar; citric acid; lactic acid
Alcohols Drinks; biofuels
Esters Food flavours
Aldehydes and ketones
Organic Mechanisms Production of medicine
Natural products Food; drugs; dyes
Sugar and carbohydrates Food industry; food tests
Amino acids and proteins Food tests; good and bad fats
Pharmaceuticals Pain killers
Soaps and detergents Cleaning
Polymers – structure and properties Plastics and their properties
Addition polymers LDPE, HDPE,PP,PS Recyling
Condensation polymers Nylons; polyesters; fibres and clothes;
wool and cotton

Table 3e. Mapping everyday chemistry onto the curriculum (Physical Chemistry)

Syllabus content Everyday examples

Exothermic and endothermic reactions Hot and cold packs; fuels; fridges
Bomb calorimeter Food and fuels
Heats of reaction – energy diagrams Hand-warmers used in sport, self-heating
cans for drinks (e.g. coffee)
Energy and fuels Value for money; pollution; climate change;
rocket fuels
Entropy How sugar dissolves in tea or coffee,
Free energy
Chemical equilibrium Fizzy drinks, Biochemical processes in our
bodies
Equilibrium constants Sun, photosynthesis
Le Chatelier’s principle Refrigerators, Air conditioning systems, ,
Electrochemistry – ions, cells Batteries, electroplating of jewellery
Electrode potentials and electrochemical Sensors in industry, and for oxygen
series (pollution)
Batteries and fuel cells Batteries –rechargeables; electric cars
Electrolysis (Faraday’s laws) aqueous Extraction of metals and production of
solutions and molten salts NaOH, Cl2

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Table 3f. Mapping everyday chemistry onto the curriculum (Inorganic and Environmental)

Syllabus content Everyday examples

Extraction of metals Recycling metals
Reactivity series Decision making in use of materials for
differing purposes e.g. coolants, building
Corrosion Rusting; prevention
Reactive metals (Group 1/I and 2/II) Use in fireworks/pyrotechnics, coolants
Aluminium - amphotericity Anodising
Transition metals – colour/oxidation Colour of gems; catalysis
states
Atmospheric chemistry Pollution; Climate change and CO2;
Acid rain Effects on soils, lakes, statues
Greenhouse effect Climate change
Ozone depletion Skin cancer
Photochemical smog Asthma and cancer
Oxygen chemistry (Group 16/VI) Combustion; respiration
Nitrogen chemistry (Group 15/V) Fertilisers; explosives
Phosphorus chemistry (Group 15/V) Fertilisers; food; detergents; pollution
Sulphur chemistry (Group 156/VI) Air pollution
Fertilisers Agriculture; organic food
Agrichemicals – pesticides/herbicides Pollution
Chlorine chemistry Group VII/18) Water purification
Hydrogen and hydrides Hydrogen economy

However, it is better to start at the other end and identify areas of everyday life,
particularly those of most interest or relevance to students’ lives, as done in the
Salters’ projects and Chemie im Kontext.
Table 4 shows the approach taken by the Chemistry and Society Teaching
Project (PEQUIS), a Portuguese language project developed in Brazil from 1996
onwards (Dos Santos et al., 2006) and shows the 9 modules developed over 3
years. In this case the Socio-Scientific Issues (SSI) content is introduced into the
traditional chemistry curriculum, so that we are in the middle of our context
spectrum. The authors say that rather than developing the chemistry from themes,
“the social themes evolve from the chemistry content because, otherwise, it would
be too hard for chemistry teachers to accept it.” The course was developed for the
final three years of secondary schooling, prior to university entry.

EXAMPLES OF EVERYDAY CHEMISTRY

In this section we look in more detail at three ways of relating everyday chemistry
to traditional chemistry content or introducing chemistry in an everyday context.
Firstly, we look at some of the materials developed for the TY Science project.
Secondly, we look at the topic of food and how chemistry content can be
developed through it. Thirdly, we look at the topic of medicines and health and
how this can be used to develop chemical ideas. Each of these examples is dealt
with on its own, without reference to other topics or a whole chemistry curriculum.

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In designing a whole course, like Salters’ Chemistry or Chemie im Kontext, the

structure and sequencing of units would be important to develop the chemical ideas
in a logical and sequential manner, where each unit (module) builds on those that
have gone before. Our aim here is to show that it is possible to use aspects of
everyday chemistry, starting from the students’ own experiences, to develop
traditional chemistry content, but in a more interesting and motivating manner.

Table 4. Chemistry and Society Modules and links to chemistry content

(Dos Santos et al., 2006)

Year Modules Social Chemistry content

(grade) themes
1 (9) Science, materials Waste Science, chemistry, technology
and waste and society
Materials and transformations
Matter separation methods
Particle models and Air Activities of the chemist
air pollution pollution Study of gases and scientific
models
Atomic models
Elements, bonding Agriculture Chemical elements
and agriculture classification
Ionic substances
Molecular substances
2 (10) Calculus, solutions Aesthetics Chemical units
and aesthetics Chemical calculus
Materials: classification and
concentration
Thermochemistry, Energy Hydrocarbons
kinetics and energy resources Thermochemistry
resources Chemical kinetics
Chemical Water Water properties and
equilibrium and colligative properties
water Acids and bases
Chemical equilibrium
3 (11) Steels, cells and Steels Metal bonding and redox
batteries Electrochemical cells
Electrochemistry
The organic Organic Organic compounds
chemistry of compounds Polymers
everyday life and Organic reactions
applications
Atom, Radioactivity Radioactivit Electronic structure
and nuclear energy y and Stable nuclei and radioactivity
nuclear Nuclear energy
energy

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Transition year science

Since 2003 we have been developing science modules for the Irish Transition Year
Programme, as part of the TY Science curriculum project. The TYP is an optional
year between the junior and senior cycle in Ireland. There is no set curriculum or
examination and this leaves teachers free to choose their own topics and teaching
methods, within a set of broad aims and guidelines. However, Irish science
teachers found themselves ill-equipped to take advantage of this opportunity to
innovate and no materials for available specifically for this year. This led to the TY
Science project to develop new materials, working in conjunction with final year
pre-service science teachers, who designed, developed, implemented and evaluated
the materials as part of their Final year Project (Childs, Hayes, Lynch, & Sheehan,
2010). The result of this curriculum development project is a bank of low-cost
teaching materials, which science teachers can use to teach outside the prescribed
science curriculum and which offers them materials to bring the real world and
everyday issues into the classroom. The TY Science materials have been well
received and widely used by Irish science teachers (Hayes, 2011). Table 5 shows a
list of the module titles developed from 2003-2014.

Table 5. List of TY Science modules

Name of TY Science Module Year of Development

Forensic Science 2004
Cosmetic Science 2004
The Science of Sport 2004
Science of Survival 2007
Environmental Science 2009
Issues in Science 2009
Science and Medicine 2009
Food Science 2009
Space Science & Technology 2010
Science of Cleaning 2010
Waste not, want not 2011
Power for the future 2011
Science of Toys 2012
Smart Materials 2012
More and more in less and less 2013
Scientific Mysteries 1 2014

The development of scientific literacy through a focus on Science, Technology and

Society (STS) is a key feature of these modules, which emphasise active learning
and skill acquisition, including IT and communication skills. They are not
exclusively chemistry in content, as real world topics and issues are usually both
complex and multi-disciplinary. However, most of the modules contain aspects of
everyday chemistry. For example, in the module on Issues in Science, one of the
units is on the fluoridation of water. This allows the teacher and students to explore
various topics: the source of fluoride compounds and how they are added to water;

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the analysis of water to ensure correct levels of fluoride; the structure tooth enamel
and the role of fluoride ions in strengthening it; the evidence for the reduction of
tooth decay when water is fluoridation; the counter evidence that high levels of
fluoride may be harmful; the social issues of mandatory fluoridation versus
personal choice (using toothpaste or mouth wash). In this module the approach in
each unit is to first review the science behind the issue, then discuss the
controversy and the pros and cons, and then have some forum where the students
can argue about the issue and weigh the evidence up for themselves.

Food for thought

The topic of food is an everyday contextual topic and lends itself to a number of
chemistry concepts in the secondary curricula. By starting with a simple context,
which is relevant to learners’ everyday lives, this may help to provide a hook for
engagement. From this starting point, learners can then move towards
understanding the physical properties of food (colours, smells, tastes, cooking
changes etc.) by developing an understanding of the chemical concepts that cause
these changes. In this manner, the learner understands the macroscopic properties
of food by developing their sub-microscopic understanding of chemical concepts.
As well as developing an understanding in chemistry, using a context such as
food as a mechanism to teach chemistry also provides the learner with a knowledge
about chemistry. For instance, having learned chemical concepts from this stand-
point, the learner will be a better-informed citizen and better able to debate and
have an educated opinion about wider global issues e.g. GM foods, organic foods
etc.
Table 6 that follows is divided into four columns. The first column lists the main
sub-topics relating to food. The middle column details the concepts of secondary
level chemistry that can be taught through the particular topic. The final column
provides examples of some of the possible activities that could be carried out by
the teacher and /or learner. This list of possible activities is not extensive and is
included here to stimulate further potential activities. The teaching methodologies
for these activities have not been detailed as this is not the primary focus of this
chapter. As can be seen from Table 6, there are some concepts which lend
themselves to a number of different topics within the context of food. However, in
each case, the important point is that the topic is introduced from the context;
moving towards an understanding of the concept. Such over-lapping contextual
links facilitate the development of a spiralling curriculum (Grove, Hershberger, &
Bretz. 2008). By introducing new concepts to learners in a piece-meal ‘need-to-
know’ fashion, the learners have a greater opportunity to develop a clearer
understanding (Gravert, 2006). For example, learners could be introduced isomers
through learning about amino acids (leucine and isoleucine), lipids (cis and trans
fatty acids) or citric fruits (d-limonene and l-limonene). It should be noted that the
order of the topics listed in Table 6 is not necessarily intended as a teaching order.

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Table 6. Food: contexts, concepts and activities for teaching chemistry (part a)

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Table 6. Food: contexts, concepts and activities for teaching chemistry (part b)

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Table 6. Food: contexts, concepts and activities for teaching chemistry (part c)

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Medicines and health

Yam (2008) describes context-based learning as:
a conception of teaching and learning that helps teachers relate subject
matter content to real world situations and motivates students to make
connections between knowledge and its applications to their lives as family
members, citizens, students, and workers. (Yam, 2008)
The topic of ‘Medicines and Health’ utilises context-based learning (CBL),
placing secondary students’ every day and life experiences and interests as an
integral part of the lesson. This is vital in the science classroom as
“contextualisation improves access to knowledge” (Peacock, cited in Campbell, &
Lubben, 2000, p. 239). The topic of medicines and health is of particular relevance
to students both in an Irish context and worldwide, with employment in the area a
key area on the European and world-wide agenda. Linkages to employment and
careers can “encourage the development of skills, attitudes and routines relevant to
the workplace” (Campbell, & Lubben, 2000, p. 240). In addition science courses
relevant to society may emphasize socially and politically contentious content and
encourage reasoning and decision-making skills appropriate for active citizenship.
(ibid)
The reported benefits of this approach are the affective responses of the students
to real-life situations, the gains in students’ understanding, attitudes, and abilities
(in some cases). The development of critical thinking skills for students can be
developed in a context-based classroom (Bailin, 2002). Bailin (2002) argues that
the premise of critical thinking is contextual, where learners are able to transfer
knowledge from one context to another. Both the ROSE (Schreiner, & Sjøberg,
2005; Matthews, 2007) and the PISA (Bybee, & McCrae, 2011) studies noted that
secondary students are interested in science topics that are relevant to them, and the
‘human context’ of science. medicines and health as a topic incorporates all these
features. Another benefit of the CBL approach is the positive effect that it has on
the gender balance in science (Bennett, Lubben, & Hogarth, 2007). However, there
are distinct gender differences in terms of the contexts through which male and
female students are interested in learning (Matthews, 2007, Bybee, & McCrae,
2011).
A context-based classroom can promote and enhance active student learning and
integration of knowledge. Some of the issues that are claimed to be addressed by
the context-based approach are: curriculum overload and fragmentation, the
presentation of a curriculum as a body of isolated facts and concepts to be learned;
the inability of students to transfer any scientific knowledge or skills beyond the
science classroom (the context in which it was learned); curriculum content being
irrelevant to students everyday lives, and a general confusion about why students
should learn science, given its lack of relevance to their lives (Millar, & Osborne,
1998, Gilbert, Bulte, & Pilot, 2010).
The starting point of ‘Medicines and Health’ offers students a frame of reference
for cross-curricular work and allows them to learn about a wide variety of chemical
and scientific topics. In order to truly understand the pharmaceutical and chemical

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industry one must have a good knowledge of anatomy, biochemistry, organic

chemistry, inorganic chemistry, engineering, business, and social sciences, thus
this topic offers a broad scope for teaching and learning in the area of everyday
life. This is shown schematically in Figure 4 and in more detail in Table 7.
Aspirin can be used as an example familiar to all students, yet one whose
chemistry is relatively simple and amenable to synthesis in school (Lamont, 2009).
It has an interesting social and scientific history, and it can be used to illustrate
how a laboratory chemical can be manufactured on a large scale, packaged and
distributed as a consumer product in different forms e.g. soluble and ordinary
forms. The importance of chemical analysis and quality control can also be
introduced, as well as the need to satisfy the regulations for drugs. The Royal
Society of Chemistry (RSC, 2003) Learn Chemistry book uses aspirin as an
example for a series of activities.
Figure 4 that follows Table 7 illustrates how the investigating a drug such as
aspirin can lead to a wide variety of learning outcomes in chemistry. The figure is
divided into six components, with each following a stage in the production of
aspirin, as it is carried out in industry. This is not meant to be prescriptive, rather to
illustrate how one drug can be taken and utilised through the context of
manufacturing to learn about a broad range of chemical concepts and ideas. The
broader context of the manufacture of medicines allows for cross-curricular
linkages, which is very important in context-based learning about everyday
chemistry, as it further reinforces the relevance of science in everyday life and the
suggestion that developing knowledge and understanding is not the same as rote
learning facts and figures (Carr, 2007; Kerry, 2011). The teaching methodologies
which this topic can be taught through have not been detailed here, as it is beyond
the scope of the chapter.

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 CHEMISTRY AND EVERYDAY LIFE 

Table 7. Topics in medicine, health and drugs and how they link to chemistry of everyday
life

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CHILDS, HAYES & O‘DWYER

Figure 4. Illustration of how drug can be utilised to teach a variety of different chemical
concepts through different activities.

CONCLUSION

The beauty of everyday chemistry as a theme is that it is literally all around us,
every minute of the day and in every location. If we are looking for relevance in
chemistry teaching in everyday contexts then there is no shortage of examples. We
have shown that there are various ways of approaching this topic and have given
some brief examples to illustrate it. The best and most effective approach is to
restructure the chemistry curriculum around everyday topics, as in the Salters’
science projects. Many countries do not have the freedom to do this and must work
within the confines of a centrally-prescribed curriculum and examination. In this
case the best approach is to infuse examples of everyday chemistry into the
different topics, using them to introduce topics and to illustrate the theory as it is
introduced. The least effective way is to add on examples at the end of a topic,
where they are seen as an afterthought and often ignored. To be most effective the
assessment of a course must include examples of everyday chemistry, indicating to

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students and teachers that this is an important aspect of the chemistry course. Many
students are put off chemistry because it is seen as boring and irrelevant to
everyday life. Making everyday chemistry a core feature of the chemistry course
offers a way to increase student’s interest and motivation for studying chemistry at
school.

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AFFILIATIONS

Peter Childs
National Centre for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching and
Learning and Chemistry Education Research Group, University of Limerick,
Limerick, Ireland

Sarah Hayes
Synthesis and Solid State Pharmaceutical Centre, Materials and Surface Science
Institute, University of Limerick,
Limerick, Ireland

Anne O’ Dwyer
National Centre for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching and
Learning and Chemistry Education Research Group, University of Limerick,
Limerick, Ireland

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