Using the Socioscientific Context of Climate Change To Teach Chemical
Content and the Nature of Science
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Abstract
A thematic course called “Climate
Change: Chemistry and
Controversy” was developed for upper-level non-STEM students.
This course used the socioscientific context of climate change to
teach chemical principles and the nature of science. Students used
principles of agnotology (direct study of misinformation) to debunk
climate change misconceptions commonly encountered in the media and
politics. The culmination of the course was a service-learning project
to create training documents for staff at a local science center that
explained common climate misconceptions. In the process of completing
this project, students gained a greater appreciation for the nature
of science and learned chemical principles of electromagnetic radiation,
atomic structure (isotopes), molecular structure (Lewis structures,
VESPR, and polarity) spectroscopy, and stoichiometry. This paper summarizes
the outcomes of the course, teaching strategies used to reach the
outcomes, and strategies for incorporating agnotology and socioscientific
study in science courses