Demographic data published by the American Chemical Society (2022) for US students who received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry or biochemistry show that 48.4% of these students identified as various non-white racial/ethnic identities1. Additionally, numerous studies have shown increased student engagement and retention in chemistry when pedagogical practices in chemistry are culturally responsive (known as ethnochemistry) 2. The aim of this writing assignment is to create awareness about the importance of culturally responsive chemistry learning in a writing intensive (WI) one-credit course on chemical literature taken by all chemistry majors. This three-part assignment involves an out-of-class activity requiring students to watch videos on introductory chemistry topics presented in diverse culturally rooted practices followed by writing a self-reflection essay. These activities are followed by an in-class facilitated discussion and writing another reflection summarizing their thoughts. Completion of this assignment can empower students to learn chemistry in their own culturally rooted languages and enable them to make informed decisions about their language choice keeping their audience and purpose in mind. The assignment is included as a file below.
Sabbuddha Banerjee, Chemistry
- ACS Approval Program, Data & Reports. https://www.acs.org/education/policies/acs-approval-program/data-reports.html (last accessed 05/17/24).
- A) McKinley, A., Waiti, P. M., and Bell, B. Language, culture and science education. INT. J. Sci. Educ., 1992, 14, 579-595.
B) Ajayi, O. V., Achor, E. E., and Agogo, P. O. Use of Ethnochemistry Teaching Approach and Achievement and Retention of Senior Secondary Students in Standard Mixture Separation Techniques. Icsher J., 2017, 3, 21 – 30.
C) Singh, I. S. Effect of Ethnochemistry Practices on Secondary School Students’ Attitude Towards Chemistry. J. Educ. Pract., 2016, 7, 44-56.