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Integrating Ethics into a Chemistry-Based Environmental Science Course -
Dan Higgins, KSU

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No 0629443. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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Background

Chemistry 315 is a course for non-majors in which students are exposed to a variety of environmental problems. While a large component of the course focuses on the chemistry, the applied nature of the topic lends itself well to discussing ethics. I introduced a decision-making strategy to my students and had them practice analyzing real environmental issues using this approach. | Implementation

Implementation

I first gave students a PowerPoint lecture to provide background information, used an example to guide a class discussion, and then assigned a homework assignment. I also devoted one question on an exam to ethical analysis.

| Student Performance

Student Performance

Overall students performed well, tightly adhering to the decision-making strategy I had presented.

| Reflections

Reflections

Incorporating ethics into my teaching benefited both me and my students. The class frequently relied on the decision-making framework I presented early in the semester to guide discussions of environmental issues. I was able to present my teaching approach to the American Chemical Society and am currently preparing a manuscript based on my experience embedding ethics into this general science course.

| Summary

Project Summary

A chemistry professor incorporates ethics in a non-majors environmental science course to provide students with a framework in which they can evaluate environmental ethics dilemmas they are likely to face in their everyday lives.