Identification of Substances by Physical Properties
Lab work-4 of Chemistry 1411
Classification:
Develop critical thinking using a real-world scenario activity with
students playing the main role
Aiden Eblimit Ph.D
Adjunct Chemistry Instructor
HCC Southeast
Learner-Centered Instructional Design Symposium (May 23,2014)
• Aim:
To become acquainted with simple laboratory techniques
using physical properties of substances in identification of
unknown substances. In order to implement Learnercentered instructional design(LCID), Avatar-led scenario is
incorporated Into this lab work with slight modification to
enhance learning outcome. Implementation of LCID in
this lab work did not change material component that are
required for this lab, and also did not increase time period
for experiment completion.
• Scenario:
• Jonh’s daughter(Elena) diagnosed for anemia after she
wore diapers from several years ago. Initially, Doctor
could not find possible causes of Elena’s illness. Anemia
is a condition in which the body does not have enough
healthy red blood cells. Red blood cells provide oxygen
to body tissues. Jonh and his wife were able to find
mothballs in these old diapers, and Naphthalene makes
up nearly 100% of active ingradient of mothball. Thus,
Naphthalen was the cause of anemia that will be
identified by students in Chemistry lab.
Instructional steps
PartI
1.Play Avatar scenario 1
• Write the symptoms present for the illness on the board or
oversized post it notes in black( critical thinking)..
–
–
–
–
Fever
Nausea
Dizziness
Vomiting
• Ask students to collaborate for 3-5 minutes on ideas about
what could be wrong with Elena
• Ask students to each write their guess on one of their three
post it notes
• Ask students to add their sticky notes on the board so that
‘like’ guesses create a bar graph
• Part II
• Play Avatar1_Scenario2
• Add the additional symptoms to the list you started in part I on the
board or oversized post-it notes in blue.
– Anemia
– Abdominal Pain
– Discolored, painful urination
– Diarrhea
• Ask students to collaborate for 3-5 minutes on ideas about what the
new symptoms might mean for a diagnosis for Elena
• Part III
• Play Avatar1_Scenario3
• Add additional symptoms to the list you started in part I and added
to in part II on the board or oversized post-it notes in red.
– Day 5 of disease
– Not iron deficient
– Genetic screening revealed nothing
– Extremely anemic
– Extremely lethargic
• Ask students to collaborate for 3-5 minutes on ideas about what the
new symptoms might mean for a diagnosis for Elena
• Part IV
• Play Avatar1_Scenario4
• Students complete the lab using the new lab section provided
collaboratively. [Students do not leave until after everyone is
done.]
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•
•
•
Part V
Play Avatar1_Scenario5
Conclusion of experiment
(find the answer through investigation)
• Question and suggestion:
• How would you apply LCID in your courses to engage
students in collaborative and proactive learning? Please
design a case that links course work to a real life scenario in
which students play main role.