BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Integrating Community Outreach
into Your Chemistry Courses
Without Wasting Your Time
ACS Conference
Spring 2006
by Christopher T. Jones
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
The Risk
 Here are some common reasons community
outreach is not integrated into chemistry
courses.
 It could be a time-consuming process.
 It may appear to have little impact.
 It will cost money I don’t have.
 It is more than I can handle on my own.
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
An Example - Background
 At the University of Illinois, our student
affiliates chapter of ACS had an ongoing
National Chemistry Week project where we
went out to local elementary schools.
 Our SA-ACS chapter had large numbers of
students willing to come for pizza and
chemistry demos, but only a small core willing
to assist with outreach on their on time.
 By changing the way we contacted schools,
the number of classrooms we were going to
dramatically increased.
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
An Example - Background
 We also had an Honors program in which
students in general chemistry could get
Honors credit by doing an extra project.
 This had typically been to write a 5-page
paper on a designated chemistry topic.
 I don’t like reading student papers.
 Students do not like writing papers.
 This rarely increases student enthusiasm
for chemistry which is one of my course
goals.
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
An Example – The Solution
 My solution was to make the Honors project
be participation in National Chemistry Week.
 I asked other faculty facing the same issue if
they wanted their students to participate. Most
agreed.
 Some faculty later joined me in contacting the
schools and planning the event.
 The core SA-ACS members organized the
training sessions.
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
An Example - Outcomes
 The result was that I oversaw the project with
less time than I would have spent reading and
commenting on students’ 5-page papers.
 We increased the number of elementary
school classrooms visited from about 20 to
about 100.
 Our chemistry students had fun doing a
project they will always remember.
 The University of Illinois gained credit for
exposing kids to science at an early age.
 The project cost was less than the cost of
buying pizza for 150 students.
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Another Example - Background
 When I first came to Brewton-Parker, the
main outreach was weekly tutoring that
was done primarily by faculty.
 Two hours a week with little student
involvement did not meet my goals.
 The local elementary school principal was
not enthusiastic about college students
coming to his school on a regular basis.
 Other schools are 15-20 miles away.
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Another Example - Background
 Many Pre-Med students are more likely to
become teachers than doctors.
 I wanted to involve ALL students in
chemistry projects that reinforce some topic.
 I wanted the project to be “hands-on” but
safe.
 The director of the Heart of Georgia Youth
Science & Technology Center needed to
show that their programs impact our area.
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Another Example - Background
 The college set its sights on increasing
enrollment in math and science from
local students.
 BPC’s Education Division needed more
opportunities to expose Math Education
and Science Education majors to
practical teaching venues.
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Another Example – The Solution
 My solution was to propose that we hold a
Math & Science Festival where kids, parents,
and teachers participate in hands-on projects
one Saturday each semester.
 All of my students pick a hands-on chemistry
project, design their experiment, create a
poster, write a 1-2 page report designed to be
used by teachers in the classroom, and a
page or less evaluation of their experience.
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Another Example - Outcomes
 My students practice their projects
during one of our 10 labs, so all the
students see their classmates’ projects.
 We have over 100 kids from a 75 mile
radius attend the event with their
parents, along with about a dozen or
more local teachers.
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Another Example - Outcomes
 While my students typically make up half
of the hands-on projects, our Education
Division handles another third of the
students. The rest of the projects are
from other faculty or local teachers.
 BPC now has over a hundred potential
science and math majors visiting
campus each semester.
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Another Example - Outcomes
 Several anonymous donors contribute
toward outreach activities each year to
fund the Math & Science Festival, an
annual Rocket Blast-off, and an annual
Astronomy day.
 Our partnership with the Heart of
Georgia Youth Science & Technology
Center has been their most successful
project in this area.
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
My Advice
 So what have I learned the hard way that can
make life easier for you?
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Make Life Easy for Yourself
 Pick an approach that makes life easy
on you.
 Plan it so that your goals are
accomplished.
 Organize it within your limits.
 Coordinate it so that you maximize the
number of people who can help you.
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Finding Your Path
Determine Your Goals
Set Your Limits
Partner for Impact
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Determine
Your Goals
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Determine Your Goals
 Determine what you would like to
accomplish by taking on the project.
 Who will it benefit and how?
 The institution
 Yourself
 The community
 Students
 Local ACS
 Department
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Set Your
Limits
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Set Your Limits
 How much time can you spend?
 How much will it cost?
 How much lecture/lab time can be
devoted to the project?
 Is it easier to send your students out or
have your audience come to you?
 How often will the event occur?
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Partner for
Impact
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Partner for Impact
 Do not do it alone.
Do not do it alone!
Do not do it alone!!!
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Partner for Impact
 Integrate the project into your course
since students are your most valuable
asset and the main reason for doing the
project.
 Identify two or three like-minded
colleagues, and see if they would
consider assisting with some part of the
project.
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Partner for Impact
 Look outside of chemistry for help.
 Other science and math folks aren’t that
bad!
 Look to your education department for help
since most programs require outreach like
this of their students.
 Look to your local ACS chapter.
 Look to the regional office and local school
districts.
 Look to your institution’s extension office.
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Partner for Impact
 Ask your department or institution for
assistance for a small amount of money.
 Show them what you accomplish, and
ask for more.
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Classroom Integration
 Build the requirement into the course
syllabus. No volunteers!
 Give a detailed break down of what is
required up front.
 Motivate students and show them your
excitement for the project.
 Reinforce chemistry topics learned from their
projects in class.
 Get feedback from students so things will be
easier next time.
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Ideas
 Weekly tutoring
 A Saturday event once a semester at
your institution
 One week of sending students out to
perform demos
 Adopting a class for the semester in
which a variety of projects are planned
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
More Ideas
 Let schools pick from a list of demos or
hands-on projects that they can
schedule any Friday afternoon.
 Host science camp for kids in the
summer or during the district’s spring
break.
 Have students create science kits for
teachers to check out with all the
required supplies and lesson ideas.
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Conclusions
 You choose lab experiments to be
accomplished in limited time, with limited
resources, that still meet your course learning
objectives.
 Obviously, hands-on lab experience is crucial
in learning chemistry, so even if it has the
same obstacles (time, money, impact,
overwhelming commitment), it still warrants
inclusion in the learning process.
 Community outreach is no different. So, start
planning what you can do in your community
at your institution with your students.
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
So Remember
Determine Your Goals
Set Your Limits
Partner for Impact
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Acknowledgements
The University of Illinois
 Steve Zumdahl, Susan Zumdahl, Angie Cannon,
Roxy Wilson, Christine Yerkes, Tom Hummel, Don
DeDoste, Jennifer Firestine, Carolyn Schick, Craig
Gerken
Brewton-Parker
 David McMillin, Jon Shuman, Ann Calhoun, Forrest
Rich, Marvin McClendon, Javad Zadeh, Mariam
George, Margaret Haines, Sherra Durden, Norma
Harper, Skye Jordan
 My students, who think I’m a bit crazy, but have
joyfully participated in outreach over the years
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BREWTON–PARKER COLLEGE
Christopher T.
JONES
Any Questions?
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