“Real Life” Scientific Inquiry in Chemistry Class Using ChemMatters

Chemistry happens in the world around us, not just in a lab. Every time we cook or clean, it's chemistry in action. Chemists actually spend a great deal of time writing and reading science literature in order to communicate their results and ideas to one another. They even join journal clubs with their fellow researchers in order to build understanding of the purpose, methods and results of real science research. This lesson/activity arranges students into journal clubs to do supplementary reading about selected chemistry topics to experience how chemical concepts and their applications affect the world around them. It is a way for students to appreciate not only the large idea but some the details, evidence, methods, arguments, claims, and qualifications of those claims that underlies real scientific research. The students will work within their lab groups to read, discuss and present their findings about the selected ChemMatters articles. For each unit of study, one lab group will be assigned to select the articles which the entire class will read and to make a presentation about their findings based on the unit concepts we study (Unit and Article Selection Sheet).