Making Everyday Chemistry Public: A Non-disposable Writing Assignment in a Freshman Honors Course

Friday 3:00pm-4:00pm Beren Auditorium
Poster Session Part of Friday Poster Session

Session Chairs

Drew Vartia, University of Kansas Main Campus
Timothy A. Jackson, University of Kansas Main Campus
Jason C. Applegate, University of Kansas Main Campus
Nathan R. Erickson, University of Kansas Main Campus
Traditional assignments are typically two-party transactions that hold little value for either the student or the instructor. Such disposable assignments that "add no value to the world" are more frequently being replaced with both non-disposable and renewable assignments. The title project "Making Everyday Chemistry Public" reformulates a traditional writing assignment as a non-disposable assignment for a freshman honors chemistry course. For the assignment, students create and publicly display posters that highlight the chemistry associated with that public area. For the curious viewer, the poster includes a QR code that links to student-written web content, which preserves the writing-focused nature of the assignment. Details of the project format, implementation, response, and suggested alternatives are presented.