Curriculum Design

Active Chemistry follows the classroom success of Active Physics and is expected to be similar in style and philosophy. Using thematic challenges that engage students' interest, students learn about the impact of chemistry in a context of Arts and Leisure, Food and Drugs, Sustainability, and The Natural and Fabricated World.

Each chapter begins with a Scenario or a situation that places chemistry in the context of an
everyday experience relevant to the students' lives. Next, students are presented with a Chapter Challenge involving the scenario that will capture their interest and imagination. The Criteria for assessing the success of the Chapter Challenge is determined at the beginning of each chapter and a rubric is developed with the students. Students then accumulate the knowledge needed to complete the challenge by performing activity-based Investigations. Students take an active role in learning by participating in hands-on labs based on scientific inquiry. Students must master the key concepts in the Investigations and apply their new knowledge in order to complete their challenge. Cooperative engagement is integral to the course, as students are encouraged to work together in small groups to acquire knowledge and information needed to address the challenge presented in each chapter. Each Investigation concludes with a Reflecting on the Activity and the Challenge, which relates the activity to the Chapter Challenge.

For example, suppose you choose to begin with the Movie Special Effects chapter of our
current Active Chemistry prototype book. On the first day, your students are introduced to the Chapter Challenge. Your Active Chemistry class has been invited to participate in a low-budget movie. The students have been asked to write a script for a simple scene in which they can incorporate some special effects.

To meet their challenge, students must:

• Write a script that requires a special effect or effects using one or more chemical principles.
  
• Provide a written procedure to the "producer" explaining how the special effect works.
  
• Demonstrate the special effect using acceptable safety procedures.
  

• the accuracy of the explanation of the chemical principles used in the special effect;
• the creativity of the script;
• the interest and appeal to the audience;
• safety considerations;
• the quality of the demonstration.