OBJECT LESSONS FROM CHEMISTRY: THEMATIC STRATEGIES

            Thematic strategies are exceptionally effective approaches in the integration of faith and learning.  Themes that can be directly related to areas which are of great importance to students would not only be helping them relate to and remember the topics but would also make them realize that their learning after all makes sense.  This is especially helpful for courses that tend to get boring, difficult, and seemingly hard to relate to their majors or line of interest.  Learning that makes sense is important to the learner, for this will encourage retention and a desire for further learning.[1]

            Themes that can serve as springboards for the “right hemisphere breaks,” a term used by Bill Walthall to refer to the activity in the right portion of our brains when we do spiritual or religious dialogues,[2] and for other integrational strategies, can be located by examining course goals and objectives, lists of core concepts and key terms.[3]  But they can also be found within the subject content.  Take for instance the theme Eternity.  The thing that comes to mind first is the concept of infinity.  But infinity is simply too abstract for my first year students.  Besides, there is no topic in chemistry that can be directly related to that concept.  So I use the mole concept to serve as a springboard for this very important theme.  Here’s how I employ it in my class after they have understood what a mole is:

Dale C. Claveria (DCC): “I want you to determine how many mL of H₂O is equivalent to one mole of H₂O.”

Expected Students’ Response (ESR):  18 mL of H₂O.

DCC: (I show them a sample of 18 mL water or let one of them measure it in a cylinder.)

DCC: “If each of the 3000 students of MVC is given a laptop computer with a special external gadget that can count molecules at a rate of 1000 molecules per second, how long would it take them to completely count this 18-mL sample of water if this is the only task or assignment they have to work on?  Condition: They can let the computers work 24 hours a day, 6 days a week; they and their computers have to rest on the Sabbath.”

ESR:  7.5 billion years (approximately).

DCC: I would smile and say, “You certainly would be very old by that time.”

ESR:  (Blank and deep looks, Frowns and worried looks.)

DCC: “Well, what if you are to count all the molecules present in a barrel filled with water?”

ESR:  More smiles, although some might ask “How big is the barrel, Sir?” :)

DCC: “And what if you were to count all the water molecules present in the Pacific Ocean?”

ESR:  (I allow them to imagine or make any comments.)

DCC: I go closer to them, and with some gestures I appear as though I have an important secret to utter, and say in a soft voice, “This is only the beginning of eternity.”

         (I then dismiss the class after that and allow the students to discuss the activity and its faith implications among themselves.  Many times I learn that they even share what we discuss in class with their roommates and friends.)

            The execution of thematic strategies may be subtle.  The strategies do not sound very religious and many times students are unaware of it at first.  Just like the example shown above, the punch line of the strategy can be delivered in only few seconds; all the other activities involve deeper learning, synthesis, and application of the concept learned—which are few of the many components of effective learning.[4]  But it is not obscure either.  Students must always know where you stand; they must know what your principles are.

The Table below outlines some of the themes and strategies I used in my classes.

Thematic Strategies in Teaching Chemistry Concepts

Topics	Faith Themes
Atoms and Atomic Structures The modern atomic theory tells of an atom with indistinct boundaries but with elaborate internal architecture of subatomic particles. Atoms are so small that a line 1 cm across is equivalent to 100 million atoms wide. The nucleus is incredibly dense: it occupies only 1 ten-trillionth of the atom’s volume but contributes 99.97% of its mass. A nucleus the size of a period on this page would weigh about 100 tons. The electrons around nucleus act as particles and wave. They move fast but are not colliding, much like planets around the sun.	Distinctiveness, Order, and Design The order and design of the seemingly insignificant matter is amazing. If God has a wonderful design for atoms so small, surely He got a much more wonderful design for the lives of His beloved children!  Remember the sparrows. (Luke 12:6, 7) Each element is unique—in shape, size, mass, properties or behaviour, and usefulness. We need to understand that in God’s big family we don’t have to be uniform in traits, temperaments, talents or usefulness. But as atoms of different elements consistently do each of their assigned tasks, we too can do our duty, no matter how small or grand, for His glory.  In God’s field, no assignment is insignificant; all is important.
The Periodic Table The groups and periods in the periodic table tell of its amazing and predictable arrangement.	Importance of the Bible to a Christian What the periodic table is to a chemist the Bible is to a Christian (and much more). Everything in nature has a pattern. Our God is a God of order, not of confusion.
Effects of Radiation; Radioactive Detection and Measurement	Sin and its Consequences There are things that we can’t see that are destroying us.  And sin is the most pernicious. Even things that can’t be seen or felt by our senses can be recognized through its short-term or long-term effects.
Reactivity of Elements, Octet Rule, Electronic Configuration The closer the elements to a noble gas configuration (stable form), the more reactive they become (the metals and non-metals alike).	Waiting is—guess what? Not easy! One very important observation:  It seems that the desire to be stable is innate in nature; that the closer nature is to the state of stability the more impatient (reactive) it  becomes.  Be patient, you are almost there.  Learn to wait just a little longer.
Discovery of radioactivity Serendipity—that’s how the French physicist Henri Becquerel discovered the radioactivity phenomenon.	Chances—don’t depend on them. Chances happen to everyone. But the ones who usually profit from them are the ones who don’t depend or rely on them but those who are prepared for them. Lesson? Don’t leave your life to chances!
Conversion of Units When converting one unit to another, the value with the old unit is multiplied to a conversion factor. Although not numerically equal to 1, conversion factors have values always equal to 1.	True Conversion In conversion of units, the “undesirable” needs “1” (that is the conversion factor which has a value of one) to turn it into the “desirable.” In the process the unit is changed but the value stays the same. Likewise, the value of the converted and unconverted person before the One is the same. But when the unconverted meets the One and the undesirable traits are changed into desirable ones, that’s when true conversion happens.
Scientific Notation “Scientific notation is a way of writing numbers that accommodates values too large or small to be conveniently written in standard decimal notation.”[5]	Trust and Faith No matter how big or small a number is, it can be properly handled by scientific notation. If this is true to numbers, then I believe this is also true with all our cares. “He’s big enough to rule this mighty universe, yet small enough to live within my heart,” says a song.

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[1]       Schachl, H. 2008.

[2]       Walthall, B. 1995. Integrating faith and learning in the college classroom: One teacher’s discoveries Part I.  Christ In the Classroom, 8, 299-301.

[3]      Taylor V, J. W. 2000.

[4]      Mellon, C. Principles of teaching and learning.  www.cmu.edu/teaching/principles/learning.html

[5]       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_notation.