Discovering the Chemical Elements in Food
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[1] Universidad de Málaga
Universidad de Málaga
Málaga, España
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- Localización: Journal of chemical education, ISSN 0021-9584, Vol. 95, Nº 3, 2018, págs. 403-409
- Idioma: inglés
- Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
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Resumen
The educational possibilities of combining four powerful teaching strategies (context-based teaching, inquiry-based teaching, murals, and augmented reality) in the learning of the chemical elements are reported in this paper. We present a project involving 15-year-old students who research and identify the chemical elements present in food using an inquiry-based approach. Students organize their findings in four categories according to the role of the chemical element in the food (major elements, essential trace elements, toxic trace elements, and chemical food preservation). Conclusions were disseminated through a large mural with audio QR codes where results can be explored for students using a smart phone. To investigate the effectiveness of the project we ask students to identify chemical elements in food and whether their intake was beneficial or harmful to health, before (pretest) and after (post-test) the project. In the first case, only five foods (milk products, bananas, lentils, water, and salt) made up 100% of responses in pretest and 80% in post-test. In the second case, the chi-square test showed significant differences between pretest and post-test, with students mentioning both beneficial and harmful effects on health to a greater degree after the project. However, no significant differences were detected in pretest and post-test justifications, even though a wider variety of responses were found in the post-test in all cases. Finally, a concept inventory for elements in food is proposed from the students’ responses.
