How do I see my experience at the DNR changing my classroom in terms of what and how I teach? Well, I teach chemistry and so often we view chemistry as a way to alter our environment to better suit us. Through the DNR this summer, I have seen chemistry used to measure the health of our environment through the use of such things as the IOWATER test kits.
In my classroom, I frequently talk about the use of chemistry to monitor the quality of products produced in industry, or the the development of a drug to treat a disease. I don't often think about using chemistry to test for changes in the environment so we can monitor the impacts human activity has on it and hopefully lessen our impact on it. But that is exactly what the DNR is doing with the IOWATER volunteers who test different bodies of water and post and share the results.
My students will know something has changed because I will be able to bring my first-hand experiences working with the DNR into my conversations about how chemistry is an important part of their everyday lives. Up until now I only had second-hand accounts from engineers and researchers about what they did to share with my students. My first-hand experiences will be more knowledgable and credible and hopefully more interesting!
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