Teaching 8KQ to Chemistry Students – Nate Wright

Description

Dr. Nate Wright, Professor of Chemistry, values developing students’ ethical reasoning skills in addition to technical skills, so he regularly invites ERiA to facilitate an interactive experience. Faculty fellow and marketing professor Dr. Joe Derby, Liv Stephens from Strategic Planning and Engagement, and Katrina Libera facilitated an ethical reasoning workshop for about 45 junior Chemistry students in late January. After an 8KQ introduction, students applied the questions to a custom-developed case (by Joe and Nate) relevant to the chemistry industry. Joe is a trained chemist and worked in the industry for many years. Students broke into small teams to analyze the scenario and were charged with deciding what to do regarding restarting production in a chemical plant after an explosion – restart in same location, restart in same location and store hazardous chemical offsite, or move production elsewhere. Each location choice raises social, environmental, and ethical concerns beyond the technical considerations. Tragically, a chemical explosion occurred that same Friday at a manufacturing plant with some similarities to the hypothetical scenario in Houston, Texas.

Involvement

Involves Faculty, Involves Staff, Involves Students

Scope

JMU Campus Scope

Date

January 24, 2020

Frequency

One Time Only

Existing Center/Institute/Program

no

Engagement Attributes

JMU Specific

Begin Date

1-24-2020

Areas of Engagement

Engaged Learning

Format

Class/Coursework

On/Off campus

On campus

Number of people served

80

Academic Level of Engagement

Academic Degree or Certificate Program, Department