Gettin’ Started

As mentioned in the previous post, in an attempt to fend off feeling stupid, I sat in on a high school chemistry lesson recently. The understanding (rare, something like that is, in this country) that washed over me as I watched the instructor go over simple stoichiometry made me sure that I wanted to do something to help out with chemistry education here, be it extra tutoring sessions or an extracurricular club where I’d get kids together to do fun experiments. However, even then, these ideas seemed impossible to achieve because tutoring would interfere with the instructor’s private lessons (and let’s face it, my Khmer isn’t nearly good enough to tutor in a technical subject) and high school students rarely have the time to devote to an extracurricular club. It wasn’t until I spoke to some experienced K3s this weekend, though, that I realized the most useful and feasible thing to do would be to bring simple high school chemistry level labs into the Cambodian classroom.

Chemistry education in Cambodia is very much straight-from-the-textbook lecturing, and for a radical and experimental science, it is not the easiest way to learn. The chemistry classes here are held in pretty much the same classrooms English or math classes are held in, and the State allots so painfully little for public education anyway that funds and resources for such experiments are virtually nonexistent. Furthermore, science education here is completely different than in the States even with time frame: from 7^th to 12^th grade, students take biology, chemistry, and physics every single year, with classes twice a week on each subject. It’s not like the States where it’s biology one year, then chemistry, then physics. With so many subjects on the burner, it is hard for students to devote too much energy into really understanding any of them. Even the teachers who went to the R/PTTC (Regional/Provincial Teacher Training Center) to become science educators had very little experimental experience; the chemistry teacher I spoke to was extremely gung-ho about doing experiments in class but told me that he would need help understanding and explaining the procedures because of his lack of experience. And thus, the basic framework for Project: Chemistry in Cambodia came to be. My plan is to bring supplies and the knowledge on how to use them into the Cambodian classroom, and, with the help of Cambodian teachers, relay this knowledge on experimentation to the students.

For the past week, I have been working with the 10^th grade chemistry teacher who lives in my village on possible experiments that would both coincide with the curriculum here and involve supplies that are both low cost and easy to obtain. And because nothing here can be done without consulting the higher-ups, we have arranged meetings with the school director and other chemistry/physics teachers in order to come up with a solid plan. I am meeting with them next week to discuss logistics and gauge their interest in helping me. So far, we have decided on three labs that would be relevant and easy to carry out in terms of supplies and resources:

1. Acids and Bases. In order to make acids and bases more relevant to students, a really simple and fun lab would be to take household liquids and solutions (lime juice, vinegar, detergent, fish sauce, etc) and test their pH on pH paper. It’s engaging because, let’s face it, who doesn’t like seeing different color changes on paper, and easy because all of these solutions are either readily available or readily made. Supplies needed: pH paper and pH color scale.
2. Calorimetry. This is more of a physics lab, but a really useful application of the E = mC∆T equation would be calorimetry. Students fill Styrofoam cups with water, measure the temperature, and then plunge a hot piece of metal into the water. They then measure the final temperature and calculate the amount of energy that was released into the water from the metal given the known specific heat of the water. Once again, easy because cups, metal, water, and a heating device can all be obtained here. Supplies needed: thermometers.
3. Precipitation Chemistry. Solution chemistry is a big unit in 10^th grade and I know firsthand that many students find it hard to imagine that mixing two solutions together would produce a solid precipitate. This lab is fun, because you’re essentially turning liquid to solid, and there are quite a few color changes involved too. It’s also the most supply intensive, and getting all of that over here would be difficult. The experiments would be carried out in small palettes with droppers, which shouldn’t be all too hard to find or fashion here. Supplies needed: Solutions of silver nitrate, magnesium nitrate, lead nitrate, etc.

Any additional ideas on simple labs would be fully appreciated, as well as donations of scientific thermometers (alcohol would be best), pH paper, and any of the aforementioned solutions (plus any of the other ones that are classic in precipitate reactions).

I’m really excited about this project (because of my somewhat unhealthy obsession with “cool chemistry”), and I really hope to see it happen. If you know someone who knows someone who might know a guy with a stash of silver nitrate, don’t be afraid to contact me! We need all the help we can get. My overall hope is that with the knowledge and knowhow on the procedures for certain experiments, the teachers here can carry them out themselves for the students long after I’m gone. Boom, sustainability. In your face.