Interlocking Toy Bricks Help Nursing Students “Handle” Valence Electrons, Molarity, Solubility, and More!

Angela Mahaffey

doi:10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c01126

Interlocking Toy Bricks Help Nursing Students “Handle” Valence Electrons, Molarity, Solubility, and More!

Angela Mahaffey

Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

<div class="line" id="line-15"> <span style="background-color: rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 17.008px;"> For decades, chemical modeling sets have allowed the user to manipulate atoms and bonds using plastic/wooden ball and stick materials. Here is a design for an interlocking toy brick modeling set in which the undergraduate nursing student can manipulate electrons during the simulated chemical bonding exercise. The author presents a teaching and learning activity/demonstration designed to help undergraduate nursing (BSN) students both visualize and physically manipulate (“handle”) abstract chemical education topics such as valence shell electrons and molarity (with manipulatives for solubility rules) of salts, acids, and bases in a chemistry for health professions didactic course, as an effort to increase comprehension of these chemical education topics. This learning tool was one in a series of newly coined “PERCEIVE” (Preparing Engaging Real-time Chemical Education Interactive and Visual Examples) chemical education demonstrations, where BSN students prepare engaging demonstrations, while working in groups. The preparation (building) step allows students to get a “handle” on how the chemistry concept works. Afterward the newly prepared demonstrations are utilized as examples for chemical education and chemistry in health topics&boxh;hence, the “PERCEIVE” acronym. This publication outlines: (i) Connections between Molarity and Solubility in modern healthcare practices, (ii) The method and materials for using interlocking toy bricks selected according to CPK color-scheme for modeling valence shell electrons (based on Bohr models), (iii) Solubility rules, (iv) Molarity (and calculations), and (v) Results from anonymous pre- and postqualitative student questionnaires. Student responses indicated a marked increase in the ability to calculate molarity in different volumes (1 L vs 500 mL) postdemonstration. Additional qualitative surveys were conducted, and the results highlighted more than 90% of 152 respondents endorsed the continued implementation of this demo in subsequent chemistry for health professions courses. </span></div>

Original language	American English
Journal	Journal of Chemical Education
Volume	100
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c01126
State	Published - Feb 27 2023

Disciplines

Education
Science and Mathematics Education
Other Nursing
Chemistry

Access to Document

10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c01126License: Unspecified

Cite this

@article{1b12e4cdfffe4df1b7cb7d3dbbbb016b,

title = "Interlocking Toy Bricks Help Nursing Students “Handle” Valence Electrons, Molarity, Solubility, and More!",

abstract = " For decades, chemical modeling sets have allowed the user to manipulate atoms and bonds using plastic/wooden ball and stick materials. Here is a design for an interlocking toy brick modeling set in which the undergraduate nursing student can manipulate electrons during the simulated chemical bonding exercise. The author presents a teaching and learning activity/demonstration designed to help undergraduate nursing (BSN) students both visualize and physically manipulate (“handle”) abstract chemical education topics such as valence shell electrons and molarity (with manipulatives for solubility rules) of salts, acids, and bases in a chemistry for health professions didactic course, as an effort to increase comprehension of these chemical education topics. This learning tool was one in a series of newly coined “PERCEIVE” (Preparing Engaging Real-time Chemical Education Interactive and Visual Examples) chemical education demonstrations, where BSN students prepare engaging demonstrations, while working in groups. The preparation (building) step allows students to get a “handle” on how the chemistry concept works. Afterward the newly prepared demonstrations are utilized as examples for chemical education and chemistry in health topics&boxh;hence, the “PERCEIVE” acronym. This publication outlines: (i) Connections between Molarity and Solubility in modern healthcare practices, (ii) The method and materials for using interlocking toy bricks selected according to CPK color-scheme for modeling valence shell electrons (based on Bohr models), (iii) Solubility rules, (iv) Molarity (and calculations), and (v) Results from anonymous pre- and postqualitative student questionnaires. Student responses indicated a marked increase in the ability to calculate molarity in different volumes (1 L vs 500 mL) postdemonstration. Additional qualitative surveys were conducted, and the results highlighted more than 90% of 152 respondents endorsed the continued implementation of this demo in subsequent chemistry for health professions courses. ",

author = "Angela Mahaffey",

year = "2023",

month = feb,

day = "27",

doi = "10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c01126",

language = "American English",

volume = "100",

journal = "Journal of Chemical Education",

number = "3",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Interlocking Toy Bricks Help Nursing Students “Handle” Valence Electrons, Molarity, Solubility, and More!

AU - Mahaffey, Angela

PY - 2023/2/27

Y1 - 2023/2/27

N2 - For decades, chemical modeling sets have allowed the user to manipulate atoms and bonds using plastic/wooden ball and stick materials. Here is a design for an interlocking toy brick modeling set in which the undergraduate nursing student can manipulate electrons during the simulated chemical bonding exercise. The author presents a teaching and learning activity/demonstration designed to help undergraduate nursing (BSN) students both visualize and physically manipulate (“handle”) abstract chemical education topics such as valence shell electrons and molarity (with manipulatives for solubility rules) of salts, acids, and bases in a chemistry for health professions didactic course, as an effort to increase comprehension of these chemical education topics. This learning tool was one in a series of newly coined “PERCEIVE” (Preparing Engaging Real-time Chemical Education Interactive and Visual Examples) chemical education demonstrations, where BSN students prepare engaging demonstrations, while working in groups. The preparation (building) step allows students to get a “handle” on how the chemistry concept works. Afterward the newly prepared demonstrations are utilized as examples for chemical education and chemistry in health topics&boxh;hence, the “PERCEIVE” acronym. This publication outlines: (i) Connections between Molarity and Solubility in modern healthcare practices, (ii) The method and materials for using interlocking toy bricks selected according to CPK color-scheme for modeling valence shell electrons (based on Bohr models), (iii) Solubility rules, (iv) Molarity (and calculations), and (v) Results from anonymous pre- and postqualitative student questionnaires. Student responses indicated a marked increase in the ability to calculate molarity in different volumes (1 L vs 500 mL) postdemonstration. Additional qualitative surveys were conducted, and the results highlighted more than 90% of 152 respondents endorsed the continued implementation of this demo in subsequent chemistry for health professions courses.

AB - For decades, chemical modeling sets have allowed the user to manipulate atoms and bonds using plastic/wooden ball and stick materials. Here is a design for an interlocking toy brick modeling set in which the undergraduate nursing student can manipulate electrons during the simulated chemical bonding exercise. The author presents a teaching and learning activity/demonstration designed to help undergraduate nursing (BSN) students both visualize and physically manipulate (“handle”) abstract chemical education topics such as valence shell electrons and molarity (with manipulatives for solubility rules) of salts, acids, and bases in a chemistry for health professions didactic course, as an effort to increase comprehension of these chemical education topics. This learning tool was one in a series of newly coined “PERCEIVE” (Preparing Engaging Real-time Chemical Education Interactive and Visual Examples) chemical education demonstrations, where BSN students prepare engaging demonstrations, while working in groups. The preparation (building) step allows students to get a “handle” on how the chemistry concept works. Afterward the newly prepared demonstrations are utilized as examples for chemical education and chemistry in health topics&boxh;hence, the “PERCEIVE” acronym. This publication outlines: (i) Connections between Molarity and Solubility in modern healthcare practices, (ii) The method and materials for using interlocking toy bricks selected according to CPK color-scheme for modeling valence shell electrons (based on Bohr models), (iii) Solubility rules, (iv) Molarity (and calculations), and (v) Results from anonymous pre- and postqualitative student questionnaires. Student responses indicated a marked increase in the ability to calculate molarity in different volumes (1 L vs 500 mL) postdemonstration. Additional qualitative surveys were conducted, and the results highlighted more than 90% of 152 respondents endorsed the continued implementation of this demo in subsequent chemistry for health professions courses.

UR - https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c01126

U2 - 10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c01126

DO - 10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c01126

M3 - Article

VL - 100

JO - Journal of Chemical Education

JF - Journal of Chemical Education

IS - 3

ER -

Interlocking Toy Bricks Help Nursing Students “Handle” Valence Electrons, Molarity, Solubility, and More!

Abstract

Disciplines

Access to Document

Other files and links

Cite this