Speaking to Learn and Learning to Speak: Service-Learning Involving Communication in the Chemistry Curriculum

Community-basedlearning (CBL), also known as servicelearning(SL), provides students with an active and meaningful learning environmentand has been studied in STEM courses for several decades. Chemistryfor the Community is a novel chemistry curriculum that weaves service-learningprojects throughout multiple courses, including gateway courses, andallows students to build self-efficacy and transferable skills. Overa three-year period, students experienced multiple projects whileenrolled in two-semester general and organic chemistry courses andone-semester organic survey, environmental, and analytical chemistrycourses. Student experiences, gathered by surveys, reflections, andinterviews, were compared to those of students conducting equivalentnon-SL projects, as well as projects conducted virtually due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. Public communication and community partner interactionemerged as major themes from the data and were explored through thelens of self-determination theory. Results indicate that studentswere anxious about their role but were motivated by community partnerinteraction. Project completion corresponded to an increase in self-efficacyregarding similar future tasks with students perceiving benefits ofmultiple experiences.