(494d) Development of an Active Learning Methodology for Teaching Artificial Photosynthesis and Electrochemistry in Elementary Schools

Artificial photosynthesis, which employs renewable energy sources to up-convert abundant feedstocks (e.g., carbon dioxide and water) into value-added products, will be key to decarbonization of the energy and industrial sector in a sustainable future. Despite its importance, affordable and effective hands-on classroom activities that demonstrate artificial photosynthesis and teach key concepts in electrochemistry are lacking, particularly for primary school students. It has been well-documented that strong early-childhood education is key for encouraging positive career outcomes in the sciences, so educating primary school students on prospective sustainable energy technologies will be a critical step in the development of the next-generation energy workforce. All considered, there is a great need for a curriculum that introduces students to key sustainable energy technologies, such as artificial photosynthesis, earlier in their education.

In this talk, we present an artificial photosynthesis lesson plan based on an active-learning pedagogy that uses safe and highly accessible materials (baking soda, tap water, plastic jars, Ni coil, alligator clips, and a solar cell) to perform solar-powered water splitting. The lesson is developed in conjunction with established learning objectives in 5^th-grade science education in the state of California, and compliments existing curricula on natural photosynthesis and engineering design. The lesson was presented in four 5^th grade classrooms across the Bay Area, and the efficacy of the lesson plan in teaching basic concepts of artificial photosynthesis was evaluated with pre- and post-test data, which demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in overall student understanding. Importantly, the data showed that the lesson plan is effective at introducing students to electrochemistry concepts much earlier in their education. Lastly, we demonstrate that the active learning pedagogy employed in our lesson plan also helps to reduces the performance gap between over- and under-represented minorities, establishing that the developed lesson, and those like it, will be key in the development of a diverse energy workforce of the future.