Linking Student Interests to Science Curricula

Abstract

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. This content downloaded from 132.194.32.30 on Sat, 12 Dec 2015 01:03:56 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions MENTORING Linking Student Interests to Attraction and retention of science majors remain difficult in the fields of chemistry and biology (1-6). The usual sequential and extensive curriculum often does not allow undergraduate students to exercise their curiosity in selecting these sub jects, as the starting point of most courses is their technical content rather than students' interests. To strengthen this weak link between students' interests and sci ence curricula, we began in 2003 a course called 'The Chemistry and Biology of Everyday Life" (CBEL) (see figure, right), using students' interests in everyday life as the start ing point for instruction. The course content and activities were designed