4. The concerns of acid rain vary across the globe. Many countries in North America and Europe have websites dealing with acid rain. Either search to locate one (“Canada, acid rain”) or use these links to websites in Canada, the UK, or Europe. What are the issues in the country you selected? Does the acid deposition originate outside the borders of the country?

Canada

More than half of Canada consists of susceptible hard rock that cannot neutralize the effects of acid deposition naturally. Provinces such as Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick are hit badly. In addition, their water and soil systems lack natural alkalinity, thus cannot fight the damaging consequences of high levels of acid deposition. Lakes in eastern Canada are almost defenseless to the effect of acid rain.

Problem (1):
Assessment questions require prior knowledge and critical thinking that students may not have focused on during self-read, hence encountering difficulty answering assessment questions. It is also very disadvantageous to non-chemistry students as some students may not have any chemistry background at all.
>> Example: Assessment question asking for the boiling point of propane, butane, pentane and octane. Students without chemistry background will not know that the boiling point is affected by the molecular weight.

Solution (1):
Hence, assessment questions can be tested from the notes instead of making the assumption that students have the prior knowledge of these chemistry concepts.

Problem (2):
There is overload of information in the lecture slides (with more than 80 slides per unit), making it hard for students to identify the key concepts in each unit to focus on.
Also, this module is too independent learning centred.

Solution (1&2):
Since there is extra time (3 hours of lecture not fully utilised), the professor can conduct a brief summary of the key concepts for weekly topic, pointing out important points and going through some of the slides. This can help facilitate students’ learning and reinforce their understanding. Too much independent learning may be counter-productive as instead of invoking interest in topics taught, it may decrease the enthusiasm of students in the topic. Therefore, it is crucial to strike a right balance between independent learning and facilitated assistance from the professor.

Suggestion:
To ignite interest in the application of chemistry on our daily lives, every group of students can be tasked to do a small presentation of the unit taught each week. Through peer tutoring, students can clarify their doubts and the professor can make sure the students understand their concepts well. Also, there will be easier and more effective communication as opposed to having a lecturer to give all the details. This will encourage more interactive and fun lessons. The lecturer does not have to do much talking in this manner and it is a win-win solution for everyone. 🙂