Premium
From the classroom to communities: Connecting students in the sciences to real world situations.
Author(s) -
Ntambi James Mukasa
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.91.1
Subject(s) - thriving , general partnership , service learning , relevance (law) , civic engagement , sociology , psychology , public relations , pedagogy , mathematics education , political science , social science , politics , law
Examples of real world impacts in the fields of biochemistry and molecular biology provide educational models where students are provided with a basis for understanding how biochemistry and molecular biology help us in learning about the real world environments in which people live. By taking the classroom out into communities, students see the relevance of what they learn on college campuses in their classes and labs. These “hands‐on” community based learning experiences are what brings science to life, which then sparks an interest in the students for delving further into these fields. They see the importance of studying these disciplines for helping them to have a positive impact on society. Through service learning, and community based research and teaching activities modeled upon the “hands on” experience course in international health and nutrition, the educational strategies help build a thriving democratic society and in the case of the scientific fields, more informed citizens who understand better and appreciate the positive and progressive impacts that science has on our daily lives. The strength of combining classroom experiences with community learning helps prepare students through science for lifelong civic engagement by building capacity, in partnership with the community, to help solve complex public health problems locally and globally.