Abstract:

Once they obtain their Chemistry Bachelor Degree, new graduates need to overcome a challenging scientific and industrial environment in their potential jobs. In the actual highly competitive professional world, the acquired transversal skills could make de difference in order to improve their success. In this context, Project-Based Learning (PBL) approach can be an adequate strategy to develop these required skills. In addition, it is important to design a PBL, which not only improves the transversal skills but also enhances the integration of the chemistry knowledge, polymer chemistry in this case, with these professional skills. Among the potential transversal competences highly valuable in professionals, this PBL was focused on the improvement of teamwork, leadership and management.

In this work we present a project-based learning activity in which role-play fundaments are also used to improve the development of the transversal skills and to increase the student’ knowledge on the hotspots on polymer science as a complementary learning to the advanced macromolecular knowledge during the polymer chemistry course at Chemistry degree. During the activity, students, divided in groups, will create a polymer chemistry journal. All the roles of a Journal/Editorial are developed by each group (editors, reviewers and authors) being the roles changed for each article. The objective is to get 10-11 mini-reviews of different polymer materials developed in the last decade by the class, three by each group. All the mini-reviews will be collected in a journal and published in the course’s Moodle. Authors will write the mini-reviews, reviewers will correct them and editors will check the reviewer’s corrections shared with authors and decide the most adequate order for the articles.

Keywords:

Polymer Chemistry, Role-playing, transversal skills, Project-Based Learning, research.