Unmasking Chemistry in Indigenous Activities

Indigenous knowledge activities are part of the everyday experiences of learners, especially those in the rural areas of Ghana. Amidst the challenges confronting teaching and learning of chemistry at the rural basic schools in Ghana, there are many indigenous practices in these communities that can be harnessed and incorporated into the teaching and learning of chemistry. The inculcation of indigenous practices in the curriculum of science (chemistry) can help contextualise difficult abstract chemistry concepts, and bridge the gap especially in these communities where most basic schools lack laboratories, equipment and reagents to carry out simple hands-on activities to portray the reality of chemistry. The indigenous activities to be carried out during the festival will include distillation of ‘akpeteshie’ (a Ghanaian local gin), production of ‘gari’(a coarse-fine powder made from cassava roots) and palm oil production. Six indigenous knowledge experts (2 each) will be involved in the activities stated above. Hence, without the use of laboratories, scientific equipment and reagents, the basic school pupils can comfortably learn some chemistry concepts such as separation techniques, states and properties of matter, test for food substances and properties of acids and bases through indigenous practices within their immediate environment. The festival will thus offer the rural basic school learners, teachers and volunteers the opportunity to appreciate and relate classroom chemistry to everyday practices in the environment. This will arouse the interest of the learners to pursue chemistry and related courses in further education.

https://www.uew.edu.gh/news/uew-lecturers-update-effutu-municipality-stem-teachers

https://www.uew.edu.gh/news/uew-holds-chemistry-festival-selected-schools-municipality