T
CHEMIST AND CHEF Martha Cavanaugh O’Keefe ’07, Chemistry Teacher, Baltimore City High School
he high school students in Tanzania didn’t quite know what to make of the vivacious Mudder who
threw balls at them in class. But Martha Cavanaugh O’Keefe ’07 was simply being creative with limited resources and trying to make science hands-on and fun. After two years in the Peace Corps, volunteering at two high schools in Tanzania (the students there loved her les- sons, by the way), Cavanaugh O’Keefe returned to the states, seeking an experience “just as awesome.” She now teaches chemistry in Baltimore at a diverse all-girls public high school. Like in Tanzania, she is faced with limited resources and challenged to make science interesting. It’s been a learning experience, she says. After her students scored low on the midterm, Cavanaugh O’Keefe decided to change her teaching approach. “I wanted to find a way to make chemistry more relevant to them.” The former Mudd Baking Club founder donned her
oven mitts and marched her chemistry students to the home economics room, where they learn chemistry topics through applications in the kitchen. They review density (convert English recipes to American), explore pressure cooking (gas laws), describe chemical reactions (baking powder breaks down), and more. “The latest quiz shows that they are un- derstanding a whole lot better,” she says. And her American students, like the Tanzanians, are having a ball.
I wanted to find a way to make chemistry more relevant to [my students].
18 Har vey Mudd College SPRING 2011
HILARY SCHWAB
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