A Framework for the Integration of Green and Sustainable Chemistry into the Undergraduate Curriculum: Greening Our Practice with Scientific and Engineering Practices

Abstract

Green and sustainable chemistry (GSC) will become ever more central to the study of chemistry. This is demonstrated by commitments from the American Chemical Society, particularly the Committee on Professional Training and the Green Chemistry Institute, and the United Nations (UN Sustainable Development Goals), which underscore the urgent need for a paradigm shift in chemistry and chemistry education. Engagement in green chemistry education can provide students with connections between the chemistry they learn in the course and the environmental and human health consequences of chemistry in the world around them. The purpose of this position paper is to (a) reframe GSC as a decision-making activity, (b) briefly introduce theoretical principles for instructional design and assessment of student learning, and (c) describe a framework for the implementation of Green and Sustainable Chemistry that emerged from our designs of case studies using these theoretical principles. This framework includes four key design principles: (1) underlying chemical phenomena should be central to sustainable issues studied, (2) scaffold complexity over time, (3) students use engineering practices to support decision making, and (4) manage student cognitive load by deliberate use of analytic tools. Finally, we briefly discuss three case studies that were developed by using these principles as examples of this approach.