Beyond the Deficit Model: Organic Chemistry Educators’ Beliefs and Practices about Teaching Green and Sustainable Chemistry

Abstract

The rise of global environmental issues has stressed the importance of sustainability and green chemistry teachings. Nevertheless, these topics remain largely untouched in most post-secondary organic chemistry lecture courses. This article investigates the barriers to integrating green and sustainable chemistry into organic chemistry classrooms and was guided by questions like: Do organic chemistry educators have knowledge of green or sustainable chemistry, do they think it is relevant to their field or courses, and do they have resources to make change? A series of one-on-one, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 8 active faculty members in the field of organic chemistry at Canadian universities. Qualitative data analysis was carried out on interview transcripts using an inductive thematic approach and the application of the Framework Method. Major themes of content, structure, resources, management, and individuals were identified at the intersection of green chemistry, organic chemistry, and general barriers to educational reform. These findings will ultimately be used to inform curriculum development and supplement the creation of open-educational sources for organic chemistry.

Integrating Simple Environmental Impact-Based Metrics into the Undergraduate Curriculum

“…This skill gives chemistry students a better understanding of the environmental impacts of their choices. , Yet green chemistry content, especially related to process metrics (e.g., yield, hazard, waste) is often viewed by educators as advanced or additional to the core chemistry curriculum. , Despite agreeing that environmental hazards, reaction efficiency, and impacts of chemicals are important topics, most educators feel they cannot include green chemistry without displacing other important course content . This reveals some chemistry educators’ perspective that the green chemistry content is incompatible with their course material . Many also feel that they do not have the background or resources, including textbooks, to add this content into their courses. , …”

“…2 This reveals some chemistry educators' perspective that the green chemistry content is incompatible with their course material. 9 Many also feel that they do not have the background or resources, including textbooks, 10 to add this content into their courses. 2,8 Green chemistry is meant to be a responsible way of conducting science, rather than its own discipline.…”

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

“…Our proposed approach is that green and sustainable chemistry (GSC) can be considered as a set of decisions that one can make using their chemistry knowledge to help address these real-world issues. We propose that successful integration of GSC into the curriculum requires a consideration of how people learn and an understanding of how to use this knowledge to design curricular materials to support learning. − Thus, we outline an approach that leverages the Framework for K-12 Science Education to incorporate GSC into the undergraduate chemistry curriculum; this approach frames “doing green chemistry” as the opportunity for students to engage in the engineering practices of defining problems and designing/evaluating solutions using their chemistry knowledge to make decisions. We also briefly discuss theory- and evidence-based approaches to curriculum design and student assessment.…”