Integrating Green Chemistry in the Curriculum: Building Student Skills in Systems Thinking, Safety, and Sustainability

Abstract

Chemistry educators have a responsibility to teach students about the essential role the field of chemistry has in a sustainable future for the planet. Chemical products, such as pharmaceuticals, plastics, electronics, agrochemicals, and building materials, all benefit society yet unintended consequences resulting from the production and use of these products compel chemists to develop new technologies which minimize their harm. The Committee on Professional Training (CPT)’s recently adopted Supplement on “Green Chemistry in the Curriculum” promotes the inclusion of green chemistry in the undergraduate curriculum. The design of safer technologies is enabled by a systems thinking approach, which analyzes the life cycle of every component of a chemical process. The skills utilized by systems thinking in green chemistry have the potential to foresee and avoid unintended consequences of new chemical products. In this article we illustrate how the inclusion of green chemistry in general and organic chemistry courses connects structure and reactivity to a chemical’s impact on the environment and human health. For example, applying green chemistry principles and systems thinking concepts to safety instruction not only teaches students to assess risk for performing a reaction but also extends to sustainability considerations such as feedstocks and waste produced. The study of the life cycle of chemicals connects green metrics and system thinking tools to recognize environmental and societal impacts. Though green chemistry curriculum materials are increasingly available, there is a need for educators to develop and assess systems thinking models for the classroom and laboratory. Overall, students equipped with the knowledge and ability to apply green and sustainable principles and the ability to make connections through systems thinking will be prepared to contribute to solving today’s sustainability challenges.

Experimental Work in Science Education from Green Chemistry Perspectives: A Systematic Literature Review Using PRISMA

“…In a further 30 reviewed papers, the integration of green chemistry into the curriculum was mentioned, some also in the context of the main benefit of improving chemical safety. In addition, 31 papers addressed a strong synergy between chemical safety and green chemistry goals [27,[78][79][80]. Some papers (n = 27) focus on integrating green chemistry metrics into traditional chemistry teaching [81], while others also compare traditional ex-perimental work to experimental work optimized with green chemistry principles [82][83][84].…”

“…The results of the literature review suggest that updating chemistry teaching and learning with laboratory experimental work optimized from green chemistry perspectives simultaneously provides a safer approach to chemistry and ensures a safer environment by minimizing exposure to potentially hazardous chemicals and reducing the generated waste. Aubrecht et al [27] pointed out the importance of teaching chemical safety by recognizing a significant overlap between reflection on the 12 green chemistry principles and the RAMP paradigm (recognize hazards, assess the risks of hazards, minimize the risks of hazards, and prepare for emergencies) [80].…”

“…As shown in the review by Andraos and Dicks [12], various approaches have been developed to introduce students to green chemistry ideas, e.g., the introduction of green chemistry into the curriculum [14,27,28], textbooks, and other learning materials [29][30][31], lectures and full courses in green chemistry [32][33][34], various types of metrics for determining the "greenness" of a chemical reaction [35][36][37][38], and experimental work related to the green chemistry principles [39][40][41][42].…”

“…Previous review articles have reported on various aspects of the use of green chemistry in education, e.g., laboratory work in tertiary education [12,27,[52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59], often only in a specific field of chemistry [52,56,57], and the integration of selected green chemistry principles into laboratory work in tertiary education [53,56,57]. The present paper aims to review experimental work from green chemistry perspectives more holistically by involving all fields of chemistry, all educational levels, and 12 Principles of Green Chemistry in a 25-year long period.…”

Sustainable Polymers Square Table Final Report

“…Supplementing core topics with sustainability has been achieved through the efforts of initiatives such as Green Chemistry Education. 68 While sustainable concepts and green chemistry have been primarily showcased in upper level elective 69,70 and organic chemistry lab courses, 71,72,73,74 efforts have been made to expand the curriculum into introductory 75,76,77 and general chemistry courses. 78,79,80 The lack of green chemistry content in organic chemistry textbooks has been explored and it has been suggested that connections to societal issues and sustainability contribute to the development of leadership skills.…”