Lipase-Catalyzed Esterification: An Inquiry-Based Laboratory Activity To Promote High School Students’ Understanding and Positive Perceptions of Green Chemistry

Abstract

An inquiry-based laboratory learning unit was designed to enhance high school students' understanding of the application of lipase as a catalyst to synthesize isoamyl and geranyl ester derivatives as well as to promote their understanding and positive perceptions of green chemistry. The learning unit consisted of three laboratories and a final presentation. The first laboratory activity allowed students to learn how to adjust macroscale titration techniques to microscale titration techniques so that the method could be used for quantitative determination of ester products in the next two laboratory activities. The second laboratory activity introduced students to a greener way to synthesize ester compounds by replacing a harmful strong acid catalyst with a more environmentally friendly catalyst, an enzyme lipase. The third laboratory activity challenged students to design their own experiments to synthesize other esters using lipase-catalyzed esterification reactions. At the end of the learning unit, students in each group presented the results and conclusions of the third laboratory activity to the whole class and explained how the 12 principles of green chemistry were applied in the laboratory. The results from the Learning Unit Conceptual Test and Learning Unit Perceptions Questionnaire indicate that the learning units can promote students conceptual understanding. They also have positive perceptions toward green chemistry and learning units.

The Osaka Conference on Education 2020: Official Conference Proceedings

“…In the first section, students were asked how they perceived each statement of the CoI survey using a five-point Likert-scale, from 1-strongly disagree to 5-strongly agree. The results from this section were analyzed and interpreted using the following criteria: Highly negative (1.00-1.50); moderately negative (1.51-2.50); neutral (2.51-3.50); moderately positive (3.51-4.50); and highly positive (4.51-5.00) (Duangpummet, Chaiyen, & Chenprakhon, 2019), as shown in Table 2.…”

A Systematic Review Describing Contextual Teaching Challenges Associated With Inquiry-Based Practical Work in Natural Sciences Education

“…Many teaching challenges associated with IBPW can be found in a scattered manner, in the international school and post-school natural sciences education research literature (Crawford, 2016;Duangpummet et al, 2019;Lederman & Lederman, 2012;Ramnarain, 2016). Although some of the challenges are teacherbased (Duangpummet et al, 2019;Ramnarain, 2016), the focus in the presented research was on the contextual challenges.…”

“…Many teaching challenges associated with IBPW can be found in a scattered manner, in the international school and post-school natural sciences education research literature (Crawford, 2016;Duangpummet et al, 2019;Lederman & Lederman, 2012;Ramnarain, 2016). Although some of the challenges are teacherbased (Duangpummet et al, 2019;Ramnarain, 2016), the focus in the presented research was on the contextual challenges. We consider contextual teaching challenges relating to IBPW as factors in the educational environment (for example, an inadequacy in classroom space and managerial support), that hinder the efforts of any teacher, when implementing IBPW in that environment.…”

Teaching about green and sustainable chemistry already in lower secondary chemistry education? – The project “Cosmetics go green”

“…Das ist möglich, wenn Unterrichtsthemen so verändert werden, dass etwa Inhalte wie Klimawandel, alternative Treibstoffe, Recycling oder Biokunststoffe in die regulären Bildungspläne integriert werden. Über die expliziten Veränderungen in der Chemie und der chemischen Industrie hin zum Konzept einer grünen Chemie gibt es aber aktuell noch kaum erprobte und publizierte Unterrichtskonzepte für die Sekundarstufe I. Allerdings findet man in der aktuellen, auch internationalen Literatur zunehmend einzelne Vorschläge und theoretische Arbeiten zur grünen Chemie auch für den Sekundarbereich [8–10], diese enthalten aber nur selten konkrete Unterrichtszugänge zur grünen Chemie an sich [11]. Projekte, in denen Nachhaltigkeitsaspekte der Chemie dann auch noch bewertet werden, wie in [12] vorgeschlagen, sind sogar noch seltener.…”