ERIC Number: EJ1188404
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Aug
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
EISSN: N/A
Simple and Effective Integration of Green Chemistry and Sustainability Education into an Existing Organic Chemistry Course
Timmer, Brien J. J.; Schaufelberger, Frederik; Hammarberg, Daniel; Franzén, Johan; Ramström, Olof; Dinér, Peter
Journal of Chemical Education, v95 n8 p1301-1306 Aug 2018
Green chemistry and sustainable development have become increasingly important topics for the education of future chemists. The cross-disciplinary nature of green chemistry and sustainable development often means these subjects are taught in conjunction with other subjects, such as organic chemistry and chemical engineering. Herein, a straightforward and efficient approach for vertical integration of green chemistry concepts within existing undergraduate organic chemistry courses is shown. The gradual self-evaluation, "greenification", and reassessment of an organic chemistry course at KTH Royal Institute of Technology from 2013 to 2017 is described, with particular focus on the laboratory course and a novel green chemistry project designed to promote sustainability thinking and reasoning. The laboratory project, which can also be conducted as an independent organic chemistry laboratory exercise, required students to critically evaluate variations of the same Pechmann condensation experiment according to the twelve principles of green chemistry. The course evaluation shows that, after the modifications, students feel more comfortable with the topics "green chemistry" and "sustainability" and consider these topics more important for their future careers. Furthermore, the ability of students to discuss and critically evaluate green chemistry parameters improved considerably as determined from the laboratory project reports.
Descriptors: Organic Chemistry, Undergraduate Students, Sustainable Development, Science Laboratories, Laboratory Experiments, Scientific Concepts, Teaching Methods, Foreign Countries, Chemical Engineering
Division of Chemical Education, Inc and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Sweden (Stockholm)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A