A challenge to chemistry educators is how to inspire students who graduate with an undergraduate chemistry degree, but don’t see how their classroom knowledge connects to solving big problems in society, or even knowing what those big problems are. After surveying my sophomore and senior level students about how they view these connections, the results inspired me to outline a general approach for integrating systems thinking, green and sustainable chemistry and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into my organic chemistry lecture and lab. Our central focus was on global warming and carbon capture, with the topics of the UN SDGs, green and sustainable chemistry and systems thinking scaffolded into the normal workload of the course. This project was done through the author’s flipped pedagogy approach, and the outcomes compared to class sections that followed a traditional organic chemistry curriculum. A general outline will be presented that includes content, learning goals and assessment rubrics, with the goal that this approach may be transportable to other chemistry educators. This work is part of a paradigm shift in chemistry education, where systems thinking, and green and sustainable chemistry are integrated and scaffolded throughout the undergraduate chemistry curriculum. Through the IUPAC Systems Thinking in Chemistry Education (STICE) group, Green Chemistry Institute Education Roadmap Project, ACS Committee on Professional Training Green Chemistry Supplement, and the recent Journal of Chemistry Education Special Issue on Systems Thinking and Green and Sustainable Chemistry, there is renewed inspiration to “reimagine chemistry education” to more effectively educate scientists and citizens who will collaborate across disciplines to both understand and solve big global challenges, such as those outlined by the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals.

Introducing systems thinking, green and sustainable chemistry, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals in organic chemistry lecture and laboratory

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.