Author(s):
While instruction in green chemistry is becoming more common, it needs to be better represented in the textbooks, leaving instructors responsible for deciding what to include and how to include it. Therefore, a nationwide survey was administered to evaluate how green chemistry is currently incorporated into the organic chemistry curriculum and the factors affecting its implementation. To identify which factors affected the integration of green chemistry, the survey items were developed using the Teacher-Centered Systemic Reform model. Overall, it was found that teacher thinking factors held the most significant impact. As the implementation of green chemistry into university-level courses increases, it is becoming increasingly important that educators have tools to measure student knowledge of green chemistry principles. We investigated two different approaches to capturing changes in students’ learning: selected-response and constructed-response questions. Several communities of practice were initiated to increase awareness and adoption of green chemistry in education. This presentation will also discuss some of the challenges, successes, and observations we have made in building this community of practice.
