Sustainable ChemistryKatherine Haxton

Education for Sustainable Development, January 2014

Course Background‘Traditional’ Chemistry Course

Dual Honours, Major Route

Major curriculum redesign:

redevelop every module

create Single Honours Route

create new modules

considering UG Masters (MChem)

2nd Year Sustainable Chemistry

Whole year, no exam, focus on developing transferrable skills hand-in-hand with chemistry knowledge.

Several aspects taught through narratives.

Disjointed list of topics:

- polymer chemistry

- environmental chemistry

- industrial chemistry

- chemistry of gadgets

A Moment of Flippancy…

…and we called it

‘Sustainable Chemistry’.

It was a ‘theme’ for the module.

Then we had no option but to ‘do’ Education for

Sustainable Development.

CC-BY 2.0 http://www.flickr.com/photos/hryckowian/

Chemistry Perspective

http://www.education4sustainability.org/2013/02/25/the-social-side-of-sustainable-development/

Foundations

Intro lecture on sustainability concepts

- thanks to Zoe Robinson and Phillipa Calver

- produced a toolkit of key issues.

Inclusion of relevant examples in other aspects

- biodegradable polymers

- environmental chemistry and life cycle analysis

- focus on chemical perspective of a product

- 12 principles of green chemistry in the laboratory

Group Projects

‘Green’ a 1st year laboratory experiment. (20 %)

Take an experiment you did as 1st years, can you change it to be:

- cheaper

- produce less waste/less problematic waste

- require less harmful solvents

- ‘better’ by some quantitative measure

but still fulfil the same learning outcomes (theory, laboratory techniques, data analysis as the original)?

Industrial Chemistry

Essay in ‘New Scientist’ Style (25 %)

Focus on aspect of industrial chemistry but MUST bring in sustainability issues.

Scaffolding/Feedback Opportunities

- industrial chemistry lectures involving narrative

- life cycle analysis of a product (short written piece, 5%)

- infographic on aspect of industrial chemistry (5 %)

- lesson in proof reading, analysis of articles of type desired

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Beyond 2nd Year

One Module IS NOT ENOUGH

- but access is a problem.

1st Year DKC Session

- skills with sustainability themes

1st Year Screencast Presentations (15 %)

- last year ‘any aspect’ of chemistry.

- this year ‘chemistry relating to sustainability or the environment’

- requires scaffolding: intro lecture and DKC session

Lessons

Depressed students (‘we’re all gonna die’)

Extremely complex role of subject within sustainable development

- chemistry is both saint and sinner

Easy to consider the environment, harder to move deeper into issues

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Survive semester 2 (Industrial Chem, DKC, 1st year presentations)

Evaluate, revise and prepare for next year.

Read more!