HSI Implementation and Evaluation Project: Green Chemistry: Advancing Equity, Relevance, and Environmental Justice

Texas Woman'S University, Denton TX

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program), this Track 2: IEP at Texas Woman’s University focuses on building 1) green chemistry content knowledge and 2) chemistry interest. This project seeks to increase the relevance of STEM education to underserved students by incorporating green chemistry practices across the introductory chemistry curriculum including Introductory Chemistry, General Chemistry and Principles of Chemistry. The project will ensure students have the knowledge and skills needed to market themselves in job fields, advocate for green chemistry and sustainability, and positively impact their communities while responding to and addressing issues of environmental justice. The project team is a transdisciplinary team of academics, nonprofits, and an advisory board of experts, with a track record of educational transformation and community engagement, to co-construct our curriculum in the context of a minority-serving institution. The Advancing Equity, Relevance, and Environmental Justice (G-CHEM) project will 1) Develop introductory general chemistry undergraduate curricula that incorporates green chemistry and environmental justice principles; 2) Contribute to a library of green chemistry experiments for use in the introductory chemistry curriculum; 3) Assess student chemistry-related content knowledge and chemistry interest; 4) Train other HSI faculty to implement green-chemistry curricula. There are two primary measures that will be used to determine impact, Chemistry knowledge and Chemistry Interest. It is anticipated that the scaffolded program will ensure that students have substantial and sustained learning opportunities through modified labs and real-world experiential learning activities. The project will ensure students have the knowledge and skills needed to make informed decisions based on their knowledge of green chemistry while impacting their communities by identifying and addressing issues of environmental justice. The HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education and build capacity at HSIs. Projects supported by the HSI Program will also generate new knowledge on how to achieve these aims. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.