The Holme group has been working for several years to help General Chemistry students see connections between chemistry and sustainability. A key assessment for this activity is a writing assignment in which students are expected to write about chemistry and its connections to the sustainability of a given topic. Over time, we have been adding support for students engaged in this writing assignment, so this page will present both the nature of the assignments over the years and the ever-developing support we are creating.
Sustainability Connecting Topics
- 2015-2017: Water resources, treatment, pollution
- 2015-2017: Gases and air quality, fossil fuel combustion pollution, climate change
- 2018: Critical materials (including what puts the source at risk)
- 2019: Pharmaceuticals and their life cycles (cradle to grave)
- 2020: (advanced gen chem): Ammonia as an energy carrier
- 2020:(advanced gen chem): Production and uses of reactive ammonia
- 2021 (gen chem 2 - online): Sustainability and concrete production
- 2021(gen chem 1): Water footprint and carbon footprint
- 2022(gen chem 1): Nanoparticles in consumer products and their environmental fate
- 2023(gen chem 2): Carbon capture technology
- 2024(gen chem 1): Water footprint and carbon footprint
- 2024(gen chem 1): The Pyrocene
- 2025(non-science majors chemistry): Food Production and Waste
Supporting Student Writing
This is where we discuss our methods for supporting student writing about chemistry in the context of sustainability.
Soundboarding
Students work with a facilitator in one-on-one sessions, in either virtual or in-person modalities, where they can address concerns about writing chemistry in context. They have access to concept-mapping applications, such as ConceptBoard, to create organized visual concept maps and take notes. These sessions are guided by students’ questions and aloud thinking, and students come out prepared with the next steps for writing their chemistry paper assignment.
Chatbots
Using chatbot technology as a technology parallel to dialogic conversations, the expansion of the soundboard work focuses on how chatbots can be designed and implemented to aid students in exploring the same questions, concerns, and concepts they may ask. The chatbot is available 24/7 prior to the paper's deadline to aid students in understanding topical chemistry concepts and sustainability, which are components of their chemistry paper.