This presentation addresses incorporating green chemistry into an organic chemistry laboratory using student-generated instructional materials (video presentations, infographics, and e-book). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, like many universities around the world, we were required to shift the majors’ organic chemistry laboratory to online instruction. Therefore, to promote student engagement and awareness of green chemistry principles in this new environment, we chose to incorporate student-generated instructional materials because they have been reported to increase engagement and limit cheating.

With the rapid shift to online instruction in the spring of 2020, we chose to incorporate a 4-week project in which students utilized Flipgrid as an asynchronous platform to create videos. In the videos, they analyzed assigned case studies from Green Chemistry Challenge award winners for adherence to green chemistry principles. Based on student learning gains and positive student feedback on this project, in the fall of 2020 we incorporated a semester-long infographic project in which students created an infographic on a self-selected topic that incorporated both green and organic chemistry. During the fall 2020 project, scaffolding was provided through completion of asynchronous activities using Flipgrid, Perusall, Feedback Fruit’s Peer Review and Blackboard Discussion Board. Students showed positive learning gains based on pre- and post-tests and viewed the project favorably. Therefore, now in spring 2021, we are in the process of having students create an open educational resource e-book in which each student will analyze a reaction from organic chemistry II for its adherence to green chemistry principles and its application in a biomass reaction. While these activities were incorporated into an organic chemistry laboratory for majors, it is our hope that other instructors who find the need to move their instruction online can use these activities either directly or with modifications to fit their course needs.

Krystal Grieger

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