Date of Degree Completion
Spring 2024
Degree Type
Capstone - Open Access
Instructor/Advisor
Melissa Nemon
Abstract
Green Chemistry education is a widening field, seeking to include educators at all levels collaboratively in the process of transforming outdated chemistry practices. Qualitative research methods were used to interview three key collaborator groups at Beyond Benign, a green chemistry education organization, who are considered part of the Green Chemistry Community of Practice (GCCoP). This was done to develop a strategic plan to 1) explore how the Beyond Benign team and K-12 teachers see themselves as part of one GCCoP; 2) to ascertain how to bring the K-12 program into alignment with the organization’s evolving mission; and 3) to discover approaches for improving K-12 and Higher Ed collaboration and engagement, creating new possibilities for K-12, and bringing the two communities back into one evolving GCCoP. What was discovered through interviews with the Beyond Benign team, K-12 teachers, and higher ed faculty was that there were several challenges, but many possibilities for collaboration. Transformational learning that generates engagement, agency, and a desire for change was a theme that educators at all levels, from elementary through grad school, described as important to learning and building community around green chemistry to generate changes in the wider world, and draw more people into GCCoP.
Recommended Citation
Ernst Modera, Michelle, "Using Green Chemistry to Build Community: How Transformational Learning Impacts the Building of a Community of Practice" (2024). Community Engagement Student Work. 115.
https://scholarworks.merrimack.edu/soe_student_ce/115
