Incorporation of green chemistry into undergraduate organic laboratory using cooperative project-based experiments and case studies

The large-enrollment undergraduate organic chemistry laboratories at Michigan State University have been redesigned to incorporate green and sustainable chemistry and evidence-based instructional approaches to laboratory teaching. Students engage in scientific practices such as defining problems, designing and carrying out experiments, analyzing data, and designing solutions during in-person lab sessions. Principles of green and sustainable chemistry are introduced in the case studies, where students investigate a variety of approaches and discuss the relative merits of different approaches from a range of perspectives including efficiency, environmental impact, and cost. An in-depth summary of design pedagogy, instructional materials, implementation details, instructor’s notes and challenges will be discussed.