Panel Discussion

At Beyond Benign, we know that no classroom is the same. With this in mind, we do our best to learn from educators like you and to share tips and tricks that will empower other like-minded teachers to bring green chemistry principles and practices to their students. This final panel discussion session is designed for you to share your ideas and ask questions related to the concepts we have introduced in the previous sessions. Through this dialogue, you’ll be able to collaborate with other participants while seeking advice from our presenters. 

In the previous session, Richard Cooper shared his experiences and expertise related to replacement labs. Replacements can be a great place to start bringing green chemistry into your curriculum. However, there are many other types of resources that can be used to both introduce green chemistry and build context for sustainable science innovations. On the Beyond Benign website, you will find three different kinds of labs and lessons for the high school classroom.

1. Introduction to green chemistry and grounding in the principles of green chemistry: These labs provide students with “why” they would want to learn green chemistry and provides you with tools to practice green chemistry within your classrooms. This includes broader conversations about sustainability, biomimicry and how green chemistry provides a lens for learning and applying chemistry concepts.
2. Green chemistry in context: These labs and lessons teach chemistry and sustainable science principles within the context of green chemistry technologies. Students are engaged and inspired by real-world innovations while you are able to teach multidimensional approaches that address required learning standards. 
3. Green chemistry replacement labs: Replacement labs allow teachers to replace hazardous chemicals that are still used in high school (and even middle school) classrooms today. These replacement labs provide teachers the tools to safely teach chemistry concepts while giving students hands-on opportunities to engage with science.

Beyond curriculum, Beyond Benign provides educators like you with training opportunities to learn how to implement green chemistry into your own unique classroom environments. Our trainings range from short workshop experiences at local science teacher conferences to intensive summer online courses, all taught by our team of experienced Lead Teachers. At the higher education level, Beyond Benign works through the Green Chemistry Commitment, which supports college and university faculty and students in implementing and sharing best practices in green chemistry theory and practice through collaborative working groups, webinars, and curriculum. We recognize that this conference may only the start of a larger conversation for you. As we begin our final session, we invite you to further connect with us through our resources, ask questions of our Lead Teachers through our website, and join us for a future training!