Students may find it difficult to connect to the subject of chemistry, but connecting chemical concepts to potent issues can help students learn!
This article describes how a focus on environmental justice and green chemistry can help minority students who have a low self-concept in STEM connect to chemistry. This focus on social justice and how work in chemistry impacts people everywhere allows for a more welcoming space for women and students of color in chemistry. The article speaks about how the common emphasis on individuality in STEM can alienate women and students of color. This can help to be prevented by a focus on how work in STEM impacts real people. Also, a better understanding of STEM concepts is a powerful tool against misinformation for minority students.
The article details how emphasizing "systems thinking," when teaching which means connecting chemical concepts to real-world applications and natural processes, can allow students to have a deeper understanding of the subject of chemistry and be an effective way to integrate social justice into lessons. Also, when designing labs, it is important to explain what green chemistry means and whether or not the lab is an example of green chemistry. If it is not, it can be helpful for students to understand why proper lab safety is necessary. Also, emphasizing how work in chemistry can harm as well as help people is very important if students continue in STEM. An emphasis not on individuality but on the importance of the impact the work has on communities can make STEM a more accessible field.
This paper speaks about how students bring a wealth of prior knowledge into the classroom. The knowledge that minority students bring into the chemistry classroom can be used to inspire them to continue in the field, particularly considering retention in the field of chemistry is at lower rates for women and minorities. Not only is connecting environmental justice an important part of a student's education, but it can also allow them to connect to chemistry with the knowledge they already hold, which is proven to improve performance and engagement. Encouraging students to engage with concepts of social responsibility as well as the chemistry concepts they must master can help students understand that they can become agents of positive change utilizing the knowledge they gain in the field of Chemistry, and may empower a generation of students in STEM who collaborate to make positive change.
A way to apply this in the classroom is to encourage students to consider the space they occupy in social issues, particularly when it comes to understanding the causes of climate change. Connecting chemistry concepts to major ecological issues that students already know of, like climate change and air pollution, can be a way to deepen their understanding of the chemistry concepts they learn, and understand why chemistry is important.