Authentic learning experience at community college: Sustainable business practices, green college campuses, and healthy living

CHED 21

Ravi A Manghani, rmanghan@highline.edu, Department of Chemistry and Puget Sound Early College, Highline Community College, P.O. Box 98000, 2400 S. 240th St, M/S FWC, Des Moines, WA 98198 and Karen Francis-McWhite, Department of Writing and Puget Sound Early College, Highline Community College, P.O. Box 98000, 2400 S. 240th St, M/S FWC, Des Moines, WA 98198.
Righting Sustainability” combines research writing and introductory chemistry courses taught in a team-teaching environment at Puget Sound Early College (PSEC). PSEC is a small-school, cohort-based program of Highline Community College (HCC) that emphasizes collaborative, project-based learning. During the course, students engage in discourse after reading texts like ‘Cradle to Cradle' that help them shape their definition of sustainability, discuss current environmental issues and learn the principles of green chemistry. The course involves infusing elements of sustainability into the curriculum and extending these concepts beyond classrooms through projects where students work as sustainability consultants. Students are offered opportunities to develop as green chemistry researchers and build alliances with community partners like the HCC campus, small businesses, non-profit organizations, and local communities. The course provides the students with an authentic learning experience- an engagement with real-world problems, collaborations with professionals and experts in various fields, and learning through inquiry.
 

Green Chemistry & Engineering: Equipping Scientists and Engineers to Achieve Sustainability
8:30 AM-11:05 AM, Sunday, April 6, 2008 Hilton New Orleans Riverside -- Jasperwood, Oral

Sci-Mix
8:00 PM-10:00 PM, Monday, April 7, 2008 Morial Convention Center -- Hall A, Sci-Mix

Division of Chemical Education

The 235th ACS National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, April 6-10, 2008