Connecting chemistry teaching to sustainability through systems thinking- a workshop series

Categories: IUPAC projects

Project No.: 2023-004-2-050

Start Date: 29 Mar 2023

Division: Committee on Chemistry Education

https://iupac.org/project/2023-004-2-050

4 hour workshops will be offered to senior chemistry teachers in April in three locations in New Zealand: Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. In the first session, teachers will focus on addressing critical challenges associated with the ‘human level’ of chemistry. Systems thinking will be introduced with a range of example contexts and a practical activity will be offered to generate discussion about curriculum links, sustainability, and links to systems thinking characteristics. The second half of the workshop will focus on visualizing and mapping systems, finishing with the challenge to visualize and map the life cycle of a given metal. At the end of the workshop, there will be a discussion on how systems thinking and sustainability practices can be embedded in the local community of practice and the role of the Secondary Chemistry Educators of New Zealand (SCENZ) in supporting teachers to embed systems thinking in their chemistry teaching.