Over several decades, there have been many calls to transform chemistry education in order to promote learning and engaging students in chemistry. For example, conceptual understanding research gave its place to developmental approaches, namely, learning progressions. However, a lot of researchers stated the need for context-based approaches to make chemistry education more meaningful and relevant for students. Socio-scientific issues (SSI) oriented chemistry education, for example, can be considered as a contextual framing. However, this approach tended to offer more things to know, instead of providing a context for the students to engage in critical discussions about ecological, economic, and societal dimensions (Gilbert, 2016) of chemical pursuits. In consequence, this contribution aims to provoke a discussion on how chemistry education can be reframed in the Anthropocene and problematize systems thinking as a way of the Anthropocene aware chemistry education. It is argued that there is a need for rethinking chemistry education in the complex societies stemming from a noticeable human impact on chemical, biological, and geological systems in the Earth (Mahaffy, 2014). Acknowledging that human factor is responsible from the changes in the Earth systems more than before, we are being driven to an uncertain and a complex future (Guyotte, 2020; Stratford, 2019). Considering the role of chemistry in the global challenges, chemistry education is suggested to adopt a humanized approach including the role of human activity, socio-scientific issues, benefits-costs-risk analysis of chemical activities, e.g. by utilizing a cross disciplinary approach (Zowada et al., 2019). In addition, involving in chemical pursuits as scientists or citizens, requires taking quality of life and preserving environment into consideration (Sjöström & Talanquer, 2018). 50 In this presentation, systems thinking is problematized as a way of addressing global challenges through chemistry education and conceptualized as a way of acting on material world through sustainability perspective and decision-making processes (Mahaffy, Matlin, Whalen, & Holme, 2019). It is aimed to develop knowledge through the questions which living in a complex, uncertain era made visible: How can chemistry education be reconceptualized in the Anthropocene? How can systems thinking be infused in chemistry education?
2020. p. 49-50
International LUMAT Symposium 2020 – LUMAT Science Research Forum, June 3 – 4, 2020 (Online).