Opportunities for Educators

It’s Easy Being Green: Budget-Friendly Safety-Conscious Chemistry Labs for the Secondary Science Classroom of Today

Middle/High School Physical Science and Chemistry Teachers, you are invited to join us, as the Department of Chemistry and Physics at Belmont University announces a NEW half-day professional development workshop* this spring.

Build a spectroscope and ride the waves of light as we explore absorbance, transmittance, and the mathematical relationship among wavelength, frequency and energy in Wavelength: A Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of LEDs.

Why Register?

• There is no registration fee.
• Apply for a chance to receive a small microgrant for curriculum items, lab materials, or professional development opportunities that focus on green chemistry topics and classroom applications.
• Perform green chemistry labs, with an emphasis on preparation, student safety and chemical disposal.
• Receive a printed copy of both instructor and student versions of the labs taught at the workshop – including background information, lab procedures and analysis questions.

Event and Registration Information

• The workshop will run from 9:15 AM to 12:30 PM Saturday, March 29, 2025.
• Light breakfast snacks will be available.
• Registration ends Friday, January 24, 2025.
• Register under Upcoming Events.

*Expansion of the sustainable green chemistry workshop series is made possible by support from Beyond Benign.

It’s Easy Being Green: Budget-Friendly Safety-Conscious Chemistry Labs for the Secondary Science Classroom of Today

Summer workshop, June 11, 2025

SAVE THE DATE for our annual It’s Easy Being Green… SUMMER workshop: Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Topics TBD.

Testimonials

• Your enthusiasm & organization are inspiring. I appreciate how you adapt each lab for different levels of application. I am grateful for the opportunity to participate.
• I have always loved this workshop. It has always been the highlight of my summer.
• Thanks for being very informative, approachable & giving practical cheap ways to do science!
• I really enjoyed the day!  Thanks for putting it together and thanks for making me feel comfortable to ask questions.

Teaching chemistry is my passion. I tell my students at the beginning of the semester – I love teaching chemistry – to anyone and everyone – elementary students, high school students, college students, adults – it doesn’t matter, and if you know me long enough, I will try to teach you something about chemistry! The Department of Chemistry and Physics and the College of Sciences and Mathematics at Belmont University has given me the unique opportunity to pursue this passion for teaching chemistry not only in the classroom but through outreach programming. They have given me 100% support and creative freedom in developing my program ideas and turning them into reality. “It’s Easy Being Green:  Budget-Friendly Safety-Conscious Chemistry Labs for the Secondary Science Classroom of Today” was actually the first outreach program I developed after starting my career at Belmont, and it holds a very special place in my heart. Having taught high school for 6 years prior to starting a new position at Belmont, I knew first-hand the challenges of engaging chemistry students in hands-on lab experiences that were effective, meaningful, affordable, and environmentally friendly. I also knew the challenges surrounding finding functional, reproducible labs, that not only minimized hazardous waste disposable but also addressed educational standards. For me, this was the core of starting a sustainable green chemistry workshop series for teachers. Receiving the Beyond Benign Community Grand Award has allowed me to work towards expanding my vision and the reach of my programming in so many different ways.  Not only am I able to start offering a new additional workshop in the spring*, but this expansion will lead to the development of an accessible and interactive online resource bank for green chemistry topics and classroom applications – where teachers can network and share their ideas. The Community Grant Award has also helped me to expand my undergraduate research line “Going Green in Secondary Chemistry Education” – not only by promoting research goals that relatable and meaningful to students but also by providing them the opportunity to engage in being a part of the workshop itself and seeing the impact and practical implementation of the types of projects on which they are working.

You can find my page on the ACS Green Chemistry Teaching & Learning Community. It's free to sign-up and is part of BeyondBenign and ACS Green Chemistry Institute.

*Expansion of the sustainable green chemistry workshop series is made possible by support from Beyond Benign.

Selected Publications

Garrett, M. D. and Mei, H. Making the Invisible, Visible – A Kinesthetic Analogy for Collision Theory, Chem. Educator. 2023, 28, 95 - 99. (Abstract)

Garrett, M. D. It’s Easy Being Green: A Snapshot of a Professional Development Program Focused on Greener Laboratory Options in the Chemistry Classroom through the Lens of a Titrimetric Analysis of Milk of Magnesia and Vinegar, Chem. Educator. 2020, 25, 184-193. (Abstract) 

Garrett, M. D. Interdisciplinary Learning Communities: Bridging the Gap Between the Sciences and the Humanities Through Forensic Science. In Teaching Chemistry with Forensic Science; Editor, Harper-Leatherman, A. S.; Huang, L.; ACS Symposium Series 1324; American Chemical Society: 2019, pp 109-136. Web Release Date: 26-Sept-2019; DOI: 10.1021/bk-2019-1324.ch007 (Abstract)

Garrett, M. D. and Garrett, J. B. Wavelength Analysis of LEDs using Handheld Spectroscopes, Chem. Educator. 2017, 22, 130-134. (Abstract)

Garrett, M. D. The Effectiveness and Range of Natural Acid-Base Indicators, Chem. Educator. 2016, 21, 36-39. (Abstract)