Adapting the Anchoring Concepts Content Map (ACCM) of ACS Exams by Incorporating a Theme: Merging Green Chemistry and Organic Chemistry

The American Chemical Society (ACS), Division of Chemical Education, Examinations Institute, has been developing content maps to describe comprehensively the undergraduate curriculum aligned to traditional subdisciplines. These content maps have been developed through the combined efforts of many faculty members who teach the targeted courses in the subdiscipline. A recent collaboration between the Examinations Institute and the ACS Green Chemistry Institute has resulted in the consideration of green chemistry content in the context of the content maps. The inclusion of green chemistry concepts in the context of organic chemistry has been the initial focus of the work of this collaboration. Through working with faculty who teach green chemistry courses or organic chemistry courses with the theme of green chemistry, the organic chemistry content map has been revised and reconceptualized with the theme of green chemistry included. The process, excerpts of the content map, and alignments of traditional organic chemistry exam items to both the organic chemistry content map and the organic chemistry content map with the inclusion of green chemistry are reported.