Toward Inclusive Green and Sustainable Chemistry Education: Case Studies with Blind and Deaf Students

Green chemistry is designed to be inclusive, with accessibility as a central perspective in science education. Inclusive Green and Sustainable Chemistry Education (IGSCE) is guided by three principles: (i) centering teaching on students’ needs and active engagement, (ii) promoting understanding through five interconnected levels of representation—symbolic, microscopic, macroscopic, human context, and inclusion—and (iii) enabling students to apply their academic skills to real-life situations through supportive pedagogical strategies. Within this framework, the Triangular Bipyramid Metaphor (TBM) is a didactic model for organizing chemical concepts. Despite its theoretical relevance, empirical studies investigating the application of TBM with students with and without disabilities remain limited. To address this gap, preservice chemistry teachers implemented TBM-based activities with blind and Deaf learners from two Brazilian institutions: the Federal Institute of Rio de Janeiro and the Federal Institute of Paraíba. The results, analyzed qualitatively, include the development of the “Green Star” metric in Braille and the introduction of a novel sign-term in Brazilian Sign Language, enhancing access to green chemistry. Although additional research is needed, our study provides empirical evidence of progress in IGSCE.