Over the course of this summer, we will be publishing a series of blog posts aimed at teachers who are new to teaching chemistry or who are looking to refresh something(s) about their chemistry courses. Each post will feature several teachers' thoughts on how they approach topics in their classrooms, with teacher-facing examples, or artifacts, to support you in your own planning. This post, the first in our (Re)Bootcamp series, will explore instructional models that shape chemistry classrooms. The next post will incorporate smaller aspects from each of these methods, because your course can incorporate pieces of a pedagogical style without committing to adopting any one method for a whole year. Variety is indeed the spice of life, and courses that are diverse in terms of methods have the potential to be more engaging for students. That being said, organization and consistency are also important, so having a thread that weaves through all of your content to help students keep track of their learning is very powerful.

You're going to love this new color variation on the Density Bottle experiment!

Lead contributor Nora Walsh has compiled several activities for AP students to follow after the exam. From engaging one-day activities to Organic lessons and project ideas, Nora has you covered for a successful end of the school year with your AP students. 

A pre-dinner conversation leads to a different way of thinking about quantum superposition.  A meal from an idiosyncratic chef is not defined until “the reveal.”  Discussion of this leads to the statement by Asher Peres that “unperformed experiments have no results.”  Discussion of Peres’ statement, then contrasting versions of resultlessness in both macroscopic and quantum realms, leads to classroom discussion.  This, hopefully, creates an easier and deeper understanding of quantum mechanics.

In this blog, Michael Jansen considers the significance of using proper units and their role in helping students develop a conceptual understanding of Chemistry. 

Light absorbance and fluorescence were studied for a sample of the Chicago River that had been dyed green for St. Patrick’s Day. The sample had weak green fluorescence, showing that the intense green appearance of the river was in part due to the long path length of light through the water. The ability of the green color to partition into 1-octanol was also explored.