1. Home
  2. graduate education

graduate education

JCE 97.06 June 2020 Issue Highlights

Mary Saecker | Thu, 06/11/2020 - 09:10

Learning How to Do Chemistry

The June 2020 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: innovative curriculum; exploring kinetics; engaging organic chemistry activities; molecular structure and symmetry; polymer chemistry; technology-based instruction; synthesis laboratories; undergraduate research experiences; from the archives: bath bombs and cosmetics chemistry.

Teaching in the Time of COVID-19

Ariel Serkin | Sun, 03/29/2020 - 07:26

No one really knows how to immediately transform an in person class to a distance learning environment. We struggle to provide an equitable education, whatever that looks like, for all our students and make accommodations for differences in learning abilities, home lives, internet access, in addition to mental and physical health.

Chemical Illustrations of Flattening the Curve

Dean Campbell | Sun, 03/22/2020 - 18:24

With the current global COVID-19 pandemic, there has been much discussion of “flattening the curve” by social distancing. These ideas can be demonstrated chemically, for example, by the iron-catalyzed decomposition of hydrogen peroxide to produce an oxygen gas foam. Decreased hydrogen peroxide concentrations, representing decreased human population concentrations from social distancing, produce oxygen gas foam, representing cases of illness, at a slower rate. A similar demonstration can be achieved using the popular Diet Coke and Mentos experiment. These simple experiments are best used as stand-alone demonstrations.

JCE 97.03 March 2020 Issue Highlights

Mary Saecker | Tue, 03/10/2020 - 14:17

Developing Students’ Scientific Reasoning - The March 2020 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: nanochemistry; innovative curriculum; teaching with games; teaching with food chemistry and natural products; infrared applications; analysis using color, images, and visualization; environmental chemistry; computer-aided organic chemistry; synthesis laboratories; physical chemistry; graduate school climate assessment; chemical education research: introductory chemistry and student success.

Teacher Leadership

Stephanie O'Brien | Sun, 01/05/2020 - 18:57

Have you heard that TERC, a nonprofit, has launched a STEM Teacher Leadership Network funded by the National Science Foundation? The online community is for  aspiring or current teacher leaders, researchers and administration to improve STEM education, effect policy and discuss the changes to the future of STEM education in a collaborative online collegial network.

Cognitive Load and Active Learning

Clarissa Sorens... | Tue, 11/05/2019 - 10:20

A couple of days ago on Twitter, the ever-lasting debate between lecture and active learning reignited due to some talks at an Educational Research Conference held in Dublin. These talks stated direct guidance (which includes lecture) was superior in terms of student learning due its reduction of students’ cognitive load. The main citation used for this argument was an article by Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark published in 2006. So, let’s dive into what this article says.

Special Knowledge That Only Teachers Have

Josh Kenney | Wed, 03/13/2019 - 15:02

Developing PCK requires a certain level of subject matter knowledge, and teachers have a different understanding of subject matter than a person who specializes in that same field. A chemistry teacher and a ‘practicing’ chemist both have subject matter knowledge in chemistry; however, the knowledge is applied differently.