During our recent chemistry summer camp, we used some electrochemistry activities. We had some logistical issues, but they were an overal success!
In Chemical Mystery #5, I used chemistry to give the illusion that water can be lit on fire. Here is the solution to that mystery.
The video displays a neat trick you can do for your students. What do you suppose is the secret behind this trick? Hint: It has to do with chemistry!
Yesterday I posted about Day 1 of the Chemistry Camp
The American Modeling Teachers Association (AMTA) website is the official source for information on Modeling InstructionTM (MI). Whether you are an experienced Modeler or simply interested in learning more about MI, I encourage you to visit the newly redesigned site and check out the available resources.
My goal with this summer camp was to expose students to the chemistry of things around us - plants, food, batteries, fuel, etc. Fortunately, by studying plant pigments and photosynthesis, students were able to learn about and utilize common lab techniques.
If videos are the method of choice for my students’ free time learning, then why do they sometimes struggle to hear and make sense of the chemistry content in the short teaching videos created by their teacher?
These tenets set PBL (the big once-per-semester projects) apart from day to day activities and inquiry:
PBL poses an authentic problem with multiple solutions.
PBL requires core subject knowledge to propose solutions to a problem to an authentic audience.
An advantage to teaching on the trimester schedule allows me the opportunity to teach the same course again roughly twelve weeks later. So after grading my 2nd trimester students’ Chemistry B final exams, I was able to evaluate certain topics that caused my students problems, reflect on my teaching, and then determine how I was going to better prepare my students in the 3rd trimester chemistry B class.
I have been involved in several types of community outreach projects to promote science education and chemistry. One of the best was a biannual event I worked on with teachers from each elementary school in our district and from our middle school. It was a Science Extravaganza.
