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What ARE my students actually learning during this long term project (PBL)?

Tracy Schloemer | Tue, 11/17/2015 - 14:14

In an earlier post, I discuss some of my unit planning that (I hope!) further breaks down a few of these misconceptions - my students are not teaching themselves on google. They are weaving back and forth between learning content and the larger reason for learning the content.

However, every single one of these comments above are valid. It is really difficult work to ultimately balance individual accountability and group accountability. Every student needs to master basic stoichiometry before they leave my general chemistry course.

Grateful Grading of Labs?

Sarah Kong | Mon, 11/16/2015 - 08:14

One challenge I have is knowing how to evaluate labs properly. In writing my new lab manual, I am setting up rubrics for each lab. The ultimate goal is for this manual to be used by all instructors across the chemistry department at our community college, so they need to have a consistent grading system. Writing these rubrics has been challenging. 

Solubility and Models

Chad Husting | Sun, 11/15/2015 - 19:05

First, I had my students examine the conductivity of a puddle of water the size of a nickel. They checked for conductivity. Then they took a very small amount of sodium carbonate and a fresh puddle of water and pushed in a few crystals from the side.  You can still see the crystals in the water but it tested positive for conductivity. They had to explain this. They did the same with a fresh puddle of water and a few crystals of copper (II) sulfate. Again, it tested positive for conductivity but they could still see the blue crystal. Finally, they started again with another fresh puddle of water, pushed a few crystals of sodium carbonate on one side and on the opposite side they pushed in a few crystals of copper (II) sulfate.  After waiting five minutes, a solid dull blue precipitate formed in the middle.  Also, the drop tested positive for conductivity. 

How To Do A Demo Safely

Deanna Cullen | Thu, 11/12/2015 - 13:54

We continue to hear bad news about chemistry classroom accidents. Please share this with your cohorts. We cannot assume that everyone knows how to be safe when performing demonstrations. 

JCE 92.11—November 2015 Issue Highlights

Mary Saecker | Thu, 11/12/2015 - 12:12

The November 2015 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: materials science; polymer chemistry activities; green chemistry; biochemistry in the laboratory; research on student attitudes and the transition from high school to college chemistry; assessment; computer-based learning and computations; from the archives: chemistry YouTube videos.

Target Inquiry Activities

Chad Husting | Sun, 11/08/2015 - 13:32

Are kids learning? Given the time it takes to implement and grade the activity, do I get a lot of "educational moments" out of it? Does it fit into the culture of the classroom? Is there a great deal of "conceptually rich" material in the activity that students can build on? I believe that two activities I tried this week fit the bill.

Cookbook to Inquiry....Another Attempt

Chad Husting | Sun, 10/25/2015 - 19:32

There is a hydrate lab which is done by many teachers. Typically, students first use a known hydrate and are provided the formula.  As an example, they might use CuSO4 . 5H2O.  On paper, they would work through the percent by mass of water in copper (II) sulfate pentahydrate.  They then would be given a mass of the copper (II) sulfate pentahydrate, calculate how much water they should lose and then they would heat it and compare the data with the calculated value. Next, they are given an unknown hydrate.  They are also given the molar mass of the unknown salt of the hydrate and they have to calculate the molar ratio of salt to water based on their data.  Here is one possible way to “tweak” this lab.