The March 2015 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online at http://pubs.acs.org/toc/jceda8/92/3. This issue features NMR spectroscopy; chemistry teaching from an international perspective; chemistry & history; learning to think and work like a chemist; introductory laboratory experiences & experiments; the chemistry of fingerprints.
Labs! They have been the most overwhelming part of my career in chemistry. I felt the least prepared in this area when I began teaching and walked into my first lab as a teacher. Knowing all of the chemicals and equipment were under my care was a bit terrifying.
In this age of scientific inquiry, molecular modeling, digital classrooms, and differentiation, I felt downright guilty about any teacher-centered time. My classroom is flipped after all. I’m not supposed to be lecturing, right?
A fun experiment to conduct when discussing phase diagrams is the melting of solid carbon dioxide (dry ice).
There is useful information in section 8 of a (Material) Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) that teachers can use and shows how a knowledge of chemical equations and calculations helps protect the health of their students and themselves and helps to assure their employers and safety officers that teachers and lecturers are responsible and professional users of chemicals.
Last year I came across a link on Twitter regarding an art installation by Roger Hiorns in England titled “Seizure.” Some of you may have seen it too – a condemned flat in London was essentially sealed off and filled with more than 75,000 L of supersaturated copper sulfate solution.
The Modeling™ curriculum emphasizes modeling, collecting evidence, scientific discourse and development of conceptual understanding. All of these can be linked to AP and NGSS standards. If you are looking to make improvements in your curriculum and gain some impressive strategies, consider enrolling in a workshop this summer. There are many workshops scheduled around the country during the summer. A full curriculum and support materials are provided.
Just the other day within my IB Chemistry HL classes, we were discussing the color of transition metal complex ions in solution. It's a bit imperfect, because they are not yet dissolved, but I set up a number of metal chloride salts in order to help students see the pattern. They are arranged according to the position of the metal in the periodic table. It ends up being quite obvious to the students that the only metal salts with color are in the d-block. I'm now in the process of ordering more chloride salts so I can complete the pattern even more the next time I teach this topic.
Kathy Kitzmann of Michigan is the 2014 recipient of the James Bryant Conant Award in High School Chemistry.
I teach AP chemistry and general chemistry at Hudsonville High School in the Grand Rapids area. I applied for the HACH grant last spring and was very excited when I was one of the recipients that was accepted. The process of applying is very easy.
