A new semester begins!
Sarah Kong | Tue, 01/13/2015 - 13:41
A good inquiry activity is an engaging way to begin a new semester.
Education
New Year, New Format
Dan Meyers | Mon, 01/12/2015 - 11:11
Happy New Year! For many, the beginning of a new year involves creating resolutions. And, hopefully not quitting them! Something I have resolved to do is modify the presentation and submission of lab reports.
A Chemist Celebrates the International Year of Light
Tom Kuntzleman | Thu, 01/08/2015 - 13:43
Happy New Year! Did you know that 2015 is the International Year of Light (IYL)? IYL is a “global initiative adopted by the United Nations to raise awareness of how optical technologies promote sustainable development and provide solutions to worldwide challenges in energy, education, agriculture, communications and health1”. IYL is sponsored by several organizations with interests in science and science education, including the European Physical Society, the Institute of Physics, the American Physical Society, and the American Institute of Physics. You can find several lesson plans, videos and other educational resources on the IYL website2.
NGSS Update #2
Dan Meyers | Fri, 12/12/2014 - 11:20
Happy December ChemEdX community! On December 2, 2014 I attended the second of three workshops on NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards) through our local ISD (in Kalamazoo County it is known as KRESA).
Using Google Hangouts, an iPad and AirServer for an Online Review Session
Lowell Thomson | Fri, 12/12/2014 - 09:55
"Mr. T, you should do a review session for us before our final exam using a Google Hangout."
Is the MSDS Sheet a useful document for a chemistry teacher?
Bob Worley | Tue, 11/25/2014 - 16:24
Whenever a serious incident takes place in a school chemistry laboratory or classroom, fire and safety officers often pontificate on the incident by quoting the Materials Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). However, how many of you have read such documents in full? In UK schools we have perhaps 200 to 400 chemicals on the shelves. Have you read the MSDSs for each chemical?
The Mystery of Matter: Search for the Elements
Erica Jacobsen | Sun, 11/23/2014 - 17:06
TV and movie screens today offer us a desperate fight against crazy-fast zombies, a peek into celebrities’ lives where truth is often stranger than fiction, million-dollar game shows, and more. Can portraits of science compete?
Conceptual Chemistry
Larry Dukerich | Wed, 11/19/2014 - 16:19
In a recent contribution to ChemEd X "Stoichiometry is Easy", the author states that he has "vacillated over the years between using an algorithmic method, and an inquiry-based approach to teaching stoichiometry. " I would like to suggest that there is another approach to mastering stoichiometry and that it should precede the algorithmic one: it is the conceptual approach based on a particle model to represent the species involved in chemical reactions.
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
Dan Meyers | Tue, 11/11/2014 - 11:18
Last Thursday (11/6/14) I attended a workshop on NGSS through our local RESA (essentially an ISD for the county/region). I’d like to touch on some of the things I took away from this workshop and will post again after the next follow-up workshops in December and March.
Photoelectron Spectroscopy Special Issue Article
Deanna Cullen | Mon, 10/27/2014 - 17:58
The new AP Chemistry curriculum is in the second year of use. Photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) is a topic that generated much discussion because it is an addition to the curriculum. Jamie Benigna of Michigan teaches AP Chemistry, is an AP reader and recently wrote an article about PES for the Journal of Chemistry Education Special Issue. The article discusses the rationale for including PES in the course, explains some background of PES and provides strategies for including PES in your own course. This article is offered as a free preview of the AP Special Issue.