The March 2013 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online [http://pubs.acs.org/toc/jceda8/90/3]. This latest issue of JCE plus the content of all past issues, volumes 1 through 90, are available at http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc.
Have you ever cooked a marshmallow in a microwave? In case you are not familiar with this experiment, when a marshmallow is heated in a microwave, gases trapped in the marshmallow expand and escape. When the gas molecules escape from the marshmallow, they push against the marshmallow, causing it to expand. Check out the video.
Moles, mole ratios and stoichiometry have been frustrating topics for many of my chemistry students. The MOLE and Avogadro’s number get tangled up in other Chemistry jargon and students have stared at me like I am speaking another language. I have been around long enough to know this is a problem that many of us have faced. I have tried many ideas that have helped and I want to share a few.
The February 2013 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available.
Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Doug Ragan and I have been a high school chemistry teacher for fourteen years. Three years ago, I was approached by my high school principal and the conversation went like this,
Principal: "You are one lucky guy."
Me: "Really, why?"
You may have read Sarah Kong's recent blog post on inquiry on this site. I thought I would give a description of one way I incorporate inquiry learning into one of the chemistry courses I teach.
Samuel Arbesman, a mathematician and network scientist, uses the idea a half-life as an analogy for the changes in human knowledge that science brings. He discusses both the changing rate at which new science is done and the speed at which old results are replaced by newer ones. The analogy is far from perfect, but it emphasizes some critically important aspects of the processes of science.
Who is Sarah Kong and why is she starting a blog for Chem Ed X about Inquiry?
Whenever possible, I try to begin a topic with something my students are familar with. For the introduction of Percent Composition in my general chemistry course, I brought in bags of Oreo cookies. Seeing the bags upon entering class was a great attention getter. If you are looking for ways to add more inquiry to your chemistry course, this a an example of how you can experiment with giving up a little control. Try it and see how it goes.
The respected education reformer Diane Ravitch, previously one of the major architects and proponents of No Child Left Behind, has not only taken a new tack, but reversed course. With her 2011 book, she became a leading voice critical of the Obama-Duncan version, Race to the Top. This essay by David Denby describes her evolution.
