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From JCE - A demonstration for challenging students' thinking on acid-base chemistry and equilibrium

I was drawn to an article by Eilks, Gulacar, and Sandoval about Acid-Base Chemistry and Chemical Equilibrium in the April 2018 issue of JCE. The title of the article is "Exploring the Mysterious Substances, X and Y: Challenging Students' Thinking on Acid-Base Chemistry and Chemical Equilibrium." The premise of the article is to demonstrate how an instructor may use a group of compounds (zeolites) to "elaborate on the behavior of solid state acids and bases" while revisiting LeChatelier's principle.

A Concise Summary of Chemical Misconceptions

Beyond Appearances: Students’ Misconceptions about Basic Chemical Ideas on the Royal Society of Chemistry’s website has proven a wonderfully handy document to have around. The report is the work of Dr. Vanessa Kind of Durham University (formerly of The University of London) and briefly summarizes student misconceptions and possible pedagogical remedies in eleven different content areas.

Action Research and Assessment

Each week I decided to put on paper, or in a blog, one concrete action that I could take that I was pretty sure would help at least one student. After almost three years and close to a hundred entries, the entries were separated into categories by multiple people. The result was pretty clear....my biggest struggles were with assessment.

"The Stress Test", by Dana Goodyear

Rivalries, intrigue, and fraud in the world of stem-cell research. This "inside story" from some of the most prestigious biochemistry laboratories in the world can provide grist for any course on ethics in modern science.

Toward roads that de-ice themselves

This year in the midwest United States, winter has been a fickle friend. I haven’t seen the same amount of snow or ice as in recent years, but I still made sure I was prepared for it at our home by stocking up on calcium chloride to use as a de-icer on my driveway and sidewalks.