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August 2021 Xchange

The August 2021 Xchange highlights some of the contributions that have recently been published or updated on ChemEd X. We hope you will take a moment to check in and see what you may have missed. 

     

Michael Jansen reflects on a very common empirical formula lab that asks students to determine the empirical formula of MgxOy. He then explains how he continues to use it as a "successful failure", how he demonstrates an alternate procedure and leads his students to an important lesson.
     

(Originally published 8/16/19) Doug Ragan been using magnets of elements and subatomic particles for some time to help his students visualize what is happening at the particle level of chemistry. Download the files attached to the post and print out your own set of elements and particles! 
     

Tom Kuntzleman offers a new Chemical Mystery! Can you use your knowledge of chemistry to figure out what is going on in this blue/green/yellow/blue color change?
     

After a year or more of virtual laboratory instruction due to pandemic restrictions in many colleges, a simple experiment has been designed to provide students returning to in-person lab instruction with the opportunity to gain hands-on experience reviewing basic chemistry laboratory apparatus and techniques.

 
     

Being a teacher during the pandemic was a transformative experience. But it's unlikely no one came out of the pandemic unscathed in some way. The scars are real and learning to accept them is part of the process in returning to "normal", which was an illusion and did not work well for many. Post-pandemic, how will my teaching change?
     

Summertime means doing chemistry experiments with flowers found growing in the yard...
     

Helping students develop abstract understanding is a universal goal. This article describes an activity that involves students developing and then solving novel quantitative chemistry problems following a MadLibsTM style framework.
     

The Golden Drain is a case study developed by Sharma and Wolfgang where students work to uncover a company’s lost revenue due to the error of a new employee.
     

AP Reader, Melissa Hemling, reflects and shares ideas to improve multimodal understanding of AP Chemistry concepts with Concept Summary Sheets. 
     

Interested in expanding your instructional portfolio? What about getting involved with CUREs (Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences)? If so, check it out some more. 
     

Many novice students struggle to see elements' valence electron configuration trends across the rows and columns on the periodic table. There are many diagrams and explanations available as resources for students however, a deeper understanding may be possible when students discover these trends independently through a game called Electron Configuration Battleship.
     

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