July 2016 ChemEd X Newsletter

Chemical Education Xchange

Dear Readers,

Many teachers are engaging in professional development activities over the summer break. There seem to be more opportunities than ever. Yet, I have seen a new phenomenon of groups creating their own professional development like lead contributor, Erica Posthuma-Adams discusses in her blog this month. The internet and social media have opened doors to more ways of creating collaborations than ever before. Whether it is a face to face meeting or an online discussion, we have more choices for making the most of our professional development time. Creating your own professional development? Submit the event to ChemEd X. Don't forget, that if you see a topic of interest here at ChemEd X, you can join the conversation and collaborate with us. Is there a topic that you don't see addressed? Log in and leave a comment on our Call for Contributions page. We will do our best to find an expert that will help us to address the topic and create our own professional development opportunity right here.

Peace,

Deanna

     

Call for Contributions - Big Ideas and Making Connections - Deadline extended

Chemical Education Xchange (ChemEd X) is interested in learning about the progress teachers have made, experiences that teachers have had, areas that are causing difficulty and more as they transition to using Big Ideas to organize chemistry and other science content. For this reason, we are initiating our first content specific Call for Contributions centered around the concept of “Big Ideas and Making Connections”.
Accepting contributions through August 8, 2016.

     

Especially JCE – July 2016

Erica Jacobsen shares highlights from the July 2016 issue of JCE that are of special interest to high school teachers. This month, she discusses articles involving laboratory equipment, handling samples, maintaining a laboratory notebook and other topics related to lab work. If you would like to explore the whole issue in more depth, check out Mary Saecker's JCE 93.07—July Issue Highlights.

     

The Big Picture - My AP Chemistry Scope and Sequence

Tracy Schloemer continues to share her experience of developing the scope and sequence of another of her courses, AP chemistry. Her detailed explanation will give you insight on how to tackle this. Don't miss the link to the spreadsheet of the essential knowledge statements.

     

Punk Rock, Longboards and Mad Science

Check out this STEM activity that incorporates chemical reactions, gas laws, intermolecular forces, materials science, math, geometry and more.

     

Chemical Mystery #7 - Curious Cans

You may think you know the answer. You may have seen this before. But...don't skip it. Do you understand the whole story? Test yourself and then, check out the solution.

     

Using Chemical Mysteries in the Chemistry Classroom

Inspired by the Chemical Mystery series here at ChemEd X, Lowell Thomson has begun using mysteries in his classroom to encourage student questions and hypotheses. Perhaps you have an idea for the topics he is still working on.

     

AP Chemistry Post-Exam Activity: Coordination Compounds & Complex Ions

Michael Morgan offers us a tested activity to challenge our AP students after the exam. It is a guided group inquiry lesson on coordination compounds & complex ions. The lesson uses two pieces of software that are available here at ChemEd X with a subscription. Don't have a subscription? ChemEd X is offering free access to both titles through June 17, 2017.

     

We hope you enjoy the content mentioned here and other content at ChemEd X. If you find ChemEd X content useful, please consider purchasing a subscription to help support ChemEd X. In addition to supporting the free content we make available, you will also get access to our complete video collection and other titles to help in teaching and learning chemistry.