Curricular Alignment for Student Success
The February 2018 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online(link is external) to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: diversity within the classroom; assessment and curricular alignment; innovations in laboratory curriculum; electrochemistry; analytical chemistry labs; exploring materials science; engaging teaching approaches; historical perspectives; distilling the archives: lab-on-a-chip and microfluidic devices.
Cover: Erasing the Glow in the Dark
Phosphorescence of glow-in-the-dark products is initiated by light with energies that are specific to each phosphor composition. In many cases, the phosphorescence of these materials can also be darkened by further excitation with light that has lower energy than the minimum energy required to produce the initial glow, as demonstrated in Erasing the Glow in the Dark: Controlling the Trap and Release of Electrons in Phosphorescent Materials(link is external) by William A. Getz, Dannielle A. Wentzel, Max J. Palmer, and Dean J. Campbell and illustrated on the cover: (upper left) shining blue light on paint containing copper-doped zinc sulfide (ZnS:Cu) excites electrons from lower to higher energy levels, as represented by the overlaid stencil; (upper right) the electrons trapped in higher energy levels slowly return to lower energy levels, producing green phosphorescence when the blue light and stencil are removed; (lower left) shining red light on excited ZnS:Cu phosphorescent paint facilitates the electrons returning from higher to lower energy levels, as represented by the overlaid stencil; (lower right) removing the red light and stencil reveals the phosphorescence extinguishing, or the erasing effect. (Photos by William A. Getz.)
Editorial
In the Editorial Hey, Professor—Something Is Wrong in the Book(link is external), Norb Pienta discusses how differences among textbooks, electronic books, and content material on the Internet often lead to student confusion and how some of the issues can be resolved by focusing on conceptual understanding with less focus on factual knowledge.
Diversity within the Classroom
Taking Advantage of Diversity within the Classroom(link is external) ~ Emily V. Goethe and Coray M. Colina
Investigating the Influence of Gender on Student Perceptions of the Clicker in a Small Undergraduate General Chemistry Course(link is external) ~ Emily D. Niemeyer and Maha Zewail-Foote
Assessment and Curricular Alignment
Adapting Assessment Tasks To Support Three-Dimensional Learning(link is external) ~ Sonia M. Underwood, Lynmarie A. Posey, Deborah G. Herrington, Justin H. Carmel, and Melanie M. Cooper (available to non-subscribers as part of ACS Editors’ Choice(link is external) program)
The ACS Exams Institute Undergraduate Chemistry Anchoring Concepts Content Map III: Inorganic Chemistry(link is external) ~ Keith A. Marek, Jeffery R. Raker, Thomas A. Holme, and Kristen L. Murphy (available to non-subscribers as part of the ACS AuthorChoice(link is external) program)
The ACS Exams Institute Undergraduate Chemistry Anchoring Concepts Content Map IV: Physical Chemistry(link is external) ~ Thomas A. Holme, Jessica J. Reed, Jeffrey R. Raker, and Kristen L. Murphy (available to non-subscribers as part of the ACS AuthorChoice(link is external) program)
Awareness, Analysis, and Action: Curricular Alignment for Student Success in General Chemistry(link is external) ~ Sarah Jewett, Kathy Sutphin, Tiffany Gierasch, Pauline Hamilton, Kathleen Lilly, Kristine Miller, Donald Newlin, Richard Pires, Maureen Sherer, and William R. LaCourse (available to non-subscribers as part of the ACS AuthorChoice(link is external) program)
Innovations in Laboratory Curriculum
Effects of Implementing a Hybrid Wet Lab and Online Module Lab Curriculum into a General Chemistry Course: Impacts on Student Performance and Engagement with the Chemistry Triplet(link is external) ~ Stefan M. Irby, Emily J. Borda, and Justin Haupt
Teaching through Research: Alignment of Core Chemistry Competencies and Skills within a Multidisciplinary Research Framework(link is external) ~ Eman Ghanem, S. Reid Long, Stacia E. Rodenbusch, Ruth I. Shear, Josh T. Beckham, Kristen Procko, Lauren DePue, Keith J. Stevenson, Jon D. Robertus, Stephen Martin, Bradley Holliday, Richard A. Jones, Eric V. Anslyn, and Sarah L. Simmons
Problem-Based Approach to Teaching Advanced Chemistry Laboratories and Developing Students’ Critical Thinking Skills(link is external) ~ Joseph G. Quattrucci
Lab-on-a-Chip: Frontier Science in the Classroom(link is external) ~ Jan Jaap Wietsma, Jan T. van der Veen, Wilfred Buesink, Albert van den Berg, and Mathieu Odijk (available to non-subscribers as part of the ACS AuthorChoice(link is external) program)
Electrochemistry
A Practical Beginner’s Guide to Cyclic Voltammetry(link is external) ~ Noémie Elgrishi, Kelley J. Rountree, Brian D. McCarthy, Eric S. Rountree, Thomas T. Eisenhart, and Jillian L. Dempsey (available to non-subscribers as part of ACS Editors’ Choice(link is external) program)
Reusing a Hard Drive Platter To Demonstrate Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen and Oxygen Evolution Reactions(link is external) ~ Ricardo H. Gonçalves
Assessing the Electrochemical Behavior of Microcontact-Printed Silver Nanogrids(link is external) ~ Wesley C. Sanders, Peter Iles, Ron Valcarce, Kyle Salisbury, Glen Johnson, Aubry Lines, John Meyers, Cristofer Page, Myles Vanweerd, and Davies Young
Open-Source Low-Cost Wireless Potentiometric Instrument for pH Determination Experiments(link is external) ~ Hao Jin, Yiheng Qin, Si Pan, Arif U. Alam, Shurong Dong, Raja Ghosh, and M. Jamal Deen
Analytical Chemistry Labs
Studying Intermolecular Forces with a Dual Gas Chromatography and Boiling Point Investigation(link is external) ~ William Patrick Cunningham, Ian Xia, Kaitlyn Wickline, Eric Ivan Garcia Huitron, and Jun Heo
Fabricating Simple Wax Screen-Printing Paper-Based Analytical Devices To Demonstrate the Concept of Limiting Reagent in Acid–Base Reactions(link is external) ~ Pithakpong Namwong, Purim Jarujamrus, Maliwan Amatatongchai, and Sanoe Chairam
ULg Spectra: An Interactive Software Tool To Improve Undergraduate Students’ Structural Analysis Skills(link is external) ~ Armelinda Agnello, Cyril Carré, Roland Billen, Bernard Leyh, Edwin De Pauw, and Christian Damblon
Exploring Materials Science
Preparation of Octadecyltrichlorosilane Nanopatterns Using Particle Lithography: An Atomic Force Microscopy Laboratory(link is external) ~ Zachary L. Highland, ChaMarra K. Saner, and Jayne C. Garno
Extended Hückel Calculations on Solids Using the Avogadro Molecular Editor and Visualizer(link is external) ~ Patrick Avery, Herbert Ludowieg, Jochen Autschbach, and Eva Zurek
Engaging Teaching Approaches
The People Periodic Table: A Framework for Engaging Introductory Chemistry Students(link is external) ~ Adam Hoffman and Mark Hennessy
Chemical Analysis of Household Oxygen-Based Powdered Bleach: An Engaging Approach to Teaching Sampling of Heterogeneous Materials and Addressing Statistics(link is external) ~ Mauro S. F. Santos, Alexandre L. B. Baccaro, Guilherme L. Batista, Fernando S. Lopes, and Ivano G. R. Gutz
Introducing a Simple Equation To Express Oxidation States as an Alternative to Using Rules Associated with Words Alone(link is external) ~ Piotr Minkiewicz, Małgorzata Darewicz, and Anna Iwaniak
Historical Perspectives
Celebrating the Golden Jubilee of the International Chemistry Olympiad: Back to Where It All Began(link is external) ~ Fun Man Fung, Martin Putala, Petr Holzhauser, Ekasith Somsook, Cecilia Hernandez, and I-Jy Chang
Crime in the Classroom: Analysis Over 26 Years(link is external) ~ David N. Harpp
Distilling the Archives: Lab-on-a-Chip and Microfluidic Devices
This issue include an open access article, Lab-on-a-Chip: Frontier Science in the Classroom(link is external), by Jan Jaap Wietsma, Jan T. van der Veen, Wilfred Buesink, Albert van den Berg, and Mathieu Odijk in which students experiment to discover the principles of microfluidics. In Fabricating Simple Wax Screen-Printing Paper-Based Analytical Devices To Demonstrate the Concept of Limiting Reagent in Acid–Base Reactions(link is external), Pithakpong Namwong, Purim Jarujamrus, Maliwan Amatatongchai, and Sanoe Chairam use paper as an inexpensive microfluidic device. Additional articles on microfluidics in past issues can been explored, such as:
Chemistry in Microfluidic Channels(link is external) ~ Matthew C. Chia, Christina M. Sweeney, Teri W. Odom
Microfluidics for High School Chemistry Students(link is external) ~ Melissa Hemling, John A. Crooks, Piercen M. Oliver, Katie Brenner, Jennifer Gilbertson, George C. Lisensky, and Douglas B. Weibel
Electrolysis of Water in the Secondary School Science Laboratory with Inexpensive Microfluidics(link is external) ~ T. A. Davis, S. L. Athey, M. L. Vandevender, C. L. Crihfield, C. C. E. Kolanko, S. Shao, M. C. G. Ellington, J. K. Dicks, J. S. Carver, and L. A. Holland
A Student-Made Microfluidic Device for Electrophoretic Separation of Food Dyes(link is external) ~ Saowapak Teerasong and Robert L. McClain
Using Paper-Based Diagnostics with High School Students To Model Forensic Investigation and Colorimetric Analysis(link is external) ~ Rebekah R. Ravgiala, Stefi Weisburd, Raymond Sleeper, Andres Martinez, Dorota Rozkiewicz, George M. Whitesides, and Kathryn A. Hollar
Fabrication of a Paper-Based Microfluidic Device To Readily Determine Nitrite Ion Concentration by Simple Colorimetric Assay(link is external) ~ Bo Wang, Zhiqiang Lin, Min Wang
A Simple Paper-Based Microfluidic Device for the Determination of the Total Amino Acid Content in a Tea Leaf Extract(link is external) ~ Longfei Cai, Yunying Wu, Chunxiu Xu, and Zefeng Chen
Cost Effective Paper-Based Colorimetric Microfluidic Devices and Mobile Phone Camera Readers for the Classroom(link is external) ~ Myra T. Koesdjojo, Sumate Pengpumkiat, Yuanyuan Wu, Anukul Boonloed, Daniel Huynh, Thomas P. Remcho, Vincent T. Remcho
Yes, You Can Have More!
With 95 volumes of the Journal of Chemical Education to examine, you will always find something useful—including the articles mentioned above(link is external), and many more, in the Journal of Chemical Education(link is external). Articles that are edited and published online ahead of print (ASAP—As Soon As Publishable(link is external)) are also available.
Do you have something to share? Write it up for the Journal! For some advice on becoming an author, it’s always very helpful to read Erica Jacobsen’s Commentary(link is external). In addition, numerous author resources are available on JCE’s ACS Web site(link is external), including recently updated: Author Guidelines(link is external) and Document Templates(link is external).