Blogs

ChemEd X contributors offer their ideas and opinions on a broad spectrum of topics pertaining to chemical education.

Blogs at ChemEd X reflect the opinions of the contributors and are open to comments. Only selected contributors blog at ChemEd X. If you would like to blog regularly at ChemEd X, please use our Contribution form to request an invitation to do so from one of our editors.

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pen on notebook with text: AP Test Reflection 2020
AP Chemistry Exam Reflections 2020
// Tuesday, July 28, 2020 • Kristen Drury
The 2020 AP Exams were definitely challenging between switching to remote instruction, removing units of instruction, implementing an online exam, and reformatting the exam, among other issues. All these changes led to anxious students and teachers. One of the anxieties that lingered past the exam was how it would be read and scored.
coughing aerosols wikipedia
Applying Chemistry Principles to COVID-19: Think-Pair-Share Questions
// Sunday, July 26, 2020 • Scott Donnelly
First, thanks for reading. And second, share often and share liberally. About 150+ days ago SARS-CoV-2 and the debilitating disease it causes COVID-19 were scientific unknowns to the American public. Of course, that is not the case today. And since March 2020 interest in the virus and the disease it causes has dominated scientific inquiry.
Image by Alexandra_Koch from Pixabay
Increasing Engagement in Online Lecture Using Zoom Features
// Saturday, July 25, 2020 • Jennie Mayer
2YC Editor's note: Please welcome Jennie Kong Mayer as a new 2YC (Two Year College) lead contributor for ChemEd X. Jennie is a faculty member at Bellevue College near Seattle, WA. She earned a master's degree in chemistry from the University of California, Riverside, studying gas phase ion chemistry with Prof. Tom Morton.
A series of pictures of solutions from Gen Chem II Lab "Synthesis of Tetraamminecobalt(II) sulfate"
Online Labs and the Question of the Relevance of the Lab Curriculum
// Thursday, July 16, 2020 • Clarissa Sorensen-Unruh
Over the past several months, as we've all attempted to embrace Remote Learning, there is a topic that has repeatedly surfaced and clearly merits discussion: Online Chemistry Labs. From Stacey Lowery Bretz's early call to lab course justification in her J. Chem.
dog with goggles
Benefits of Teaching Chemistry Online
// Tuesday, July 7, 2020 • Kathleen Carrigan
Editor's introduction: Please welcome Kathy Carrigan as a new 2YC (Two-Year College) monthly lead contributor. A seasoned veteran Kathy recently retired from Portland Community College (OR) after 22 years with a rank of full-time Chemistry Instructor.
opposite evidence
COVID-19: Data vs Evidence
// Monday, July 6, 2020 • Scott Donnelly
First, thanks for reading. The ongoing global human tragedy of the spread of the COVID-19 disease and the suffering caused by the infective agent- the SARS-CoV-2 virus- have ironically provided an excellent opportunity to include in our classes the ways of science and its ways of knowing, measuring, confirming, refuting, verifying, and validating.
alpha maltose
Chemistry of Brewing Part I: The Malt
// Sunday, July 5, 2020 • Jerry Godbout
Humans discovered the agriculture of cereal grains, developed communities around their fields, and promptly began brewing.
adult using laptop with laundry basket nearby
AACT Virtual Summer Symposia
// Wednesday, July 1, 2020 • Kristen Drury
This spring many summer workshops and conferences were abruptly canceled and abandoned leaving my colleagues and me upset that we wouldn’t have a chance to meet or reunite to share our new ideas. With the sudden change to online instruction, we had so many new ideas to share, and so many questions we needed help on.