Inquiry Adaption

Inquiry is a fluid concept.  There are some truly fabulous activities on Grand Valley State University's Target Inquiry (TI) website (www.gvsu.edu/targetinquiry).  Yes, I am biased as I was part of the first TI cohort, but there are several labs now that were written later and they, too, are terrific.

Celebrate Earth Day April 22nd

Celebrate Earth Day, which is on Monday, April 22, 2013. Earth Day was first officially recognized on April 22, 1970. This year the theme is "Our Earth: Handle with Care." The topics this year include water, air, plants/soil, and recycling.

NGSS

If you haven't seen them yet, check out the final release of the Next Generation Science Standards. There is helpful information at the site.  My home state of Michigan is currently asking for public input in order to plan support for implementing NGSS.

Publishing Your Work

Whether it is a completely unique idea or just a twist on an old classic, engage in collaboration with other chemistry teachers around the world and publish your work. There are many venues and the pool of precollege chemistry instructors that are already contributing is relatively small.

Gas Laws—Finally an app for that!

Moving from the computer lab to iPad? Then you need some apps. I have found two free apps that I use to replace computer-based gas laws simulations.

NSTA Activities

At NSTA (in beautiful San Antonio, Texas), this past week, I shared activities designed to explore three levels of representation AND provide formative assessment techniques to reveal student misconceptions. All of the activities shared have been featured in the Journal of Chemical Education or have been linked to research articles in JCE as supporting information.

 

Chemistry Topics

acids/bases applications of chemistry aqueous solution chemistry Atomic Properties / Structure conductivity consumer chemistry Demonstrations density electrochemistry electrolysis equilibrium Food Science gases General Chemistry kinetics Laboratory Instruction liquids magnetic properties metals noncovalent interactions Outreach Oxidation / Reduction oxidation/reduction Phases / Phase Transitions / Diagrams Physical Chemistry physical properties precipitation/solubility Public Understanding reactions solids stoichiometry thermodynamics