Erica Posthuma's blog

ChemEd X Website Update

Erica Posthuma | Wed, 01/21/2026 - 13:42

We apologize for the technical difficulties currently affecting the ChemEd X website. The site is temporarily set to read-only, and content moderation is disabled. During this maintenance period, some features may be unavailable or limited. We appreciate your patience as we work behind the scenes and are excited to share that we expect to launch an updated site soon. Thank you for your continued support of the ChemEd X community.

AP Teach Sessions Notes and Updates (2025-2026)

Erica Posthuma | Sat, 09/13/2025 - 08:51

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Check out summaries and video clips from past APTeach sessions you may have missed, along with information about upcoming meetings from the academic year 2025-2026!

Strategic Shifts: Small Moves Leading to Meaningful Change

Erica Posthuma | Thu, 07/31/2025 - 13:40

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The second installment of our (Re)Bootcamp includes three different examples of ways you can implement new approaches without having to redesign your entire curriculum.

Choose Your Framework

Erica Posthuma | Thu, 07/10/2025 - 19:30

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Over the course of this summer, we will be publishing a series of blog posts aimed at teachers who are new to teaching chemistry or who are looking to refresh something(s) about their chemistry courses. Each post will feature several teachers' thoughts on how they approach topics in their classrooms, with teacher-facing examples, or artifacts, to support you in your own planning. This post, the first in our (Re)Bootcamp series, will explore instructional models that shape chemistry classrooms. The next post will incorporate smaller aspects from each of these methods, because your course can incorporate pieces of a pedagogical style without committing to adopting any one method for a whole year. Variety is indeed the spice of life, and courses that are diverse in terms of methods have the potential to be more engaging for students. That being said, organization and consistency are also important, so having a thread that weaves through all of your content to help students keep track of their learning is very powerful.

Advanced Chemical Lab Design

Erica Posthuma | Mon, 09/16/2019 - 10:35

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I had the opportunity to develop an advanced chemical lab design course for a small group of ambitious students. I have outlined the resources I used and how I pulled the course together,

A Strategy to Encourage Self-Reflection

Erica Posthuma | Mon, 09/16/2019 - 09:52

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This simple idea can help students learn the importance of honest self-reflection and foster meaningful conversation between the student and teacher.

Creating New Opportunities for Professional Development

Erica Posthuma | Sun, 07/03/2016 - 21:27

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What do you do when you don’t have any local or affordable opportunities for professional development?

Still I Rise: A Student Perspective

Erica Posthuma | Tue, 02/09/2016 - 13:00

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In this blog post, I’ve asked Natalie about her journey as a woman of color along the path toward a future in a STEM field. I can’t begin to understand her perspective, so I’ve asked her to lend her voice to this issue. I believe it is important that we, as educators, take some time to reflect on what she has to say. Sometimes, the things we don’t say are resonating just as loudly as the things we do.