Teaching Kids How to Fail
Last year, I worked hard to teach my students how to fail and I believe it was the most important lesson they could have taken away from my class.
Planning my Professional Development
This is the time of year when I start looking ahead and planning my professional development for the new year. As a mom to two young boys I simply cannot attend all the conferences, workshops, or lectures I’d like to. I have to research my options and determine how each oppo
Simple Activities to Integrate Particle-Level Diagrams
There have been many conversations within the Chemistry Education community surrounding the revisions to the AP curriculum. Twitter has been buzzing with instructors debating how to implement the changes, conferences and workshops have participants deconstructing the data from last year’s exam, and classroom teachers are working diligently to prepare their students for this year’s test. One way the College Board has tried to shift the AP curriculum away from algorithmic problem solving and toward more meaningful conceptual understanding is through the use of particle diagrams.
Build a Boat (and a classroom culture)
This back to school activity can be a valuable way to create a classroom culture of teamwork and growth mindset. Links to a virtual version are included.
Cross-Discipline Discussions on Energy
Have you ever thought about the ways we, as chemistry teachers, talk about the concept of energy?
Connecting and Collaborating with ACS
As this is my first blog post, I’d like to introduce myself to the ChemEdX community. I currently teach Chemistry I, Introduction to Organic and Biochemistry, and AP Chemistry at The University High School of Indiana. I use the Chemistry Modeling Curriculum in my classroom