Developing PCK requires a certain level of subject matter knowledge, and teachers have a different understanding of subject matter than a person who specializes in that same field. A chemistry teacher and a ‘practicing’ chemist both have subject matter knowledge in chemistry; however, the knowledge is applied differently.
A familiarity with the chemistry of some of the elements more commonly encountered in everyday life is a valuable learning experience for all students, regardless of whether they pursue further studies or careers in the sciences. Follow this series of articles to find out how the Element of the Month Project began and how the elements are presented. #IYPT
Many researchers have attempted to characterize the knowledge of an expert teacher, and it's complex, to say the least.
The American Chemical Society Western Michigan Section is planning a special International Year of the Periodic Table (IYPT) celebration to be held at Grand Valley State University in Michigan on October 19th. The highlight of the celebration will be the unveiling of the largest periodic table in hopes of setting a Guinness World Record. Schools and groups are invited to help with the IYPT project by making one of the 118 elements.
Ninety-Six Years New
The January 2019 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: chemical biology, innovative curriculum for the classroom and laboratory, promoting effective teaching methods in organic chemistry, improving student conceptual models, cost-effective and low-waste equipment and experiments, using instructional videos to teach, exploring materials science, instrumental analytical experiments, organic chemistry laboratories, research on success in chemistry, from the archives: anodizing.
I came across an interesting Journal of Chemical Education article that explains how it is possible to crosslink sodium alginate, leading to the formation of calcium alginate beads. Calcium alginate beads are hydrogels and one of their uses is to immobilize enzymes in their structure. I thought it would be cool to immobilize some lactase enzyme onto calcium alginate beads and investigate its ability to hydrolyze lactose.
I am already planning for my trip to Illinois in July to attend ChemEd 2019! Let me tell you why I want to attend.
ChemEd X has invited professionals working in chemistry related fields to write about their background, experience and advice they have for those interested in a similar career path. Chemistry instructors can use these as a resource to help students glimpse the variety of chemistry related fields open to them.
Read Jason Kong’s career profile describing his background and his current position as a chemical laboratory supervisor for the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
In an effort to align an old VSEPR lesson to NGSS, I told my students that we were going to look at the data available from the real molecules on the pHET simulation we were using and specifically look for patterns. Finding patterns is a cross-cutting concept; one of the three dimensions of NGSS.
