first-year undergraduate

JCE 93.11 November 2016 Issue Highlights

The November 2016 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: electrochemistry; researching how assessment aids learning; using technology to teach; environmental chemistry; hands-on, minds-on activities and demonstrations; geology-inspired chemistry.

Kool-aid, Cotton, and Intermolecular Forces

Red dye #40 found in strawberry Kool-Aid and various cloth fibers can be used in a very simple experiment that can teach students about intermolecular forces. A video is included that describes the experiment and analysis of results. 

The Importance of Safety.

 Undergraduates Need a Safety Education is the title found in the commentary section of the September 2016 Journal of Chemical Education. It is written by Robert H. Hill Jr and it explains the lack of safety education in chemistry curriculum.  As I read this, I thought back to my safety education that prepared me for my role as a high school chemistry teacher and felt I was very fortunate to have had an undergradutae class that was specifically designed to teach chemical safety. 

Google Forms as an Assessment Tool

This school year my district is launching a 1:1 Chromebook initiative. 6th and 9th graders will receive their Chromebooks next semester as part of the rollout. In the meantime, I continue to have access to my Chromebook cart from the Blending Learning pilot I participated in last school year. My goal is to incorporate even more tech use when appropriate; so far, I have increased Chromebook use in my classroom for things like warm up questions, EdPuzzles, and quizzes. My experience with quizzes has been especially interesting.