This is the first of three consecutive blogs about online labs. This first blog centers on the question, "Is chemistry laboratory coursework still relevant?" The second and third blogs discuss if the lab curricula we currently use is achieving our goals and if lab coursework can be effectively moved to an online platform.
This experiment in chemical kinetics can be conducted using materials as simple as a smartphone, hydrogen peroxide, sodium carbonate solution, and blue food dye! The experiment is useful when discussing the order of rate laws with respect to reactants.
Erica Jacobsen shares highlights from the November 2019 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education of special interest to our ChemEd X community.
As high school teachers, we know that understanding how measurement works is crucial for lab skills and for understanding significant figures. We think measurement should be an easy topic for students to learn; especially because we know that teachers begin working with students in elementary school to teach these skills. However, I, and many other teachers, have spent countless hours teaching and reteaching a seemingly simple skill.
Cultivating Chemical Curiosity
The September 2019 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: exploring the chemistry of natural materials; research in chemical education; undergraduate research and project-based laboratories; innovative organic chemistry teaching; organic laboratory instruction; analytical chemistry investigations and instrumentation; nanochemistry; inorganic chemistry; teaching kinetics; exploring kinetic-molecular theory; from the archives: biodiesel.
Chemistry Education: A Bridge to the Future
The August 2019 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: authentic chemistry laboratories; student motivation, sustained interest, and student success; student understanding of fundamental concepts; aids to assessment; computer-based learning; active learning activities; engaging polymer chemistry activities; experimenting with flavor and food; organic chemistry laboratories; spectroscopy laboratories; acid-base chemistry; from the archives: polymer properties.
The June, 2018 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education contains an article that describes a simple, yet fascinating experiment that you and your students are going to love! It involves the use of butterfly wings from the genus Morpho. I obtained some of these wings and enjoyed experimenting with them. You will too!
Some research indicates that it is not always beneficial for students to work entirely on their own as they conduct inquiry-based investigations. This article explores a method of inquiry learning in which teachers and students work together to envision, conduct, and analyze experiments.
Several teachers I know have had circumstances present themselves in which they may not always be able to provide lab experiences in a traditional lab setting. They still want to provide students with rigorous problem solving situations that require students to use the scientific method. Could rigorous take home labs possibly be the answer?
The September 2018 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: reticular chemistry; laboratory research experience for students; historical perspective; chemistry and the environment; laboratories using color to understand chemistry; electrochemistry laboratories; DIY instrumentation; organic semiconductors; orbitals; computer-based learning and computational chemistry; from the archives: paper chromatography.
