Curriculum, Pedagogy & Grading Resources

What do we want to know about our students' thinking? Categorizing chemistry formative assessments with ACCT.

Deanna Cullen | Tue, 06/01/2021 - 13:58

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Formative assessment questions provide a useful lens into students' minds regarding what they are thinking about chemistry. By ascertaining what students are thinking, teachers can make decisions regarding what to do with what they learn. The members of ACCT (Assessing for Change in Chemical Thinking) presented a ChemEd X Talk on the topic on May 26th. You can watch the edited recording of this Talk and find more resources here.

The AP Exam is Over, Now What?

Kristen Drury | Fri, 05/28/2021 - 06:47

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Kristen Drury came up with a fun new project for her class, “Create a Game: Shark Tank Presentation.”

Teaching Chemistry With Case Studies

Josh Kenney | Tue, 05/25/2021 - 08:08

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Case studies have been a staple of undergraduate and graduate education programs like medicine, law, and business, for many years. They let learners engage with simulated real-world situations, making the content more meaningful and connected to their future careers. As a valuable context-based learning tool, case studies are becoming more common in secondary science. Here, we'll explore the role that students and instructors play when learning with case studies.

Flipping the Structure of my Flipped Classroom

Kristen Drury | Fri, 05/21/2021 - 17:22

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Kristen Drury explains some major shifts in her teaching philosophies and how her flipped classroom has evolved as a result.

What informs the grade a student earns in your class? w/ Erica Posthuma

Deanna Cullen | Sun, 05/16/2021 - 08:11

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Grades should provide feedback to students, parents, and teachers as to the progress students are making toward learning targets. Meaningful grades require good assessment practices. Erica Posthuma presented a ChemEd X Talk on May 11th, 2021, providing an overview of effective assessment design. She discussed writing and communicating learning goals, developing targeted questions and prompts, and scoring using a standards-based approach. You can watch the edited recording of Erica's Talk here.

The Enemies of Student-Engagement: Boredom and Frustration

Michael Jansen | Wed, 05/05/2021 - 13:48

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Boredom needs no explanation; we were all (Chemistry) students. A bored student is not an engaged student, and likely not a student who wants to learn. How can we make our lessons more engaging?

Managing Student Collaboration with Kristen Drury & Stephanie O'Brien

Deanna Cullen | Mon, 04/26/2021 - 07:08

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POGIL activities can be used to engage students in chemistry lessons through the use of student teams, effective models, and tiered questioning. Kristen Drury and Stephanie O'Brien presented in a ChemEd X Talk on April 21, 2021 and provided teachers with guidance on fostering student buy-in, student role formation, and POGIL implementation. Additionally, information was shared on how to assess students' participation in POGIL activities holistically and through individual examination of process skills such as communication, teamwork, and problem solving. You can watch the edited recording of their Talk here.