high school

JCE 97.01 January 2020 Issue Highlights

Mary Saecker | Fri, 01/17/2020 - 17:48

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Inspiring Teaching and Learning Chemistry for 97 Years

The January 2020 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: activities using household materials; demonstrations; health-oriented experiments; microplastics; environmental chemistry labs; fluorescence; surface chemistry; cost-effective equipment; augmented & virtual reality; laboratory curriculum; examining learning in general chemistry; organic chemistry teaching resource; from the archives: developing oral communication skills.

Using Student Evaluations for Self Reflection

Josh Kenney | Wed, 01/15/2020 - 10:00

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Some institutions make use of standardized student evaluations, which may not concentrate on an instructor's targeted areas of growth and development. For this reason, the author produces his own student survey for use at the end of a semester and focuses on specific facets of his course.

2YC3 Conference May 15-16, 2020

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We are hoping to have a varied program with multiple options for those who are interested in presenting. From a 10 minute quick idea that worked well in the classroom to 40 minutes of how you reformed a class, there will be something for everyone.

The conference focus is on building community. If you have an example of how you were able to bring people together please consider presenting and sharing your work. Our ultimate goal is that everyone leaves the conference feeling they are part of a bigger community of Chemistry Educators and ready to build community in the classroom and out.

Using a Nautical Analogy for Successful Laboratory Tasks

Joseph Lomax | Wed, 01/15/2020 - 07:38

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Two groups of students, typically, have difficulty with titrations, the first time around. Those that act too rashly and overshoot the endpoint, and those over-cautious ones who they take forever to finish.

Ungrading: What is it and why should we use it?

Clarissa Sorens... | Tue, 01/14/2020 - 16:00

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Ungrading has long been associated with the idea of purposefully eliminating or minimizing the use of points or letters to assess student work. The focus of ungrading is to provide extensive feedback to students and then jointly (students and instructors) come to a consensus as to what the grade should be. This post addresses what ungrading is and why do it.

SBG Hacks: Lab Reports

Lauren Stewart | Mon, 01/13/2020 - 21:35

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As a chemistry teacher considering the switch to standards-based grading, you might be wondering how lab reports work in a system that is not based on points. With lab reports, you just need to decide whether you are grading chemistry content skills, scientific communication skills, or both.

Component 4 of National Boards: Assessment and Growth

Melissa Hemling | Sun, 01/12/2020 - 23:44

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This is Part 5 of a 5 part series^* on National Board Certification in Early Adolescence and Young Adult Science. This post will focus on Component 4: Effective and Reflective Practitioner. It involves identifying an area where your students need to grow and an area where you need to grow professionally.

ACS Webinar: The Secret Lives of Snowflakes

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The ACS Division of Chemical Education is co-sponsoring an ACS webinar on Jan 30, 2020 called The Secret Lives of Snowflakes: Peculiarities in the Molecular Dynamics of Ice Crystal Growth. The Webinar is FREE and open to all that are interested.

Bush Fires in Australia and Climate Change

Tom Kuntzleman | Wed, 01/08/2020 - 16:16

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What do scientists have to say about the connection between climate change and the bush fires in Australia?

Teacher Leadership

Stephanie O'Brien | Sun, 01/05/2020 - 18:57

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Have you heard that TERC, a nonprofit, has launched a STEM Teacher Leadership Network funded by the National Science Foundation? The online community is for aspiring or current teacher leaders, researchers and administration to improve STEM education, effect policy and discuss the changes to the future of STEM education in a collaborative online collegial network.