High school chemistry teachers in U.S. and U.S. territories can apply for a Hach Professional Development grant to fund up to $1500 of expenses. Applications will be accepted through January 4th. Qualified expenses include registration, travel, tuition, books/resources and substitute teacher pay. Activities must be completed by August 31, 2017. Decision/notification date is February 28, 2017.
It is the holiday season, and here in Colorado, it is finally starting to feel like winter with a storm predicted for this afternoon!
Have you ever wondered where the cloud comes from when dry ice is placed in water? If you think the answer is “atmospheric water vapor”, be sure to read this post because experimental evidence suggests that this explanation is wrong.
In teacher preparation, the Vygotsky based theory of formative assessment is integral because teachers and teacher educators who recognize their knowledge as knowledge in formation are better prepared to recognize the value of students’ knowledge. After all, most learners find it easier to build upon prior knowledge when learning material as opposed to having the material dissociated from prior experience and viewed as a completely new and isolated material.
The ACS Committee on Chemical Safety has published new Guidelines for Chemical Laboratory Safety in Secondary Schools. This document is organized with the R.A.M.P. concept – Recognize the hazard, Assess the risk of the hazard, Minimize the risk of the hazard, and Prepare for emergencies. The online document includes two pages for each letter that could be printed and posted in the classroom to reinforce these principles of safety. The documents are provided to strengthen the safety practices of teachers and help them to promote a culture of safety that their students will take with them throughout their academic and professional careers.
My IB seniors are just wrapping up our unit on electrochemistry and redox. This has always been a challenging topic within the IB curriculum. Admittedly, electrochemistry has not ever been my strong suit either, so this year I aimed to strengthen the unit with two additional demonstrations.
Years ago, I took some wonderful material science workshops sponsored by ASM International. They did an amazing job of helping me add some more tools to my teaching tool kit. Materials are all around us and the workshop was a week long adventure into either creating a material science course or tying material science into existing curriculum. The chemistry of materials can easily be introduced into any curriculum.
Solution to Chemical Mystery #8, and...a challenge!
AMTA will be hosting a distance learning Chemistry 2 course that will run from January 19th -April 27 (15 weeks), with an open house to prepare with technology on January 12th. It will be led by expert chemistry modeling leaders Larry Dukerich and Brenda Royce. The course develops on an evidence-based approach to the internal structure of the atom, periodicity and covalent bonding, intermolecular forces, equilibrium and acids and bases.
To squash any misconceptions, I would like to say first and foremost I am not a great cook. My husband graciously does most of the cooking in our house. However, as a chemist, I am fascinated by the complex reactions involved in everyday life. Pair this curiosity with the requirement to teach an elective, and the Chemistry of Cooking elective was born.
