Spend some time as the semester ends being grateful for the students who are in your classes. Then acknowledge that you are making a difference in their lives. Maybe not all of their lives, but some will be changed forever.
Michael Morgan shares a lesson that he has used for many years that not only requires students to explain a topic that they have not been directly taught but also to develop explanations based on previous knowledge. He has used this lesson as a multiday “in-class” assignment and also as an “at-home” independent study. It works well in both scenarios with only minor revision. The lesson is based on Alfred Werner’s work on deducing the structures of coordination compounds.
What is the best type of assessments in a hybrid situation? Perhaps open book and notes might provide the answer.
The November 2020 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: microplastic contamination and the environment; diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect in chemistry education research and practice; teaching in the time of COVID-19; chemistry and health; service learning; using games to teach; examining structures; solubility; spectroscopy; natural products chemistry; understanding polymer chemistry; materials science; assessment; analyzing student understanding; from the archives: battery explorations.
Free AP Chemistry prep exams are available for teachers. This is part of a research study occurring through the 2020-2021 year. Enroll today!
When the world stopped back in March, I wrote that no one knew how to teach in a pandemic. Here we are, 8 months later and we are still learning and adapting every day. I know each teacher has their own unqiue set of challenges this year, but I have found some small wins that I’m happy to share.
In this activity, students learn about solubility and concentration. They watch videos that explain the dissolving process, how to calculate the molarity, supersaturation and how to make rock candy. They also use a PhET simulation to explore factors that affect the concentration of a solution.
This blog post describes some strategies, including a tool called Calendly which makes scheduling appointments much easier, which might help increase office hour visitation.
Learn how to thermochemically analyze the Devil's Milkshake chemical demonstration - just in time for Halloween!
Some teachers do not like the idea of letting students do a "redo" on an assignment. It can, if done carefully, have a positive impact on students learning and the culture of the classroom.
