Taxonomy term

Standards and Mastery Connect

Chad Husting | Sun, 09/25/2016 - 20:15

There has been considerable discussion lately of standard based teaching. Essentially, a teacher has a set of standards and they teach to these standards. The idea is that instead of saying "Hey, you got a C on this test, time to move on..." a teacher would say "This is the standard...you can exceed it, meet it or you can approach it...the goal is to meet or exceed the standard and if you do not, keep trying." Here is an example...we were covering gas laws in my class. I asked seven questions about conceptual ideas concerning gas laws. Students manipulated an HTML 5 site in which they could watch models of gases and change the volume temperature and pressure. Students then answered the questions on a bubble sheet that I simply placed in front of my web cam. It was instantly graded. The grade was not a letter grade...it was a sign that said that they were getting close to the standard or they met or exceeded the standard...no grades were assigned.

Google Forms as an Assessment Tool

Dan Meyers | Mon, 09/19/2016 - 14:59

This school year my district is launching a 1:1 Chromebook initiative. 6th and 9th graders will receive their Chromebooks next semester as part of the rollout. In the meantime, I continue to have access to my Chromebook cart from the Blending Learning pilot I participated in last school year. My goal is to incorporate even more tech use when appropriate; so far, I have increased Chromebook use in my classroom for things like warm up questions, EdPuzzles, and quizzes. My experience with quizzes has been especially interesting.

Especially JCE: September 2016

Erica K. Jacobsen | Thu, 09/15/2016 - 09:43

“You sank my battleship!” Do you remember this line from a classic commercial featuring the board game Battleship? It sat in my family’s game closet when I was a kid, but it’s popping up again recently, with chemistry twists.

JCE 93.09 September 2016 Issue Highlights

Mary Saecker | Wed, 09/14/2016 - 12:23

Journal of Chemical Education September 2016

Engaging Student Interest and Inquiry

The September 2016 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: copper chemistry; safety; using brewing to teach chemistry; 3D-printed models; learning using games; open-ended approaches to teaching; innovative methods to teach biochemistry; polymer chemistry; organic synthesis labs; teaching physical chemistry; chemistry field trips.

First Day of Chemistry: The Banning of Caffeine and Gummy Worms

Tracy Schloemer | Fri, 08/19/2016 - 15:27

The first day of school for me has always been daunting for my new students (in AP chemistry, where I know the kids, it’s so much easier). I want my students to know the following: -Who is this tiny person who looks like a teenager (that’d be ME, folks)? Where did she come from and why is she teaching us? -What does chemistry look like?

Life, Death and the First Day of School....

Chad Husting | Thu, 08/18/2016 - 19:54

I had a tough week. I had a front row seat in which I witnessed someone almost lose their life. I also almost accidently deleted both of my class websites just days before the kids walk in as we are starting a one to one lap top program. Here is the amazing part to all this...I get something that we all get as teachers every year...a second chance.

My First BCCE - Vibrant High School Programming

Kaleb Underwood | Tue, 08/16/2016 - 18:11

This summer I had the opportunity to attend my first Biennial Conference on Chemical Education (BCCE) in Greeley, Colorado. When I first expressed interest in this conference more than one fellow high school educator told me some version of, “Don’t bother with that. It’s a bunch of stuff for college professors, it won’t be of use to you.” Nothing could have been further from the truth. Yes, much of the programming is directed at a higher-education audience, but many of the workshops and symposia have something to offer for precollege educators and there is a very vibrant and continually growing strand of high-school specific programing.

Popular SBG Gradebook, ActiveGrade, Now Freely Available.

Erica Posthuma-Adams | Mon, 08/15/2016 - 18:00

ActiveGrade has been a favorite among practitioners of Standards-Based Assessment. It's intuitive interface and elegant data displays helped teachers, students, and parents have meaningful conversations about student progress and assessment. For as little as $60.00 a year, teachers could tap into this powerful intructional tool.

JCE 93.08 August 2016 Issue Highlights

Mary Saecker | Fri, 08/12/2016 - 12:03

Journal of Chemical Education August 2016

Endowing Inspiration

The August 2016 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: blue bottle reaction revisited; precollege professional development; chemical education research on intermolecular interactions and bonding; integrated courses; activities involving kinetics, enzymes, and gases; nanomaterial & polymer laboratories; organic synthesis; NMR teaching resources; book recommendations for summer reading.

Especially JCE: August 2016

Erica K. Jacobsen | Wed, 08/10/2016 - 22:57

Who inspires you? Do you have a “chem teaching rockstar” whose work fires you up as you enter another school year? Is there an author whose work you consistently turn to for his or her insights into the chemistry classroom? Or maybe memories of a past teacher of yours?