NGSS | Chemical Education Xchange

How to Use TikTok and YouTube Shorts in Your Chemistry Class

Josh Kenney | Tue, 01/24/2023 - 15:42

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TikTok and YouTube Shorts are video sharing platforms for short-form, vertical aspect videos. Both of these services are growing more quickly in popularity compared to more traditional video formats. Josh Kenney shares some of the ways that he is using short-form videos in his chemistry class and shares a free resource (an exam review worksheet that links to a YouTube Shorts playlist through a QR code).

Effect of Temperature on the Whoosh Bottle

Tom Kuntzleman | Tue, 07/05/2022 - 13:45

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Why does the "Whoosh Bottle" experiment behave differently at different temperatures?

Virtual Professional Development: Creating Cognitively Demanding Tasks

Melissa Hemling | Mon, 03/21/2022 - 23:07

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Learn how to create cognitively demanding tasks for your classroom during this Knowles Academy virtual course.

Generating explosive gases from sand

Tom Kuntzleman | Fri, 01/07/2022 - 12:16

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Did you know that sand can be converted into a mixture of gases that spontaneously ignites in air? The procedures involved are relatively simple to perform, spectacular to observe, and relate to a rich assortment of chemical principles.

Periodic Table Battleship

Josh Kenney | Sun, 07/25/2021 - 12:43

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Many novice students struggle to see elements' valence electron configuration trends across the rows and columns on the periodic table. There are many diagrams and explanations available as resources for students however, a deeper understanding may be possible when students discover these trends independently through a game called Electron Configuration Battleship.

Reflections on Choice Boards in the Chemistry Classroom

Stephanie O'Brien | Thu, 06/24/2021 - 11:01

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Stephanie O'Brien shares lessons learned and strategies for utilizing choice boards in chemistry classroom.

What Is the Pressure Inside a Bottle of Soda?

Tom Kuntzleman | Tue, 12/08/2020 - 13:01

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What is the pressure inside a bottle of soda pop? Read this short article to find the surprising answer to this question, and also to learn how to do an experiment to answer this question for yourself!

Chemical Kinetics with a Smartphone

Tom Kuntzleman | Mon, 11/25/2019 - 12:03

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This experiment in chemical kinetics can be conducted using materials as simple as a smartphone, hydrogen peroxide, sodium carbonate solution, and blue food dye! The experiment is useful when discussing the order of rate laws with respect to reactants.

Teaching and Evaluating Science Practices—Planning and Carrying Out Investigations

Ben Meacham | Thu, 11/14/2019 - 21:27

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Several resources are available to support teachers as they incorporate science practices into their curriuculum. The author shares how he and his colleagues focused on improving their coverage of the practice of planning and carrying out investigations.

First Day Chemistry Engineering Activity

Melissa Hemling | Sat, 09/07/2019 - 22:26

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I just finished my first week of school, like many teachers in the Midwest. I work hard to get my Honors Chemistry students in a lab setting as soon as possible. It is difficult to find a perfect lab to do on the first or second day of school. In my mind, the ideal first chemistry lab would require no prior chemistry knowledge, involve interesting chemistry, address an NGSS standard, be relatively safe, not require expensive glassware or lab tools, and reinforce positive class norms. I have found engineering labs fit the bill! I don't know if I have found the "perfect" lab, but I have found something close I want to share!