problem solving

A couple of days ago on Twitter, the ever-lasting debate between lecture and active learning reignited due to some talks at an Educational Research Conference held in Dublin. These talks stated direct guidance (which includes lecture) was superior in terms of student learning due its reduction of students’ cognitive load.

Another school year has come and gone, and summertime is upon us! Soon we’ll all be enjoying cookouts, summer conferences (ChemEd 2019, anyone?), swimming at the beach, and fireworks on the Fourth of July.

Time for a new chemical mystery! Watch the video below and see if you can use your chemical knowledge to figure out how this experiment is done.

This lab activity is designed to allow students to explore the use of indicators. It serves as an introduction to acids, bases and pH.

In Chemical Mystery #14, neutralization reactions were used to cause some interesting color changes. See the two videos below:  

Here’s a fun demonstration I did for my students on Valentine’s Day:  

Last year, I taught Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion (VSEPR) theory and then had the students complete the pHET simulation called Molecule Shapes.

This year, I was presented with an opportunity to join a small cohort of chemistry teachers that would implement, customize, and review interactive video-based lab investigatio

In Chemical Mystery #13, the contents of a "magic" cup were poured over a blue-colored cleaner. As a result, the color of the cleaner immediately changed from blue to white. In another case, the color change occurs when the magic cup is simply held over the cleaner.