Chemical Mystery #13: Bye Bye Blue!
Tom Kuntzleman | Mon, 11/19/2018 - 12:08
A simple, but tricky experiment is displayed. Can you figure out how the trick was done?
problem solving
Connecting Black Panther's Vibranium to the Periodic Table
Sibrina Collins | Mon, 06/11/2018 - 11:07
In our recently published letter in the Journal of Chemical Education,"Black Panther, Vibranium and the Periodic Table", we describe how the movie, Black Panther, provides a unique opportunity for students to think critically about the arrangement of the periodic table.
Using Flip Cards to Support Proportional Thinking
Jordan Smith | Thu, 04/05/2018 - 15:35
A solid grasp of proportional thinking is crucial to being able to solve all sorts of problems in chemistry as well as “real life” situations. While many students seem to intuitively understand that one mole is equal to 6.022 x 1023 particles when the analogy is drawn to a dozen eggs, for some, this sort of equality is a puzzling mystery.
Social Emotional Learning in the Chemistry Classroom
Stephanie O'Brien | Mon, 03/12/2018 - 07:26
As a secondary science teacher, I have contact with my students everyday. Making relationships and learning about all of my students is key to letting them know that I am invested in their success.
Connections to the 2018 Winter Olympics
Dan Meyers | Mon, 02/19/2018 - 14:28
Have you been watching the Winter Olympics? I have been able to draw many similarities and relevance to what I am teaching in the classroom. How about you?
Break the Ice with Mystery Blocks
Stephanie O'Brien | Thu, 02/15/2018 - 20:00
In an effort to align my lessons with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), I have tried to take the content I have traditionally taught, and shift the design to focus on student engagement with the science and engineering practices outlined in the standards. For the topic of heat transfer I re-packaged the ice melting blocks discrepant event as a NGSS investigative phenomena.
Magnesium, Gas Laws and Exam Review
Chad Husting | Tue, 12/19/2017 - 09:09
It was close to the end of the semester and we were covering gas laws. Students were stressed over the idea of finals, final projects due, tests before finals and the holidays. Since we were finishing up the topic and it was important to end with one last assessment and/or lab but the timing was not good and the stress level for everyone was at an all time high. A different course of action was needed.
That’s What Scientists Do!
Doug Ragan | Sun, 09/24/2017 - 21:24
As I began to prepare my labs for this upcoming year, I decided to put a bit of a twist on a previous density of a block lab I had used in the past entitled the Measurement Challenge that is sold by Flinn Scientific. It can also be used to find the mass of a block given the materials density and requiring students to measure and calculate the blocks volume. My added twist resulted in great scientific discourse.
Building a Blended Culture in a Secondary Science Classroom
Dan Meyers | Mon, 08/21/2017 - 09:22
During my first year of teaching (in Indianapolis, IN), I was inspired by some research I had read as well as some other teachers in the Indy area who were flipping their classes. I was at a small parochial school where parental and administrative support for technology inclusion was present. My principal outfitted me with the tools I needed to “flip” my classes and record tutorial videos. Things went pretty well. It was a learning curve for many but I also had good feedback from students and parents.
This post was submitted for the 2017 ChemEd X Call for Contributions: Creating a Classroom Culture.
Use of Particulate-Level Instruction on Chemical and Physical Changes and States of Matter
Dan Meyers | Wed, 05/24/2017 - 10:36
I will share how I use the Target Inquiry activity, Change You Can Believe In. I have realized that I need to include particulate models within the assessments after the lab to fully evaluate my student's conceptual understanding.