three levels of representation

Social Justice Science Issues and NGSS

How can chemistry address real-world issues? Explore how teaching Social Justice Science Issues helps students connect chemistry to their local communities. By integrating student community-centered storylines, teachers can engage students in critical thinking about chemistry topics and how they apply to their everyday lives. 

Tribute to Alex Johnstone

I am sad to relay that Alex Johnstone died just before Christmas at age 89. I have written a short tribute to him because although I never knew him, he helped me make sense of why most of the time we fail, and that when we succeed... it is a triumphal moment!

Integrating Three Types of Chemical Representation

This past summer our conversations turned to, “How can we improve our instruction to try and prevent the initial misunderstanding?” We had all read Dorothy Gabel’s article Improving Teaching and Learning Through Chemistry Education Research: A Look to the Future. We were intrigued by the author's description of the three fold system of representing concepts in chemistry.