Latest articles, blogs, and events from the chemical education community

Over the past 30 years, numerous articles have been written about the importance of student teacher relationships.

My first year teaching chemistry, I was looking for a soap-making lab or activity that I could run in my chemistry class with 25-30 students working at the same time.

In Chemical Mystery #10, plastic straws are observed to “magically” change color when waved in the air. Check it out in the video below:

In a recent post, I shared sample quiz questions as to how I have differentiated assessment within the mole unit. Here, I will share a specific multi-day sequence within the stoichiometry unit.

It's almost time for the Fouth of July here in the United States of America. In honor of my country, I'd like to share the following chemical mystery, which involves the colors red, white, and blue: just like the American flag! Check out the video below, and see if you can't solve the mystery of the colors appearing "out of the blue"!

I remember sitting in on Steve Sogo’s presentation at a recent conference and watching the video that accompanied his talk. As I watched the video, I saw something that didn’t necessarily have to do with the talk but had caught my eye. I noticed that certain laboratory glassware and equipment that was being shown while interviewing his st

Say the words standardized test to most educators and you will likely notice a minor gag reflex. While I completely sympathize with this reaction given the frequently labeled testing culture that’s been far too often forced upon us within the past 15 years, I think it is appropriate to take a step back and recognize the meaningful rol

Are you are concerned about recent positions taken on climate change by political leadership in the United States? Do you agree with 97% of climate scientists who are convinced that human-caused climate change is an immediate, serious problem for our planet?

I try to examine activities an multiple levels. First on the list, I want to know if my students will be engaged and learn something. Second, how difficult is it for me as a teacher to actually pull it off? One of the most important questions...are the students learning chemistry or just having fun?

So this time of year we are all thinking about what we will do with our AP Chem students until the end of the semester. Last year I wrote about a post AP independent study activity that I use dealing with transition metal compounds.