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

After almost 40 years as a Chemistry teacher, I have noticed that the prescribed order of topics in high school chemistry is, according to the Province of Ontario’s Guidelines, anywhere from less-than-ideal to downright illogical.

I’m just old enough that I never kept a paper gradebook. When I was a student in school, my grades were on paper and arrived in the mail. As a teacher, my grades have always been entered into the computer and sent off to the world with a click of a button. Parents and students know the grade as soon as I share it. 

The March APTeach Meeting will discuss common student missteps in Gibb’s Free Energy & entropy, quick and easy electrochem activities, and student misconceptions in electrochemistry.

When I started hearing about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and ChatGPT, I was incredibly skeptical. I have a colleague who uses AI to grade his classroom essays and provide feedback to students.  This colleague raved about it, but it has upset other teachers, parents, and students alike.

Many of us are tasked with planning or teaching chemical quantities and stoichiometry. To support your planning, help you refresh your stoichiometry unit, or provide extra resources to use in your classroom, I have collected some favorite posts on stoichiometry.

  Egg-lectrons and McLewis Structures: More Representations of Electron Arrangements in Atoms and Molecules Co-Authored with Ali Patel* *Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois

I enjoy playing UNO, a popular card game by Mattel, with my family. Students enjoy playing UNO with their friends during lunch or at the end of the day at my school. As a teacher, I have also experienced students having difficulty using dimensional analysis to solve stoichiometry problems. Students have issues with setting up and solving stoichiometry problems.

In February 2025 we discussed using particle diagrams, calculations, and titration curves to support student understanding of acids, bases, and buffers.  

The Amount of Red #40 Food Dye in a Cherry Cough Drop by a Beer’s Law Experiment

General chemistry can be a daunting course for students and may be seen as a gatekeeping course or a general education “hoop to jump through” toward a goal of a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) degree for non-majors. Challenges are exacerbated by the large enrollment format common in many higher education institutions.