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

Bowtie Diagram for flammable solvent safety
Safely “Playing With Fire” in the Chemistry Classroom
// Monday, September 3, 2018 • Ryan Johnson
It’s the beginning of a brand new school year, and a brand new opportunity to capture students’ interest in chemistry and the joy of lab-based sciences! In thousands of chemistry classrooms across the country, teachers will be planning labs, demos, and ways to have students be engaged and excited about learning.
wonder thought cloud
Inspiring Wonder Through Discrepant Events
// Wednesday, August 29, 2018 • Lauren Stewart
Recently I was able to attend EF’s Global Leadership Summit in Berlin, Germany with some amazing students from my school. I had a lot of takeaways from this experience but one specifically related to science education.
sketch of a "learning" pit
How “The Learning Pit” Can Help Establish a Culture for Learning
// Monday, August 27, 2018 • RyanBruick
My practices in education suggest the first few days with any new group of learners are critical to establishing a culture of learning and growth. Front-loading and cultivating these expectations are worth the investment, even if I “lose” a day or two of content.
Element Partner Activity cards
Positive Relationships & a Safer Classroom
// Monday, August 13, 2018 • Michael Farabaugh
One of my favorite times of the year (other than early June, when I attend the AP Chemistry Reading) is late August, which marks the beginning of the school year in Albemarle County, Virginia. I have been teaching high school chemistry for 20 years, and I absolutely love my job. There are many reasons for me to look forward to a new school year.
sherds (broken pieces) of pottery
Archaeological Pottery - An Inquiry-based Laboratory Activity
// Wednesday, August 8, 2018 • Linda Ford
Are you up for trying an ambitious experiment that combines archeology, instrumental analysis, and a search for patterns in data? Then this activity might fit the bill! I came up with this activity after slipping into one of Kevin Braun’s presentations at the BCCE 2016 in Colorado.
Ck-12 logo
Ck-12: A Textbook for Every Child
// Saturday, August 4, 2018 • Chad Husting
Ck-12 is a resource that is attempting to provide a quality textbook or "flexbook" for any student who needs or wants one. Ck-12 began their mission over eleven years ago. Their mission began as a non-profit and non-revenue institution. This means they have never asked teachers for money or fund raising.
Next Generation Science Standards logo
Continuing Change - Update
// Tuesday, July 24, 2018 • Dan Meyers
For the last two years, the district I worked for has been tirelessly working toward curriculum changes that would better line up with the new state science standards. The challenge has been to do such a task while minimizing the impact on the IB curriculum and offerings.
logo for freshman research initiative conference
2018 Freshman Research Initiative Conference
// Friday, July 13, 2018 • Megan Fegley
The 2018 Freshman Research Initiative (FRI) Conference will take place October 3-5, 2018 at the University of Texas at Austin. The FRI conference is designed to engage and support faculty and administrators who are interested in adapting the FRI educational model at their own institutions. Information about registration, accommodations and a tentative agenda are posted on the conference website.
Learning Target Bullseye
Developing Learning Targets and Structuring Assessments
// Monday, July 9, 2018 • Ben Meacham
After seeing multiple questions and side conversations develop on ChemEdX and Twitter as a result of a previous post, A Simple Tool to Help Make the Retake Process Less Chaotic, (about the development of reassessment request forms) it has been apparent that an o