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

screenshot of comment bank with text: Lab Report Comment Bank
Using a Comment Bank to Provide Student Feedback on a Lab
// Monday, March 21, 2016 • LowellThomson
I was sitting at my laptop marking up some labs and realized I had some students that kept making the same mistake as previous labs. So…this got me thinking. How can I get students to more carefully utilize my feedback? (This isn't a post to bash my students that aren't using my feedback.
Self-Healing Concrete
// Monday, March 21, 2016 • Dan Meyers
Recently, I came across an article about self-healing concrete on the ACS Central Science open source journal website.
USNCO logo
An Unexpected Source of Inquiry-Based Lab Practicals
// Saturday, March 19, 2016 • E Posthuma
Each spring my Local Section of The American Chemical Society (ACS) hosts a rigorous two part exam as part of the selection process for the The International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO).
demonstrations
The Art of the Chemical Demonstration
// Wednesday, March 9, 2016 • mamorgan@me.com
One of my favorite things to talk about with my colleagues is the use of lecture demonstrations in teaching. There seems to be a push in my district to stop using chemicals whenever possible and get to computer simulations and video in place of wet chemistry.
BCCE 2016
// Friday, March 4, 2016
Early Registration for BCCE now open! BCCE 2016 will be held at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, CO. July 31 – August 4, 2016
Silver plate: before and after
Using Chemistry to Find that Silver Lining
// Thursday, March 3, 2016 • Tom Kuntzleman
I recently gave a public lecture on my campus in which (among other things) I discussed the chemistry of metallic copper, silver, and gold.
Research Experience for Teachers in Bioenergy, Sustainable Energy Systems (UW-Madison)
// Saturday, February 27, 2016
The Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) is now accepting applications for our 2016 Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program, June 20 - August 5. RET participants spend seven weeks conducting research in GLBRC labs and develop related education materials to bring back to their classrooms. Included is a $7000 stipend. We are recruiting four teachers to work on the following projects at UW-Madison:
Bioenergy Institute For Educators
// Saturday, February 27, 2016
The Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) is pleased to announce the 2016 Bioenergy Institute for Educators to be held June 20-24 at UW-Madison. Bioenergy is an exciting area of research and development and can provide excellent opportunities for engaging students while teaching core concepts in biology, biotechnology, chemistry, environmental science, and agriculture. Join us for an intensive 5-day program to learn about the latest developments in bioenergy research and high-quality, NGSS-aligned materials to use with students.
Capturing the Beauty of Chemistry with an iPad
// Monday, February 22, 2016 • LowellThomson
In my IB Chemistry class, my seniors were finishing up independent investigations for their Internal Assessment a few weeks ago when something cool happened. One of my students was using silver nitrate and potassium chromate for a titration.
First Year AP Chemistry Teacher...Enough Said
// Monday, February 15, 2016 • Allison Tarvin
I’m a first year AP chemistry teacher. My emotions swing from fear of inadequacy to confusion in pacing to acute awareness of the number of years since college chemistry to desperation in grading 55 lab notebooks to exhaustion with inexperience. Honest truth: I'm studying. I'm studying a lot.
Three levels of representation
Integrating Three Types of Chemical Representation
// Monday, February 8, 2016 • E Posthuma
I spend a lot of time working with models in my classroom - developing mental models, drawing models, talking about models, testing models - you get the picture.  As I was planning my school year last summer, my colleagues and I started thinking about how our students interacted with the models.