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I started thinking about how integral the storytelling was to the curricular choices I made in my classroom. I realized that I had shared some of my experiences as a Modeler and a few of the activities we use in our classrooms, but I have never described the order of topics. So, this blog is titled “The Model So Far…” I hope it gives you an idea of the journey we take each year as the students uncover evidence and construct models along the way.
The March 2015 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online at http://pubs.acs.org/toc/jceda8/92/3. This issue features NMR spectroscopy; chemistry teaching from an international perspective; chemistry & history; learning to think and work like a chemist; introductory laboratory experiences & experiments; the chemistry of fingerprints.
Kathy Kitzmann of Michigan is the 2014 recipient of the James Bryant Conant Award in High School Chemistry.
The February 2015 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available to subscribers at http://pubs.acs.org/toc/jceda8/92/2. The February issue includes content on: metal-organic materials, assessment, acid–base chemistry, game-based approach to teaching, chemical structure and properties, luminescence, inquiry-based teaching, nanochemistry, synthesis, and computational chemistry. This latest issue of JCE plus the content of all past issues, volumes 1 through 92, are available at http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc.
The Chemical Educational Foundation's (CEF) You Be The Chemist® (YBTC) programs are designed to enhance K-8 science education by introducing the central role of chemistry in all the sciences and in our everyday lives. To accomplish its mission, CEF relies on the collaboration of industry, educators, and all members of a community to enhance science education among every generation, beginning with our youth. See CEF website for more information: https://www.chemed.org/ybtc/
A New Year with a New Volume of Resources The January 2015 issue marks the start of the 92nd volume of the Journal of Chemical Education and is now available online at http://pubs.acs.org/toc/jceda8/92/1. This issue features colorful chemistry; using stories and writing to learn; demystifying chemistry literature; cost-effective activities and materials; experimenting with chromatography and natural products.
Celebrating the International Year of Crystallography The December 2014 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available for subscribers online at http://pubs.acs.org/toc/jceda8/91/12. The December issue includes content on: crystallography, assessment, career development for undergraduates, problem solving in organic chemistry, and teaching physical chemistry. This latest issue of JCE plus the content of all past issues, volumes 1 through 91, are available at http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc.
This article describes a three week lesson plan for teaching stoichiometry using an algorithmic method. Two labs (one designed as a laboratory quiz) several cooperative learning exercises, student worksheets and guided instructional frameworks (forcing students to develop good habits in writing measures and doing problem solving) are included. The highlight of the lessons is the "chemistry carol" (based on Felix Mendelssohn's music for "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing") in which students recite a five-step algorithm for completing stoichiometry problems.
Engaging and Sustaining Students' Interest in Chemistry The November 2014 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is available online to subscribers at http://pubs.acs.org/toc/jceda8/91/11. The November issue content includes content on water chemistry, diversity and women in science, professional development, teaching with technology, electrochemistry, and more.
Last Thursday (11/6/14) I attended a workshop on NGSS through our local RESA (essentially an ISD for the county/region). I’d like to touch on some of the things I took away from this workshop and will post again after the next follow-up workshops in December and March.