ChemEd X contributors and staff members are continually coming across items of interest that they feel others may wish to know about. Picks include, but need not be limited to, books, magazines, journals, articles, apps—most anything that has a link to it can qualify.
Many Picks can be purchased from Amazon. Using the Amazon links on those pages help to support ChemEd X.
I recently did a short activity with these cards and I am so glad I have them now. Being able to quickly take them out and have students look at the features of strong scientific arguments when they felt stuck writing their evidence or reasoning was powerful.
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.
Is your school district providing OSHA required safety training to teachers and other staff that will be in the science labs in your building?
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.
A little company called Matheatre has developed several plays about math and science. They travel to schools and museums throughout the country. The goal is to combine theatre and science. From my experience, they are doing a great job.
Robert Buntrock reviews a new textbook on ethics for scientists. This book is a valuable new resource for teaching ethics.
Robert Buntrock reviews an interesting book on the chemistry of explosives just in time for summer fireworks.
The updated ACS Guidelines and Recommendations for Teaching Middle and High School Chemistry were recently released.
From JCE - A demonstration for challenging students' thinking on acid-base chemistry and equilibrium
I was drawn to an article by Eilks, Gulacar, and Sandoval about Acid-Base Chemistry and Chemical Equilibrium in the April 2018 issue of JCE. The title of the article is "Exploring the Mysterious Substances, X and Y: Challenging Students' Thinking on Acid-Base Chemistry and Chemical Equilibrium." The premise of the article is to demonstrate how an instructor may use a group of compounds (zeolites) to "elaborate on the behavior of solid state acids and bases" while revisiting LeChatelier's principle.
The International Scholastic Journal of Science is an online, open-access journal that provides the opportunity for secondary students to publish entry-level research and become part of the scientific process. In this blog post I will share information about ISJOS and encourage you to find students that are interested in publishing.