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.
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The untold story of the women who helped win World War II by separating the atomic bomb isotopes.
CRISPR and gene drive technology have the potential alter the biology of life on earth, and possibly control some of the most destructive human diseases.
The American Modeling Teachers Association (AMTA) is an international, professional community comprised of over 2800 passionate, innovative, and connected educators. Members include high school and university level STEM educators, educational research professionals, as well as pre-service and retired teachers.
In this "Pick" I'll briefly describe how I use the ChemDraw iPad App for creating structures for my teaching. I also provide a link to a tutorial where I share some tips on how to get started using ChemDraw on your iPad.
If your not familiar with the video series "The Mystery of Matter, Search for the Elements" then I highly recommend their use as part of your curriculum. The Mystery of Matter: Search for the Elements is a PBS series about the amazing human story behind the Periodic Table. The videos, most of them 4-12 minutes long, draw on the interviews, re-enactments, animations and photographs that were shot and collected for the PBS series, with supplementary animations and images as needed. In all, the videos make up about three hours of programming. I shared several of the video clips with my high school students and they really seemed to enjoy them mentioning the reason was because the videos were done using actors to tell the stories and it was similar to watching a movie.
In teacher preparation, the Vygotsky based theory of formative assessment is integral because teachers and teacher educators who recognize their knowledge as knowledge in formation are better prepared to recognize the value of students’ knowledge. After all, most learners find it easier to build upon prior knowledge when learning material as opposed to having the material dissociated from prior experience and viewed as a completely new and isolated material.
The ACS Committee on Chemical Safety has published new Guidelines for Chemical Laboratory Safety in Secondary Schools. This document is organized with the R.A.M.P. concept – Recognize the hazard, Assess the risk of the hazard, Minimize the risk of the hazard, and Prepare for emergencies. The online document includes two pages for each letter that could be printed and posted in the classroom to reinforce these principles of safety. The documents are provided to strengthen the safety practices of teachers and help them to promote a culture of safety that their students will take with them throughout their academic and professional careers.
This week I had the opportunity to attend part 2 of a 3 day PD for Gizmos, courtesy of a district grant working with ExploreLearning. In a room full of middle school science colleagues (half of whom I knew), I was able to glean a ton of great information.
In July of 2016 we learned the names of the four new elements that were confirmed in January; Nihonium (Nh), moscovium (Mc), tennessine (Ts) and oganesson (Og). Although the newest superheavy elements complete the seventh period of the Periodic Table, curiosity has been reignited in our classrooms as students ask, what’s next?
“What we Call Misconceptions May be Necessary Stepping Stones Toward Making Sense of the World” is an article identifying how misconceptions can be turned into sense-making exercises and classroom conversations to help students come to meaningful, and eventually “correct” views of scientific concepts.