Yvonne Clifford

In my three decades of teaching, I have found that students understand chemistry much more easily when it is connected to real-world contexts—therefore, I try to drive home the relevance of chemistry by providing examples related to the environment, health and beauty, and the food industry, to name a few.

Helping the Next “Gen” of Chemistry Rockstar Teachers! 

The Diet Coke and Mentos reaction is a common experiment performed in many science classes. This year, I adapted my somewhat free-wheeling “wing it” approach to this experiment to instead have students research, test, and adapt as needed. The students’ goal is to get the highest possible geyser.

That it was the “Best Class EVER” seems to be the common refrain every year by most every student for 30 years after the Dry Ice Day and this year was no exception! Dry Ice is an exciting chemical to bring to the chemistry classroom because it affords endless possibilities for fun. I have a few fun activities that I do each year with my grade

“In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes” - Benjamin Franklin. To this quotation I would have to also add the certainty of a high number of absences during COVID times. Indeed, I cannot think of a day this year where all my students were present in class. Absence was at an all time high this year due to COVID-19,