The 256th National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society is being held in Boston, Massachusetts from August 19th -23rd. The event brings together thousands of chemical professionals, educators, and students to engage in professional networking as well as dive deeper into content applications. After just returning from the Biennial Conference on Chemical Education (BCCE) here are some the reasons I’m going to attend the teacher program portion at the ACS national meeting which is Sunday and Monday August 19th -20th.
Cost
Reduced price for pre-college (high & middle school) teachers! Two days of programming for $120. This includes lunch provided by ACS Division of Chemical Education.There are also travel discounts available.
Professional Development Hours
Earn up to 24 professional development hours for sessions attended at the meeting. Forms will be distributed during the chemistry teacher program and a certificate will be mailed to your home for you to provide to your institution.
NGSS Supported Pedagogies
- Thomas Loschiavo will share NGSS lesson ideas exploring Disciplinary Core Ideas, Science and Engineering Practices, and Cross-Cutting Concepts to explore difficult concepts such as stoichiometry and gas laws more applicable to students via hands on activities.
- Teresa Marx and Erica Posthuma-Adams will describe what a scientific model is and how to incorporate models into chemistry instruction to support a student centered classroom.
- The design and implementation of active learning strategy Discovery Learning, which involves students working in self-managed teams on inquiry problems will be presented.
- Beyond Benign, Steelcase Inc., and a group of high school chemistry teachers have teamed up to bring unique case studies to life for students through curriculum modules. A workshop on growing sustainable design solutions using industrial examples of sustainable design will be discussed. There will be an opportunity to participate in a hands-on simulation and learn about the secrets of shark skin and applications to NGSS.
- A workshop will be presented to teach your students to be problem solvers by learning about biomimicry by providing a hands-on activity opens the door to discussing how biomimicry can offer scientists ideas and strategies to solving environmental design challenges.
Networking Opportunities
- Meet with other pre-college teachers and share ideas. Sometimes the informal networking leads to relationships and sharing of ideas that are just as valuable as the workshops themselves.
- After the first day of hands-on activities and presentations, join other teachers, as you eat, drink and collaborate with other chemistry teachers like yourself. The reception will be held at Skyline, Seaport World Trade Center from 5-7pm. This event, free for participants is sponsored by:
American Association of Chemistry Teachers (AACT)
Engaging Students in STEM
- National Chemistry Week is October 21-27. There will be a workshop describing how you can get your students involved by connecting space to chemistry. explore surface tension, spectroscopy, materials testing and more that show the chemistry of and in outer space.
- Sherri Rukes will provide a make and take session of multiple demonstrations for how to take nano chemistry and make it macroscopic for fundamental chemistry principles. She will also describe how to incorporate nanotechnology in your classroom. Additionally a session on nano-blocks will be presented using pedagogies of game-based learning and concept visualization.
- One session will describe how chemistry and chemical education becomes more approachable and relevant to entrepreneurs building environmentally and socially sustainable companies.
- The chemistry of dyes, pigments and materials to engage and excite students in the lab will be discussed using green chemistry technologies that help connect real-world applications via sustainable textiles.
- Another workshop will discuss a dognapping workshop that has been performed over 12 years and won a 2015 ChemLuminary Award for Outstanding Kids Chemistry Program.
Assessment
- Being scientists, we can learn for the work being done by lead chemical education researchers in the field. Stacey Bretz and Ana Vasquez Murata Mayo will discuss how to assess student understanding as well as common alternative conceptions about atomic emission. It’s helpful to know about misconceptions when teaching my students this topic so I can purposely plan lessons to avoid them!
- Do you want to learn about Standards Based Grading (SBG) and how one school implemented? There will be a workshop where tips and strategies for implementing in your school.
Research
- Do you teach research of allow your students the opportunity to think and act like scientists? At the teacher day there will be the opportunity to learn how environmental variables such as water chemistry, light properties and pH can affect cell growth and biochemistry using algae.
- Interested in metal-organic framework nanospheres for smart drug delivery. A overview of a general synthetic route to encapsulate small molecules in monodisperse zeolitic imid-azolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) nanospheres for the purpose of drug delivery will be described.
Laboratory Support
- AACT’s Sharon Palmer will describe laboratory activities that explore multiple concepts so that teachers can get more “bang for the buck.”
- Are you happy with the way you currently assess your students lab performance? In Boston, participants will engage in lab practical experiments and discuss how to incorporate into their teaching repertoire.
- Learn about a student centered inquiry lab about the nature of color to determine whether light is an intensive or extensive property
Symposium Organizers
Sherri Rukes and Ariel Serkin are powerhouses in the field of chemical education, friends, mentors and high school ambassadors!
I have attended ACS teacher program the past three years and have not been disappointed. Last year, I got to make paper with the Sally Mitchell, one of the best chemical lessons postgraduate school I have had. If your not sold, read the past experiences on the AACT website. For more information about the teacher program, check out the conference website.