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Helping Students Make Connections by Reading and Analyzing "Chemistry's Core...
This year in IB Chemistry with my Year 1 students, I have tried something a bit different. I've long felt that the biggest difference in achievement at the higher levels is making connections between...
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Especially JCE: November 2017
People tie dye cloth. People study chemistry. What makes putting the two things together such a popular activity in chemistry classrooms and science clubs? Recently, a photo showcasing American...
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JCE 94.11 November 2017 Issue Highlights
Polymer Concepts across the CurriculumThe November 2017 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. The entire issue is focused on polymer concepts across the...
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An Old Favorite: Brass Pennies
I recently corresponded with Bob Worley of CLEAPSS in the U.K. He was hoping to make the common “brass penny” activity safer for students. You can read Bob Worley's blog post about brass pennies about...
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Nomenclature
“What are we doing to help kids achieve?” Nomenclature is a tough topic. I tell students that we are living in the land of symbols while we study nomenclature. It is important but it is difficult to...
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The Density Bottle Strikes Again
It looks as though I’ve discovered that density bottles can be used to explore differences between heterogeneous and homogeneous mixtures! For those of you that are unfamiliar with this experiment, a...
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Moving Beyond Le Châtelier
It is time for us as chemistry teachers to move beyond the Le Châtelier Principle as justification for why disturbances to equilibrium systems cause particular “shifts”. I came across the idea of...
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JCE 94.12 December 2017 Issue Highlights
Improving Student Perception and Performance The December 2017 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: functional...
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Magnesium, Gas Laws and Exam Review
“What are we doing to help kids learn?”It was close to the end of the semester and we were covering gas laws. Students were stressed over the idea of finals, final projects due, tests before finals and...
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Especially JCE: December 2017
Especially JCE posts usually focus on the content of the Journal of Chemical Education—highlighting and discussing articles of potential interest to high school chemistry educators. As the 2017 year of...
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Balancing Equations, Candy and an Evolving Activity
“What are we doing to help kids achieve?”I feel like every year I face the same old dilemma. It starts with an idea in mind of what and how something should be taught. This idea is fine until it is...
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Science Week at Pittcon - For Orlando Teachers & Students
Science Week at Pittcon – Orlando 2018Teachers and students will appreciate the generous Science Week options at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando this February. This is an annual event...
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Tribute to Alex Johnstone
Happy New Year from one of your overseas colleagues. Despite the amazing political changes, the language of chemistry continues bind us together, usually in the effort to make such a simple subject as...
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Scrub Daddy Science
Scrub Daddy is a cleaning supply that was invented by Aaron Krause1 and is sold as America’s Favorite Sponge.2 After being featured on ABC’s television show Shark Tank, Scrub Daddy has gone on to be...
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BCCE 2018 and The New Year
What are we doing to help kids achieve?I’ll cut to the chase. Here is one thing you can do for both yourself and your students to start the new year. Consider attending BCCE 2018 this year. Why attend?...
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Book Suggestion: The Alchemy of Air
One of my goals for 2017 was to read more chemistry non-fiction. I accomplished that with three and a half books read. That doesn't seem like much, but given how busy I've been lately it was quite an...
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Announcing a Unique Virtual Conference: Tools for Integrating Green Chemistry...
Registration is now open for the ChemEd X Virtual Conference: Tools for Integrating Green Chemistry in Your Classroom.Tools for Integrating Green Chemistry in Your Classroom features a hybrid of...
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Questioning the Traditional Lesson Structure
In preparation for the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) or individual states variations of the standards, there has been much professional development offered around the...
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Now is the Time to Plan for BCCE 2018
The Biennial Conference on Chemical Education is one of the best professional development opportunities available for chemistry educators. The 2018 conference will be held at Notre Dame in South Bend,...
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JCE 95.01 January 2018 Issue Highlights
Celebrating Ninety-Five YearsThe January 2018 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: exploring magnetic properties;...
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