chemistry

Providing validated tests for instructors to use (#AAPTsm11)

August 4, 2011

Our plenary speaker this morning was Thomas Holme, of Iowa State University, speaking to us about the standardized assessments in chemistry.  Sounds boring, but he raised some interesting and insightful thoughts about assessment. He started out by describing the fine line he has to walk as an instructor: “Teaching is inherently personal and inescapably corporate.  [...]

Read the full article →

The Chemistry of Kissing

July 19, 2009

Since I’m woefully behind in posting on my own blog, I’m grateful to Sarah over at a Schooner of Science who wrote up an interesting article on the Chemistry of Kissing.  I was meaning to write something on this topic for a while, actually, since there was an interesting symposium at the AAAS Meeting in [...]

Read the full article →

The Periodic Table of Videos

March 25, 2009

This is so charming I can’t stand it.  You get the periodic table, and on each element, you can click to get a video with a little experiment on that element, performed by a guy with a cute British accent.  Check it out — The Periodic Table of Videos. Here is their YouTube channel. Here’s [...]

Read the full article →

Books of classroom demonstrations (A Demo a Day)

February 23, 2009

Here is a very nice review (from a teacher’s listserv I’m on) about what sounds like a great book for the chemistry teacher: A good book about Chemistry for the middle school and high school:  “A Demo a Day, A Year of Chemical Demonstrations”, by Gross, Bilash and Koob.  It has “Separating Metallic Iron from [...]

Read the full article →

Workshop: Chemistry of Water

November 24, 2008

A free workshop for educators on December 9th from the National Science Digital Library: This Web Seminar will focus on dynamic online resources you can use to teach your students about the chemistry of water through the NSDL Chemical Education Digital Library. Join presenters Dr. John Moore, W. T. Lippincott Professor and director of the [...]

Read the full article →

The Salty Science of the Saltwater Battery (published in The Physics Teacher)

November 20, 2008

Hey hey, I’ve got a twofer in the current issue of the Physics Teacher!  One is my article on the chemistry behind the saltwater battery. The other is an article on blogs that physics teachers can use.  I’ll post the full blog article (the published one was cut quite heavily) a little later! Here’s the [...]

Read the full article →

Science of sports

October 20, 2008

One of the NSDL blogs — Exemplary Resources for Middle School Math and Science — just posted a very nice list of several places you can find information on science & sports for use in your classroom: These resources take an in-depth look at how chemistry and technology have had a huge impact on all [...]

Read the full article →

Adventures of a new teacher

September 22, 2008

There’s always a lot to learn when you start teaching.  But this new teacher’s story was particularly striking to me.  When she just started teaching, she was fresh out of the Peace Corps in West Africa, and this left her little prepared to teach chemistry in a portable classroom with, among other things, no proper [...]

Read the full article →

Air has mass (and how to prove it!)

August 26, 2008

A teacher asked for a good experiment to show 8th graders that gas has mass.  “We have used balloons in the past,” she says, “but some of the kids still don’t make the connection.” Paul Doherty replied: I like to get a big weather balloon from a surplus store , inflate it until it is [...]

Read the full article →

Carbon Dioxide… It’s a Gas!

March 7, 2008

Hi everyone, I posted an episode to my podcast, Science Teaching Tips. Click this link to check it out: 31. Carbon dioxide – Its a gas! TI staff educator Eric Muller shows me how to carbonate my tongue. Blech! More of Eric Muller’s activities: www.exo.net/~emuller – Stephanie

Read the full article →

Ice Scream

December 20, 2007

Another episode of my podcast, Science Teaching Tips! Ice Scream TI staff educator Eric Muller demonstrates a “cool” thing to do with dry ice, and it even relates to the standards! More of Eric Muller’s activities: www.exo.net/~emuller

Read the full article →