Recommended links

Periodic Table of emission spectra

I’m not sure where I first saw this poster...

Why scary lab accidents happen

If a chemist has never been in a lab accident, they have been lucky. Of course, luck is more likely to come to those whose mentors have learned from bad experiences and to those who have taken preventive measures seriously.

Redox and murder

Have your students read Andrea Sella’s engaging article, Marsh’s Mirror in Chemistry World online(1), which has both murder and redox.

Shoutout

On your way home tonight, listen to a podcast on the “Elements”. If you like story-telling and chemistry together, you will enjoy this podcast by NPR Radiolab —radiolab.org/story/elements/.

Not quite sure…

A headline caught my interest: “A Miss America contestant performed a science experiment on stage as her talent and the crowd went wild.” I had to watch…

Education research denialism

Have you heard these denials? As a high school chemistry teacher, are you a denier of educational research? It is a question worth pondering. I recommend you read the entire article and keep up with — and believe — educational research just as you do with the latest advances in chemistry.

Book review

November 25, 2014, the date of the release of this book, marked exactly 100 years since Albert Einstein presented his theory of general relativity to an audience of scientists. Choice* named this book “Outstanding academic title for 2014.”

Book review

Rick Smith, who has a PhD in biology from the University of Guelph, is the Executive Director of Environmental Defence, an activist group based in Toronto. Bruce Lourie is President and Chair of ED’s board of directors.

Ready for university chemistry? Have students use our online self-diagnosis tool

There has been a great deal of effort over the years in developing instruments to predict student success and reduce failure rates in general chemistry. While the results often include placement examinations at the post-secondary level (e.g., Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), Toledo Chemistry Placement Examination (TCPE), California Chemistry Diagnostic Test (CCDT)), they have also generated tools and strategies to identify students at risk, which is also applicable to learners at the secondary level.

Zinc metal in a solution of copper(II) sulfate and sulfuric acid from Beautiful Chemistry Website

Recommended link

The cover photo is from BeautifulChemistry.net, an amazing website for both you and your students.

Engaging story on Marguerite Perey

Wondering what to do on your lunch hour? Thanks to several Chem 13 News readers who brought a New York Times magazine article to my attention, I spent mine reading about Veronique Greenwood’s great-great aunt, Marguerite Perey. The story is freely available online at the link provided and is called “My Great Great Aunt Discovered Francium. And It Killed Her.”

Chemical in the news: Osmium tetroxide

Osmium tetroxide has made the news in Canada and worldwide when Christopher Phillips, a Halifax man, was charged with possession of a dangerous weapon. In January 2015, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police found “floor to ceiling” stacks of chemicals — many unlabelled. One chemical that was identified in the new reports was osmium tetroxide.

Handouts worth keeping by Cation Designs

Having taught chemistry at all levels for many years, I know that teachers are all about borrowing/stealing from other teachers — God knows I did my share as a beginning teacher. Even with the wealth of resources out there, though, sometimes I was unable to find handouts with the content I wanted.

Why educational research matters to you: Rote vs meaningful learning

[This article was first published online on the blog called Educational Theory and Practices, which is maintained by Stuart T. Haines, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Maryland. The blog is “random musings by people who think about educational psychology and the practice of instructional design.” We recommend you visit this blog for lots of interesting reading.

ECCNvideos: Free online demonstrations for students and teachers

At the recent International Conference on Chemical Education, Toronto, the Early Careers Chemistry Network (ECCN) presented (or shall we say launched?) the new ECCNvideos chemistry demonstration project (ECCNvideos Youtube channel and @delaneysw). With this online resource we hope to encourage teachers worldwide to incorporate more demonstrations into their chemistry teaching.

The creative stimulus

Too often, science teaching presents science as a body of knowledge to be learned and regurgitated, rather than an inherently creative process of discovering new problems, and having the courage to imagine what the answers might be.

All kids should have these…

You can find these colorful labels for crayons on “Que Interesante” at Etsy.com. Chem 13 News asked “Que Interesante” about this wonderful idea.

Student teacher’s life lessons

In June 2013, “6 lessons I learned as a student teacher” was published on CNN’s Schools of Thought blog. Heather Sinclair Wood summaries her lessons in the following six statements...

Compressed organic class

Take 2.5 minutes and watch a time-compressed glimpse inside Dr. Rogers Organic Chemistry class at University of Texas at Arlington TX. It is just as interesting to watch the students as it is to watch Dr. Rogers in front of the class.

An all-natural banana

On the next page, you will find a poster from a website created by James Kennedy, a chemistry teacher in Melbourne, Australia. You might have already heard about this poster since his “all-natural banana” has gone viral with two million views.

Viewpoint: Why do people hate the word “chemicals”?

I really enjoy my job, I'm a chemist in academia. I get to wallow in the fascinating world of research science and then pass on my passions to eager young minds.

Deleted scene from Breaking Bad that a chemistry teacher can relate to

Director Vince Gilligan describes a deleted scene from Breaking Bad's final episode in which Walter White, the former chemistry teacher-turned-methamphetamine synthesizer, runs into a former student. Dying of cancer, Walt asks the ex-student if he thought he was a good teacher.

Professor Wildi’s Visualization of Units pages for unit conversions

I want to recommend an excellent resource for unit relationships and unit conversions for teaching and personal use — a downloadable set of PDF files posted on the website of the late professor Theodore Wildi of Laval University.

PM2.5 pollution on Science 2.0

I have posted the article below about PM2.5 pollution on Science 2.0. This website is a combined science magazine, blog and Facebook-type site for scientists and science educators. It has been in existence for about five years. Everything ever written for the site is accessible and free of charge.

Halloween shout-outs

Here are some Halloween ideas for your chemistry classroom.

IQ variations in teenagers

IQ, the standard measure of intelligence, can increase or fall significantly during our teenage years, according to research funded by the Wellcome Trust, and these changes are associated with changes to the structure of our brains. The findings may have implications for testing and streaming of children during their school years.