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In My Element | March 2026 From Acid Rain to Ethanol
A teacher shares how her elementary and high school teachers prompted her interest in science, and how teachers and college counselors later helped to open her eyes to her many options and choices in studying chemistry. Her high school summer work experience at a quality control laboratory allowed her to connect the chemistry concepts she studied at school with a real-life context, a strategy that continues to inform her teaching practice.
Nuts & Bolts | March 2026 Lights, Camera, Chemistry!
A teacher describes how he leverages his students’ social media content creation skills to implement a video-based assessment of student learning, applicable to a variety of chemistry topics.
Classroom Commentary | March 2026 A Glowing Obsession
This article highlights different ways a teacher uses antique glass as an engaging phenomenon in chemistry. She shares her experiences in connecting the phenomenon with nuclear chemistry topics such as radioactive isotopes, radioactivity, and radioactive decay, and in revisiting the phenomenon when teaching the electron structure of atoms.
Nuts & Bolts | November 2025 Why Metacognition is Important and How I Find Time to Include it
The author presents three different strategies for developing metacognitive skills (awareness of one's own thinking processes) and discusses how she uses them in her own classroom while providing tips for other ways to use them.
Classroom Commentary | September 2025 Spectroscopy Puzzles
In this article, the author shares about his experience developing a high school level elective science class that combines organic chemistry and spectroscopy to investigate forensic chemistry in a meaningful way.
Nuts & Bolts | May 2025 Building 21st Century Skills through Lab Notebooks
In this article, the author describes how using lab notebooks helps his high school students slow down, think critically, and build essential 21st century skills through collaboration, exploration, and reflection.
Nuts & Bolts | May 2025 Lab-Based Scientific Writing, Without the Report
A high school chemistry teacher shares how she designs structured lab activity packets to enhance student learning. She also includes tips for an approach to grading that provides students with meaningful feedback without overwhelming the instructor.
Tech Tips | March 2025 Using Online Simulations for Middle School Chemistry
In this article, the author explores the benefits of online simulations in middle school science. She highlights their accessibility and versatility, shares implementation techniques that have worked well in her classroom, and provides recommendations for free chemistry simulations.
Classroom Commentary | March 2025 Best Practices for Planning Professional Development for Teachers
The article explores the author’s experience as a chemistry teacher trainer, emphasizing the importance of pedagogy in education. Drawing inspiration from The Toyota Way, the author highlights how Japanese principles can be applied to enhance chemistry training.
Tech Tips | March 2025 Using Conditional Formatting in Spreadsheets to Create Engaging, Interactive Lessons with Instant Feedback
In this article, the author explores how he uses spreadsheets featuring interactive activities and instant feedback to enhance high school chemistry learning. He reports that his students became more engaged with the material, and at the same time gained essential spreadsheet skills.
Nuts & Bolts | November 2024 Using Rolling Feedback to Clear Up Students’ Misconceptions
A high school chemistry teacher shares how student-driven feedback practices and rolling feedback help her address student misconceptions, allowing them to revisit content, correct misunderstandings, and take ownership of their learning throughout the year.
Nuts & Bolts | November 2024 Automated Assessment Feedback to Encourage Student Self-Reflection
A high school chemistry teacher explains her automated feedback system using Google Forms and Sheets, enabling her students to self-assess their performance. This approach enhances self-reflection and ownership of learning, while providing structured and meaningful feedback.
Resource Feature | September 2024 Enhancing Student Self-Awareness of Learning Progress in High School Chemistry
A veteran high school chemistry teacher shares how implementing a year-long strategy using ongoing lab examples enhanced students’ self-awareness, allowing them to reflect on progress, correct misconceptions, and take ownership of their learning.
Nuts & Bolts | September 2024 Flexible Grading and Immediate Feedback in the Chemistry Classroom
This author describes her flexible grading and immediate feedback strategy. Her technique promotes reflection and resilience, while enhancing students’ real-world skills and supporting a positive environment for growth.
Nuts & Bolts | May 2024 Reflecting on ChatGPT in our Chemistry Classroom
In a follow-up to their September 2023 article, two high school chemistry teachers explore the integration of ChatGPT (a tool for artificial intelligence, or AI) in their classroom. While AI has helped the authors with instructional planning, they have also found challenges with its accuracy and the ways students use it.
Nuts & Bolts | May 2024 It Takes Two: Partner Work in the Chemistry Classroom
A chemistry teacher reflects on his transition from individual to partner worksheets. He shares his journey adopting the “Pass the Paper” and “Turn + Talk” protocols to enhance student collaboration and accountability in his classroom.
Tech Tips | May 2024 Technology Tools that have Reshaped how I Teach Chemistry
A high school chemistry teacher discusses how technology tools have transformed his teaching, enhancing effectiveness and student engagement. He shares how he uses Pear Assessment, Notability, Explain Everything, Google Sheets, ChemQuiz, and Gimkit in his classroom.
Nuts & Bolts | March 2024 Teaching Chemical Kinetics: Traditional or Non-Traditional?
This author describes an alternative sequence for teaching reaction mechanisms. She shares ideas and resources for the classroom, and why her method may benefit student learning.
Tech Tips | March 2024 Tapping the Potential of Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom
The author explores the advantages and disadvantages of AI in education. He highlights practical applications while encouraging a balanced perspective, thereby leveraging the potential while addressing risks.
Nuts & Bolts | November 2023 A Self-Paced, Mastery-Based Chemistry Classroom
The author uses three elements in her classroom: blended instruction, self-paced learning, and mastery-based grading. These components foster students’ ownership of their own learning, helping them find joy in mastering challenging topics and gain confidence in their abilities.
Classroom Commentary | November 2023 Preparing Students for the International Science and Engineering Fair
In this article, the author describes her efforts to prepare students for the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) for the first time. She also shares the experience of two students who reached the regional and state levels.
Resource Feature | September 2023 Developing Chemistry Lessons with Student Interest in Mind
The author shares an overview of example chemistry lessons designed to engage low performing students by connecting content with relevant life experiences. Connections to NGSS standards, as well as attention to reading, writing, and mathematics are described as well.
Tech Tips | September 2023 Making the Instructional Videos I Wish I’d Had as a Teacher
A former chemistry teacher shares about the challenges she faced in the past when incorporating videos into her teaching, and how she now uses that perspective in her work as a science video content creator.
Nuts & Bolts | September 2023 ChatGPT in the Chemistry Classroom

Learn how two co-teachers plan to explore and integrate artificial intelligence (AI), specifically ChatGPT, in their science classroom. This article emphasizes that AI should not replace teachers, but rather be used to enhance the learning experience.
Resource Feature | May 2023 Exploring Social Justice Through a Chemistry Lens
This article details a project that introduces students to the intersection of social justice and chemistry. Over the course of a semester, students study the Flint, Michigan water crisis and discuss the social aspects while exploring the solution chemistry underlying the events.