Dear Curious,

Thank you for your question and for your interest in learning about the organization! Think of AACT as an experienced teacher down the hall. Your membership provides access to an extensive bank of lesson plans contributed by experienced teachers. These range from hands-on labs to interactive simulations across all levels of chemistry. For examples of the quality and variety of content available to AACT members, check out the free classroom resources, unlocked articles, and simulations, which are available without a membership to view, download, and use.

In AACT you can choose your own professional development by registering for webinars or for a summer symposium, which provides opportunities to ask questions and to connect with other chemistry teachers. You can stay informed about what others in your field are doing by reading Chemistry Solutions, the online periodical containing articles, written by members, that are relevant to chemistry teaching. You will even receive 50 complimentary article downloads from broader ACS journals such as the Journal of Chemical Education that may be useful when searching for new ideas.

Another benefit is a subscription to ChemMatters magazine. This magazine contains various chemistry-based articles about topics of interest to high school students. Each issue provides teacher’s guides with lessons and additional ideas for how to use the articles in your classroom. AACT also sponsors a high school and middle school ChemClub program that provides resource packets to make it easy for busy teachers to introduce students to chemistry outside the classroom. As a newer teacher, you may be interested in the Science Coaches Program, which provides funding to pair K–12 chemistry teachers with professional chemists to collaborate on a project of your choice!

While AACT offers many opportunities to get involved, membership does not require you to add more responsibilities to an already full plate. AACT exists to support K-12 chemistry teachers by providing quality classroom-ready resources, as well as access to a large community of peers. If, at some point, you find yourself interested in becoming more involved, just reach out to see what opportunities are available. In summary, I will leave you with the words of AACT Past President, Martin Palermo:

Yours in Chemistry,

Labby