Webinars Archive

Access to recent webinars is an AACT member benefit. Members can watch (or re-watch) webinars dating back to 2014 and download presentation documents.

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101 – 125 of 211 Webinars

January 15, 2020 | Teaching Methods, Teaching Resources Using the Engineering Design Process for Student Success in Chemistry
This webinar will focus on how to leverage the engineering design process, not only to meet the expectations of the NGSS, but also to increase student engagement and success in diverse classrooms. We will explore literature-based examples of engineering design projects that can be used to identify and remediate issues that interest students. Participants will walk away with resources to use in their own classrooms and, hopefully, a new view on using the engineering design process for all students in the chemistry classroom.
December 04, 2019 | Lab & Safety, Teaching Resources, Advanced Chemistry College-level Labs That Can be Done in 50 Minutes or Less
Do you need college-level labs that don’t take 2-3 hours? In this webinar, Linda Cummings will describe five meaningful labs that take less than 50 minutes each. These labs will cover the topics of kinetics, hydrolysis, entropy, Ka and Ksp and are appropriate for AP/IB classes and general chemistry classes at a college or university.
November 13, 2019 | Teaching Resources Facilitating Productive Discussions About Chemistry in the Classroom
When teachers engage in classroom discourse, student ideas flow quickly. Students share a wide variety of conceptions about chemistry, and teachers need to make quick, in the moment decisions to respond. What should teachers do next in order to make productive use of what students share in order to move their students understanding of chemistry forward? By completing this webinar, participants will enhance their ability to employ these eliciting and advancing teacher moves in a purposeful fashion to strengthen their students understanding of chemistry in their own classrooms.
November 06, 2019 | Lab & Safety, Teaching Resources Using NGSS Practices to Explore Chemistry Concepts: Arguing from Evidence
In their first webinar, Jessica C Levine and Emilie Mosko shared how existing chemistry curriculum can be easily modified towards an NGSS storyline with a groovy phenomenon—the lava lamp. In this webinar, Jessica and Sara Hoofnagle will continue to explore NGSS practices, specifically arguing from evidence.
October 16, 2019 | Lab & Safety, Teaching Resources Doc Saves Everyone – A Framework for Equilibrium
Equilibrium problems can be straightforward but can quickly escalate in difficulty when applied to solubility and acid-base problems. After working with students to improve the process I have developed a framework I call “DSE”, or the Doc Saves Everyone method. The approach not only addresses the algorithmic skills needed but, more importantly, also helps develop a stronger conceptual understanding. The approach is not necessarily the fastest way to solve the problem, but it does provide a valuable methodology for thinking through complicated chemical systems.
October 09, 2019 | Lab & Safety, Teaching Resources Modeling Energy in Chemistry
Establishing a common, correct conception of the particle-nature of matter and energy is key to the effective learning of chemistry. This webinar will introduce a curriculum (developed by AACT members) as well as instructional practices to help students develop a particle-level model of energy. Students will build arguments around how energy is transferred between matter via conduction and how changes in energy impact matter. Students will use their models to explain phase changes at the macroscopic level, symbolically through bar graphs and at the particle-level. Lastly, we'll explore how this early foundation lead into quantifying energy, developing the concept of chemical energy and connecting to energy ideas in other science courses.
September 25, 2019 | Lab & Safety, Teaching Resources Activities and Demonstrations Aligned with the 2019 National Chemistry Week Theme, “Marvelous Metals!”
Because about 80% of the elements on the periodic table are metals, we should not be surprised that metals are involved in a lot of interesting chemistry! Exploring the properties of metals allows for facile connections to a variety of chemical topics including density, oxidation-reduction reactions, conductivity, and phase changes. In this seminar you will learn how to use familiar, inexpensive, and easy-to-obtain items to explore the physical and chemical properties of metals.
September 18, 2019 | Teaching Resources Leadership and STEM Learning with the Einstein Fellowship 2020
The Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship brings K-12 STEM educators together from across the country to tap into their experiences to shape and lead the conversation around STEM at a national level. During this webinar, Einstein Fellows and alumni will share their unique experiences they have been granted with fellow educators, discuss what they’ve learned about teacher leadership, and provide some insight into a day in the life of an Einstein Fellow. The application is open from August 12, 2019 through 8:00 pm ET, November 14, 2019
September 12, 2019 | Teaching Resources American Association of Chemistry Teachers (AACT) Resources and Open House – 2019
Have you ever wondered about the benefits of being a member of the AACT? Discover how AACT membership can enhance your experience in the chemistry classroom. Join AACT President, Heather Weck, Past-President, Sherri Rukes, and President-Elect, Jesse Bernstein, as they guide participants on a virtual tour the AACT website. All resources will be unlocked during the webinar so that attendees can follow along with the presenters and see all of the valuable classroom materials available to AACT members. This webinar will be particularly valuable to teachers who are considering becoming a member of AACT or members who might not be familiar with all of the classroom resources that are available on teachchemistry.org. It is also a chance for current members to learn about the additions and updates that we have made to our website and member benefits. Everyone that attends the webinar and takes the post webinar survey will be entered into a raffle for a free one-year membership. This prize can be used for a new membership or for a renewal of a current membership.
September 05, 2019 | Teaching Resources, Advanced Chemistry Lessons Learned from the 2019 AP Chemistry Exam
During this webinar, Paul Bonvallet, Chief Reader, will outline the logistics and scoring process for the 2019 AP Chemistry exam and discuss practices for consistent, fair, and accurate grading of the free-response section. The presentation will then review in detail all the free-response questions from the 2019 AP Chemistry Exam and highlight the most common student misconceptions revealed during the scoring of the test papers.
July 23, 2019 | Lab & Safety AACT and Middle School Chemistry at ChemEd 2019
Please join us live from North Central College in Naperville, IL on Tuesday, July 23rd, from 8:00 am – 2:20 pm. We'll livestream four chemistry workshops with hands-on activities from the ACS's middleschoolchemistry.com and from AACT. These workshops are great for middle school chemistry teachers.
July 09, 2019 | Teaching Resources, Advanced Chemistry Highlighting AACT Web Resources for Introductory/General Chemistry
Join the experts from the American Association of Chemistry Teachers (AACT) on July 9 from 3:00-4:00 PM ET for a webinar to learn about the many AACT resources that can be used in a postsecondary introductory chemistry setting. You’ll learn about AACT web resources for general chemistry instructors, and will then be invited to an ‘AACT Web Open House’ where you can peruse and access resources from the entire AACT website at no cost for 24 hours. Not able to join the webinar? Don’t worry—it will be recorded and available to view following the live recording.
May 09, 2019 | Teaching Resources Science Coaches 2019
Learn more about the benefits for teachers and coaches in the Science Coaches program. Science Coaches is a joint ACS and AACT educational outreach initiative dedicated to enhancing science skills in students across the United States. The program partners coaches (volunteer chemists) with AACT teacher members in elementary, middle, and high schools. Teachers accepted into the program will have the opportunity to form a valuable relationship with a coach. Come learn about how the program can benefit you.
April 09, 2019 | Teaching Resources Advancing Science Literacy with Lesson Plans that Are Aligned with CCSS and NGSS
Are you asked to incorporate reading and writing into your lessons to support literacy in language arts? We have the right strategies for you!
April 02, 2019 | Teaching Resources, Advanced Chemistry Teaching Like an AP Reader
Have you ever wondered if an AP Reader collects "insider" tips while grading the AP Chemistry Exams? In this webinar, an experienced AP Reader and Table Leader shares tips that she has gathered during years of participation in the annual AP Reading. After scoring thousands of exams, some patterns emerge that help us realize student misconceptions when we least expect them. Dusty Carroll highlights several places throughout the AP Chemistry curriculum where simple changes in teaching focus can help to increase student understanding, leading to higher AP Exam scores.
March 28, 2019 | Teaching Resources Going Organic in High School
Most high school chemistry textbooks have a chapter on organic chemistry tucked away at the end of the book, but this is generally not covered in a first year course. This leads students to believe that organic chemistry is a mysterious realm where the known rules of chemistry don't apply. Suggestions for incorporating more organic chemistry into regular chemistry classes to illustrate concepts will be provided.
March 07, 2019 | Teaching Resources, Advanced Chemistry The Mole of Reaction: Why is it Important and Useful
As we gear up for the 2019 AP Chemistry examination, let us put to rest the confusion and controversy that surrounds the “mole of reaction”. Virtually ignored in many textbooks, the mole of reaction is both a fundamental idea and a useful pedagogical tool. This presentation will examine the rationale behind the mole of reaction, its history on the AP exam, and discuss strategies on how to incorporate this critical concept into your classroom throughout your AP course. The first hour of the webinar will focus on the mole of reaction topic and will be followed by a 30 minute of Q&A focusing on reviewing for the AP Chemistry Exam.
February 27, 2019 | Lab & Safety, Teaching Methods, Teaching Resources Why (not) Inquiry Labs? It's easy!
How do you make a rainbow cylinder? What ratio of hydrogen:oxygen is most explosive? How do we unmix it? What part of the flame is the hottest? These are the questions that drive inquiry-based labs. The standard for labs in many classrooms is still the packet with pre-lab introduction reading, some basic pre-lab questions, a prescribed procedure, pre-formatted data table, banal conclusions questions and probably some exam practice questions to finish it all up. Student thinking, writing, and learning is minimal. If your school or state mandates a minimum number of hands-on lab minutes, these meet the requirement and have little other benefit. Students truly enjoy these cookbook labs about as much as teachers enjoy grading them. So why keep doing labs this way? With a few changes in mindset, both teachers and students can turn almost any cookbook lab into an inquiry learning lab that is rich in writing and thinking. This webinar will provide examples of old cookbook labs, from easy to difficult, that are successfully converted to inquiry labs. An example lab report template based on Google Slides will be shared and some advice on useful grouping strategies will help teachers transition their lab assignments to something closer to inquiry learning that aligns with NGSS and State standards derived from the same.
February 21, 2019 | Teaching Methods, Advanced Chemistry Building a Bridge to AP: How to Boost Your Honors/Chemistry 1 Course to Support Your Goals
A strong honors/chemistry 1 curriculum can be one of the most powerful tools in boosting AP scores. This webinar will focus on ways in which reverse designing the curriculum in honors/Chemistry 1 can emphasize content and lab skills to save time during the crunch of an AP Class. In addition, tips for boosting enrollment and rapport in AP by establishing enthusiasm and expectations will also be discussed.
February 05, 2019 | Teaching Methods, Teaching Resources Implementing the Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER) Framework in the Chemistry Classroom
As science teachers, we routinely ask our students to explain their understanding or provide conclusions from the evidence they had gathered. However, we are consistently reminded that the majority of our students do not make the connections in their explanations or conclusions that we had hoped for. Writing quality scientific explanations is a skill and it is up to teachers to help students develop that skill. Fortunately, there is a framework that is gaining momentum among science teachers, which is designed to help teachers specifically target and develop this skill. Claim, Evidence, Reasoning.
January 30, 2019 | Lab & Safety, Teaching Resources Chemistry Experiments with Familiar, Inexpensive, and Easily Obtained Materials
Conducting experiments with materials that can be obtained at local grocery and retail stores provide a variety of advantages to chemistry teachers. By using commonly found items in experiments and demonstrations, teachers provide students with familiar and natural connections to investigations in chemistry. Such materials are generally convenient to obtain, allowing teachers to acquire supplies only a few days (and in some cases a few hours) prior to conducting lessons. In this presentation, several experiments and demonstrations that illustrate the chemistry of common materials will be explored.
January 16, 2019 | Teaching Resources The Disappearing Spoon With Sam Kean
Why did Gandhi hate iodine? Why did the Japanese kill Godzilla with missiles made of cadmium? How did radium nearly ruin Marie Curie’s reputation? And why did tellurium lead to the most bizarre gold rush in history? The Periodic Table is one of our crowning scientific achievements, but it’s also a treasure trove of passion, adventure, betrayal, and obsession. The Disappearing Spoon delves into every single element on the table and explains each one's role in science, money, mythology, war, the arts, medicine, alchemy, and other areas of human history, from the Big Bang through the end of time. Please join us as we kick off the International Year of the Periodic Table with a special presentation from Sam Kean, author of The Disappearing Spoon, Caesar’s Last Breath, The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons, and The Violinist’s Thumb.
January 09, 2019 | Teaching Methods Chemistry is for Everyone: Accommodations and Modifications for Success in Chemistry
Using a variety of strategies and techniques, chemistry teachers can help ensure that Special Education students can be fully integrated into the class and access the curriculum even if students have weak math skills or learning challenges.
November 07, 2018 | Teaching Methods, Teaching Resources Phenomodeling: Providing Scaffolding for Phenomena-based Modeling
Learn how to provide scaffolding for your students to create models and construct explanations of phenomena using fool-proof strategies. Ideal for any teacher new to using phenomena in the classroom.
November 01, 2018 | Teaching Resources The Faraday Holiday Lecture, Chemical Demonstrations and Alumni Outreach
Keeping in touch with former students, many of whom can be an asset to your program, can always be challenging. Teaching at a magnet school, where the majority of our students are not based in the neighborhood where the school is located, can be even more challenging. Learn how a British tradition that dates to the early 1800’s helped to shape one of the year’s most anticipated events at our school. Learn how we encourage our current study body to interact with alumni through a yearly chemical demonstration event.