ChemEd 2025

Use of a novel corequisite course to improve the outcomes for at-risk student populations will be presented using both quantitative and qualitative data and analysis.  

This presentation demonstrates how AI supports evidence-based teaching, offering beginner-friendly strategies to enhance student engagement, critical thinking, and metacognitive skills in high school science classrooms.

A new forensic chemistry course has been developed and implemented at Colorado State University. Among the teaching methodologies, the instructor used primary literature to base discussions, lecture activities, demos, as well as mastery-based objectives to evaluate students’ progress. The course has been taught three years in a row to chemistry majors and minors.

Interested in implementing POGIL in your classroom? In this workshop you will aquire practical understanding of POGIL pedagogy, and tips for facilitating a POGIL activity in your classroom. 

Modern technology relies on a host of metals. This presentation will discuss classroom activities developed to address sustainability and ethics related to the extraction and use of certain metals.

Getting microscale chemistry to work in a school setting brings challenges, though the educational and environmental benefits at scale are great.  This is the story of how it can work.  

Chemical safety, teacher´s awareness of risk assessment and sustainability, using microscale chemistry are crucial parts of future chemistry education. Experimental and inquiry based work is important in chemistry education.
 

The full integration of green chemistry into the undergraduate curriculum was necessary to engage our students in projects and discussions on sustainability. Foundational chemistry labs integrated green and sustainable chemistry into all labs, projects, and activities. We will share our journey from course review to implementation. We will also share resources and organizations, such as Beyond Benign and the Green Chemistry Commitment and GCTLC, as well as our open educational resource (OER) lab materials. 

We created a series of safety courses to remind teachers to monitor classrooms for potential hazards.  We will review important aspects of safety every teacher should know how to identify.

The process, product, and assessment of entirely new, integrative, chemistry undergrudate curriculum, Chemistry Unbound.

Because frequently-used study practices are ineffective, and research shows electronic screens are drastically decreasing mental focus, the instructor’s classes now include metacognitive instruction; students strongly approve.

A well-designed game can engage students in an enjoyable challenge while imparting valuable skills and ways of thinking.  This session will feature digital games and card games created by the presenters.
This session will feature Dimensional Analysis Duel, Electrostatic Forces Game, Periodic Table Games, a Redox Card Game and others. . .

Peace on Earth. “What’s love got to do with it? Got to do with it?  

Participants will create interactive digital lessons using software templates created by fellow chemistry teachers.   Investigate the power of video games to engage students in meaningful learning!  No coding experience is needed--the menu-based Unity interface will allow teachers to create a game in about 1.5-hours.  Participants with coding experience can delve deeper into Unity to create customized molecular simulations that can be played on phones, chrome books, or computers.

Prior to attending this session, participants should download a recent version of Unity (2022 version recommended) onto their laptop (Mac, Windows, or Linux) using the instructions in this video: https://youtu.be/d2bFZt0lPjY?si=yX6mbyE2b1L0v_Ux (Part of the Chemistry with Unity video series made by Steve Sogo).

Three participant pathways will be offered:
1. Creating a digital 2-Dimensional learning activity by completing an Excel spreadsheet and importing the data into Unity (easy--30 to 60 minutes). No coding required.
2. Creating a molecular simulation using 3-Dimensional objects (medium difficulty--60 to 120 minutes). No coding required, but delves deeper into the Unity interface.
3. Coding molecular behaviors in Unity (harder--90 to 150 minutes). Coding experience and familiarity with an IDE such as Visual Studio Code required.