THE RELATION OF HIGH SCHOOL CHEMISTRY TO GENERAL CHEMISTRY IN COLLEGES1

We present a spreadsheet-assisted exercise using Microsoft Excel software for the determination of the universal gas constant, R, in 35,712 different units. This large number of units arises from a simple enumeration of possible pressure-volume unit combinations and energy unit combinations covering SI (metric), Imperial (British), and American units. In turn, various units for force and area used for defining pressure, and various units for force and distance used for defining energy are explored. This presentation serves as an excellent exercise for high school and undergraduate students to master the skill of dimensional analysis, unit conversions, and basic combinatorics in general chemistry and physical chemistry courses. Instructors can also use the described exercise of constructing conversion matrices to train students in how to efficiently use the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet program.

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Effectiveness of using biographical sketches in the teaching of high school chemistry

10.31274/rtd-180813-14790 ◽

1956 ◽

Author(s):

Ronald Ray Easter

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

High School Chemistry ◽

Biographical Sketches

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Visualizing chemistry teachers’ enacted assessment design practices to better understand barriers to “best practices”

Chemistry Education Research and Practice ◽

10.1039/d0rp00179a ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Adam G. L. Schafer ◽

Victoria M. Borland ◽

Ellen J. Yezierski

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Best Practices ◽

Formative Assessments ◽

Learning Goals ◽

Specific Method ◽

High School Chemistry ◽

Chemistry Teachers ◽

Assessment Design ◽

Teachers Beliefs ◽

Representational Level

Even when chemistry teachers’ beliefs about assessment design align with literature-cited best practices, barriers can prevent teachers from enacting those beliefs when developing day-to-day assessments. In this paper, the relationship between high school chemistry teachers’ self-generated “best practices” for developing formative assessments and the assessments they implement in their courses are examined. Results from a detailed evaluation of several high school chemistry formative assessments, learning goals, and learning activities reveal that assessment items are often developed to require well-articulated tasks but lack either alignment regarding representational level or employ only one representational level for nearly all assessment items. Implications for the development of a chemistry-specific method for evaluating alignment are presented as well as implications for high school chemistry assessment design.

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