A science teacher using a long splint to light some hydrogen bubbles in a large fireball

Meet the sports-mad chemistry teacher

2024-07-25T07:00:00+01:00By

Head of chemistry Harry Lord shares what inspires him in the classroom

Education in Chemistry

Photograph of Education in Chemistry magazine. Image text: receive a free bimonthly copy of EiC when you register for Teach Chemistry

Ideas

A small ladder leans on a book showing the definition of the word particle

Four super replicable steps to embed new vocabulary

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Effective tips for teaching tier 2 and 3 terms that’ll improve learning outcomes

A shiny new chain and a rusty one

4 ways to teach redox in terms of electrons

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Use these teacher-tested approaches to help learners gain a deeper understanding of redox reactions

High school students with pens and paper looking at balls of play dough laid out in the shape of an atom

Model atomic structure with playdough

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Engage your learners with these fun, tactile ideas and models

Exciting demos

A hand using scissor-handle tweezers to hold a piece of paper that is on fire but not burning

Non-burning paper: investigate the fire triangle and conditions for combustion

A glass beaker pouring liquid uphill into another

Illustrate polymer properties with a self-siphoning solution

A photo of a test tube of a clear liquid containing with brown-edged blue liquid blobs. The test tube is also submerged in a clear liquid.

Demonstrate concentration and density with a transition metal colloid cell

A round glass flask glowing blue

Highlight transition metal chemistry with an oscillating luminol reaction

A series of photos of glass beakers of a clear blue liquid turning to an opaque orange. Then another clear chemical is added by syringe and the liquid turns back to clear blue.

Reversible reactions with transition metal complexes

  • Non-burning paper: investigate the fire triangle and conditions for combustion

  • Illustrate polymer properties with a self-siphoning solution

  • Demonstrate concentration and density with a transition metal colloid cell

  • Highlight transition metal chemistry with an oscillating luminol reaction

  • Reversible reactions with transition metal complexes

Evidence-based teaching

Two characters contemplating an NMR on a screen and the bonds it might represent

Improve your learners’ NMR interpretation skills

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Encourage students to determine and draw the structures of simple organic molecules with this free, online resource

A group of people collaborating

How best to engage students in group work

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Use evidence-based research to help students get the most out of group work

High school students using tablet computers

Reduce cognitive load with an augmented reality learning environment

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Discover how to use augmented reality to help students visualise organic mechanisms

Opinion

One person enters a door on the left door another person leaves a door on the right carrying a box of belongings

Successfully navigating team changes

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Staff change is unavoidable, but there are ways to smooth the transition – including cake

A cartoon of women working in different areas of science

STEM is an attractive career prospect for young women and girls

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The key is to use clever ways to get them engaged early

Lots of differently coloured fingerprints approach chemistry equipment

Why equity and inclusion are key issues for chemistry teachers

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Louise Archer from the ASPIRES project explains the reasons you should prioritise science capital in your classroom

How to teach ...

Students in a school lab using a burette filler to measure liquid for a titration

How to teach titration post-16

A bottle of bromine water next to two test tubes - one contains only clear liquid and the other contains clear liquid sitting on an orange liquid

Everything you need to introduce alkenes

A magnified image showing large cords, some smooth and some scaley

How to teach polymers at post-16

A cartoon showing iron ore being mined then processed in a furnace before being made into buildings, household goods and ships

How to teach extraction of metals at 14–16

Tubes of flourescent spheres and organic molcules

How to teach chromatography at post-16

  • How to teach titration post-16

  • Everything you need to introduce alkenes

  • How to teach polymers at post-16

  • How to teach extraction of metals at 14–16

  • How to teach chromatography at post-16

News & analysis

Different brands and flavours of vape juice on a shop shelf

Vaping could cause lung disease

Favourite ester flavours break down into toxic byproducts, predicts AI research

A person in overalls and protective gloves holding a mass of curled metal strips next to a large pile of the same metal strips

Electrolysis gets a boost from metal scraps

Waste metals transformed into catalysts for clean fuel production

Stacked spheres showing the molecular structure of a diamond

New method grows larger diamonds

Use this real-world context when teaching about giant covalent structures

Firefighters in protective silver suits spray a thick white foam from a large hose

PFAS levels in surface and groundwater exposed

Are forever chemicals lurking in your water?

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