Use ideas from this issue

Quick ways to keep up your CPD

• Top up your subject knowledge with the latest research, including: nanoparticles preventing tooth cavities, salt crystals growing legs, volcanoes assisting in preventing climate change, as well as spectroscopy detecting counterfeit whiskys
• Try teaching tips inspired by the latest in education research: how to probe students’ understanding of organic mechanisms and use self-regulation to nurture independent learning

Hot topics to discuss in the staffroom

• Diversity and inclusion: learn how the RSC’s president, Tom Welton thinks teachers can support LGBT+ diversity in chemistry education
• How to support perfectionistic students and turn perfectionism into a positive
• Effective strategies to support the aspirations of students for STEM subjects
• Expert advice for NQTs: Our new column answers trainee teachers’ questions about chatting in group tasks, talking through calculations, and what to do if your school isn’t working out

Great ideas to use in your classroom

• Covid-secure classrooms: How to teach effectively from two metres away, plus tips for motivating students to learn again
• Introduce your students to LGBT+ scientist and RSC president Tom Welton to show them there shouldn’t be barriers to their scientific achievement
• Bridge a common gap in students’ understanding of the reactivity series with this demonstration
• Teaching sustainability? Check out how dissolved trees could replace crude oil, with discussion and scaffolded structure strips activities (11–14), or how smart packaging and nanotechnology could make waste a thing of the past, with an information organiser activity (11–16)
• Boost your pupils’ learning in practicals with these CogSciSci-based tips
• Titration: five smart ways to help students get on top of this tricky topic
• Real-life context helps students learn. Use these examples for organic chemistry so students won’t be fazed by new scenarios in exam questions. Also use the recent ammonium nitrate explosion in Beirut to provide context for structure, bonding and enthalpy, with a worksheet (16–18) 
• Learn the simple ways you can use gestures to assist student understanding
• Teaching materials at 11–14? We’ve got ideas for activities, addressing misconceptions, formative assessment and progression to 14–16 – all in one place
• Improve students’ fluency with shapes and volumes, with downloadable diagnostic exercises and practice questions