Get on board with self-led professional development

Many teachers find accessing high-quality, subject-specific professional development difficult, especially alongside the day-to-day demands of the role. That’s why RSC Education is developing a suite of self-led courses that you can complete at your own pace, at times that fit around your schedule. We’ve designed our subject knowledge courses to strengthen your understanding of core chemistry concepts and support confident teaching through effective, topic-specific strategies.

Four subject knowledge courses are now available: Organic chemistry, Structure and bonding, Quantitative chemistry and Particle and atomic models. These courses consist of stage-specific modules divided into focused subtopics. Each subtopic includes: a key terms list; a Prepare section covering the essential subject knowledge learners need; and a Deliver section featuring specific teaching strategies, common misconceptions, careers links and real-world contexts for that subtopic.

Invest in your professional growth and gain the confidence, knowledge and skills to support both your own development and your students’ success

Each course includes a range of interactive activities, including practical videos, animations and multiple-choice questions. Discussion threads encourage you to reflect on your classroom practice, explore scenarios and share ideas with fellow participants. Reflective tasks throughout the modules also support you in considering how you can apply approaches in your teaching. After completing the Quantitative chemistry course, one participant said: ‘These approaches will make my teaching more explicit, responsive and structured, leading to improved pupil outcomes and greater confidence in quantitative chemistry.’

Why choose the RSC’s CPD?

Teachers face significant time pressures, so we want to ensure our courses are a worthy investment of your time. We carefully select course authors with extensive expertise in chemistry education, all of whom are experienced teachers and teacher educators. We’ve designed the course content to be applicable across curriculums and exam boards, helping teachers translate learning into classroom practice regardless of their teaching context and experience. After completing Particle model (ages 11+), one teacher fed back that the ‘module strengthened both conceptual mastery and instructional effectiveness’.

Science teaching survey data and course feedback shows that teachers of all career stages benefit from subject-specific professional development. We also know that not every teacher delivers across the full age range, so we wanted to offer more flexible pathways that reflect the needs of our community. Our latest course, Organic chemistry, is available in three versions:

1. Modules for teaching learners aged 14+
2. Modules for teaching learners aged 16+
3. A combined course for teaching learners aged 14+ and 16+.

What’s next?

Our ambition is to make professional development relevant and accessible so you can engage with what matters most to you. Our support for teachers across the world will continue with new courses coming later this year, including Reactivity series, electrolysis and redox.

Invest in your professional growth and gain the confidence, knowledge and skills to support both your own development and your students’ success – enrol on self-led courses from RSC Education today.