Commentary pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
JCE Classroom Activities Virtual Issue: Celebrating 15 Years with the 15 Greatest Hits, 1997−2012 Erica K. Jacobsen* The Dalles, Oregon 97058 United States S Supporting Information *
ABSTRACT: The 15th anniversary of the launching of the JCE Classroom Activity series is highlighted. These hands-on, minds-on activities largely use grocery and hardware store materials to investigate a wide range of chemical concepts. While written for high school students, they are adaptable for use with other levels, from the very young up to adults. The top 15 most downloaded JCE Classroom Activities over the period of one year have been selected as the content of a Journal of Chemical Education virtual issue. This article describes the content and directs the reader to the virtual issue.
KEYWORDS: General Public, First-Year Undergraduate/General, High School/Introductory Chemistry, Elementary/Middle School Science, Hands-On Learning/Manipulatives, Internet/Web-Based Learning, Inquiry-Based/Discovery Learning
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be suitable ways to section out the JCE Classroom Activity series. However, with so many ways of looking at the series, we thought the decision of which content to highlight in this virtual issue should come from readers like you who access the activities themselves. The subset of activities that you will find in this virtual collection are readers’ “greatest hits”, those that had the largest number of accesses within the time frame of a year, from September 2010 to September 2011. I was curious to find out which activities appealed the most to readers. Would any of my personal favorites from over the years be at the top of the list? It is interesting to note that this greatest hits cross-section (Table 1) covers many of the other subsets we considered: cutting-edge themes of Color My Nanoworld, and Colors in Liquid Crystals (Figure 1); very inexpensive activities such as Colorful Lather Printing (Figure 2); those that can be prepared and stored away for emergency use such as Tick Tock, a Vitamin C Clock, and Aluminum−Air Battery. Included with this article as Supporting Information are three Excel documents: a complete listing of all activities, a document matching each activity with national science standards,3 and a document categorizing these activities as appropriate for outreach use in exhibit booth and workshop settings. I invite you to visit the virtual issue at http://pubs.acs.org/ page/pr/thematic.html. If you are not already acquainted with the JCE Classroom Activity series, it is a great place to sample
he Journal of Chemical Education can still be considered a newcomer to the virtual issue arena, with one other under its belt so far. The theme selected for that first issue was The Chemical Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.1 It was a good choice to get our feet wet, as the content for the issue was largely a given: 17 Sherlock stories had been published in JCE, so the virtual issue could include all the stories, along with some introductory material, without becoming too bulky. Next up in the virtual issue queue also seemed a natural: JCE Classroom Activities. So many readers have found these activities attractive and useful, with their use of materials available from local grocery and hardware stores, wide range of chemical concepts covered, a ready-to-photocopy-and-use format, and the knowledge that each one has been tested. Although all were designed with the high school chemistry student in mind, many can be adjusted to fit different grade levels; I have heard of readers using them with preschoolers all the way up to university level. September 2012 marks 15 years since the first activity, A Refrigerator Magnet Analog of Scanning-Probe Microscopy,2 was published. As of May 2012, a total of 112 Activities have been published. A big question during planning of the virtual issue was how to “slice-and-dice” the content for the virtual issue, because including the entire collection would make an unwieldy issue. Should the issue focus on the activities that address the largest number of national science standards? Maybe those that are the least expensive to do, à la “science on a shoestring”? Those that are best for emergency use? Green activities? Those with cutting-edge themes? A subset of those most appropriate for various grade levels? Any of these would © 2012 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
Published: August 1, 2012 1092
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Sequestration of Divalent Metal Ion by Superabsorbent Polymer in Diapers [106] And the Oscar Goes to...A Chemist! [107] Flame Tests: Which Ion Causes the Color? [67] Using Archimedes’ Principle To Explain Floating and Sinking Cans [108] A Novel, Simplified Scheme for Plastics Identification [104] My Acid Can Beat Up Your Acid! [109] Colors in Liquid Crystals [73]
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AluminumAir Battery [93]
How Heavy Is a Balloon? Using the Ideal Gas Law [100] Tick Tock, a Vitamin C Clock [41] Fluorescent Fun: Using a Homemade Fluorometer [91]
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Enjoy a Hot Drink, Thanks to Chemistry! [103]
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Colorful Lather Printing [89]
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Activity Title [Number in Series]
A Sticky Situation: Chewing Gum and Solubility [105] Color My Nanoworld [62]
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Reaction rates; oxidation−reduction Atomic and molecular structure; fluorescence
Nanotechnology; phases and phase transitions; spectroscopy Aqueous solution chemistry; calorimetry and thermochemistry; stoichiometry Electrochemistry; oxidation− reduction Gases; physical properties
Acids, bases
Physical properties; polymer chemistry
Materials science; nanotechnology; spectroscopy Physical properties; surface science; water chemistry Aqueous solution chemistry; ionic bonding; polymer chemistry; water chemistry Calorimetry and thermochemistry; conductivity Atomic and molecular structure; qualitative analysis Physical properties
Polarity; solubility
Chemical Topics Explored
Wright, S. W. J. Chem. Educ. 2002, 79, 40A−40B; DOI: 10.1021/ed079p40A. Wahab, M. F. J. Chem. Educ. 2007, 84, 1312A−1312B; DOI: 10.1021/ed084p1312A.
Johnson, B. O.; Van Milligan, H. J. Chem. Educ. 2009, 86, 224A−224B; DOI: 10.1021/ed086p224A.
Tamez, M.; Yu, J. H. J. Chem. Educ. 2007, 84, 1936A−1936B; DOI: 10.1021/ed084p1936A.
Pinto, G.; Oliver-Hoyo, M. T.; Llorens-Molina, J. A. J. Chem. Educ. 2009, 86, 1280A−1280B; DOI: 10.1021/ed086p1280A.
Lisensky, G.; Boatman, E. J. Chem. Educ. 2005, 82, 1360A−1360B; DOI: 10.1021/ed082p1360A.
Putti, A. J. Chem. Educ. 2011, 88, 1278−1280; DOI: 10.1021/ed100849b.
Harris, M. E.; Walker, B. J. Chem. Educ. 2010, 87, 147−149; DOI: 10.1021/ed800055p.
Sanger, M. J. J. Chem. Educ. 2011, 88, 272−273; DOI: 10.1021/ed100861h.
Sanger, M. J. J. Chem. Educ. 2004, 81, 1776A−1776B; DOI: 10.1021/ed081p1776A.
Howder, C. R.; Groen, K. D.; Kuntzleman, T. S. J. Chem. Educ. 2010, 87, 1060−1061; DOI: 10.1021/ed900013z.
Chen, Y.-H.; Lin, J.-Y.; Lin, L.-P.; Liang, H.; Yaung, J.-F. J. Chem. Educ. 2010, 87, 920−921; DOI: 10.1021/ed100415e.
Hershberger, S. A. S.; Nance, M.; Sarquis, A. M.; Hogue, L. M. J. Chem. Educ. 2007, 84, 608A−608B; DOI: 10.1021/ed084p608A.
́ V.; Román-López, S. N. J. Chem. Educ. 2010, 87, 396−397; DOI: Montes-González, I.; Cintron-Maldonado, J. A.; Pérez-Medina, I. E.; Montes-Berrios, 10.1021/ed800135j. McFarland, A. D.; Haynes, C. L.; Mirkin, C. A.; Van Duyne, R. P.; Godwin, H. A. J. Chem. Educ. 2004, 81, 544A−544B; DOI: 10.1021/ed081p544A.
Publication Information and Links
Table 1. Top 15 Most Downloaded Titles from the JCE Classroom Activity Series, September 2010−September 2011
Journal of Chemical Education Commentary
dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed300347g | J. Chem. Educ. 2012, 89, 1092−1094
Journal of Chemical Education
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Commentary
REFERENCES
(1) Virtual Issue 1: The Chemical Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. http://pubs.acs.org/page/jceda8/vi/1 (accessed Jul 2012). (2) Lorenz, J. K.; Olson, J. A.; Campbell, D. J.; Lisensky, G. C.; Ellis, A. B. J. Chem. Educ. 1997, 74, 1032A−1032B; DOI: 10.1021/ ed074p1032A. (3) National Academy of Sciences. National Science Education Standards; The National Academy Press: Washington, DC, 1996. http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=4962 (accessed Jul 2012). (4) American Chemical Society National Chemistry Week Home Page. http://portal.acs.org/portal/PublicWebSite/education/ outreach/ncw/index.htm (accessed Jul 2012).
Figure 1. A liquid crystal sandwich is warmed by touch to produce bright colors. See Lisensky, G.; Boatman, E. J. Chem. Educ. 2005, 82, 1360A−1360B; DOI: 10.1021/ed082p1360A.
Figure 2. Shaving cream and food coloring are used to marble paper. See Hershberger, S. A. S.; Nance, M.; Sarquis, A. M.; Hogue, L. M. J. Chem. Educ. 2007, 84, 608A−608B; DOI: 10.1021/ed084p608A.
the wealth of resources that it offers. For example, check out Color My Nanoworld and other nanotech-related activities to use in October with the 2012 National Chemistry Week theme Nanotechnology: The Smallest BIG Idea in Science.4 If you are already familiar with the series, see whether your favorites made the greatest hits list and find some new ones to try. To get you started, numbers one and three on the greatest hits list are available for free download at http://pubs.acs.org/page/ jceda8/classroom.html (accessed Jul 2012). That page also includes an up-to-date list of the entire series.
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ASSOCIATED CONTENT
S Supporting Information *
Three spreadsheet documents describing all 112 JCE Classroom Activities and matching them with national science standards and for potential use in outreach environments. This material is available via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org.
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AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected]. Notes
The authors declare no competing financial interest. 1094
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