HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER PROGRAM
SERMACS 2011 will offer special programming for high school teachers, beginning Saturday morning at 8 am October 29th with a special workshop on Green Chemistry presented by BeyondBenign (http://www.beyondbenign.org/). The High School Teacher Program will conclude around 4:30 p.m. with several presentations scheduled through out the day.
8:00-8:25 Continental Breakfast and Welcome
Kristine Smetana, Coordinator for the HS Teacher Program, John Tyler Community College, Chester, VA.
8:30-9:00 Changes in Virginia SOL testing
Barbara Young, Science Specialist Virginia Department of Education
Changes are planned for the way students take SOLs in Virginia in terms of the types of questions students will be asked. With the recent changes to the SOLs, teachers may have questions about additions and deletions to the content (i.e., how does SOL 6 now fit in to the test). Information about the changes will be discussed.
9:00-11:00 Green Chemistry Workshop
Kate Anderson, Beyond-Benign (A Warner-Babcock Company)
A 2-hour workshop will introduce teachers and their students to the topic of Green Chemistry and to provide hands-on inquiry based curriculum units (experiments and materials in which students can explore this emerging approach to demonstrating green chemistry technologies—chemical manufacturing and sustainability as we.
11:10-11:50 “Keeping the High School Chemistry Lab Safe for the Student”
Joe Crockett, Bridgewater College, Bridgewater, VA.
Lab safety involves many different aspects from the physical hazards of our labs to the chemicals we use. We also need to be able to communicate hazards to students who are not expert with the chemicals or do not completely understand what a chemical hazard is. We will be looking at hazards which occur in the lab, how we can pro-actively remove them to make our labs safer, and how we can communicate with our students about the hazards.
(Break)
12:00-1:30 Awards Lunch (Potomac Room)
Teacher Award: Susan Smith, NC
Special Presentation: “Bizarre Biochemistry”
Dr. Charles Grisham, University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA.
1:40-2:40 Chemical Experiments in the Classroom
Brian W. Moores, Department of Chemistry, Randolph-Macon College Ashland, VA.
Chemistry teachers at all levels will no doubt agree that experimenting with chemical phenomena in the laboratory is an essential component of the introductory course. Even, today, as chemistry teachers struggle with school science budgets, chemistry Standards of Learning, and coping with chemical hazards in the laboratory, hands-on experience for students is till vitally important. In this session we will talk about some “dos and don’ts” of classroom demonstrations, explore and carry out up-to-date sources of demonstration procedures that teachers can do safely that exemplify several chemical principles and can be done using readily available and inexpensive materials.
(Break)
2:50-3:30 Chemistry of Air, Space and Water: Ready-to-Use Resources from the Journal of Chemical Education
Laura E. Slocum, Journal of Chemical Education
Learn about several ready-to-use resources from the Journal of Chemical Education (JCE) related to the meeting’s “Chemistry of Air, Space, and Water” theme, as well as experience a hands-on JCE Classroom Activity.
3:35-4:05 “Incorporating Foldables into the Chemistry Classroom”
Jill Barker, Millbrook High School Winchester, VA
Teachers are always looking for ways to help students become actively engaged. Making foldables is one instructional strategy used in my classroom to help students with challenging chemistry topics. Directions for and examples of foldables I will share include significant figures, heating/cooling curve, atom structure, periodic trends, nomenclature, and reaction types.
4:05-4:30 Share-a-thon
Teachers may bring materials such as labs, write-ups on demonstration examples, or even share great ways to teach difficult topics. If you have exercises, worksheets, etc., that might benefit other chemistry teachers, please feel free to share!
Great Door Prizes will also be on hand! Do you have a Merck Index?? Or are in need of some really cool chemistry books or lab experiments? Or maybe even walk away with some great prizes pertaining to Chemical Demonstrations in the Classroom! This day is full of fun-learning for us, and new activities and ways of teaching to share with our students to get them more excited about chemistry!
**High school teachers planning to attend should register for SERMACS 2011.
