Chemistry Teaching Materials

[Ashlyn Robello]

AACTstrives to provide teachers of chemistry with the best teaching resources. Most of the Classroom Resource Library is made up of content from great teachers who created and shared their own work.

The library is organized into three grade bands (elementary, middle and high). High school resources that are appropriate for advanced classes, such as AP or IB chemistry, can be found in our AP Collection.

A large collection of multimedia resources, including animations, simulations and videos are also available for use. Additionally, select resources are highlighted as part of themed resource collections. All of the available teaching resources are classified in the library by topic, subtopic, as well as resource type. We also have External Teaching Resources from the chemistry community.

Understanding NSF Research: Chemistry

Resource: All Audiences

From the foods we eat to the fragrances we smell, chemistry plays a key role in nearly every aspect of life. For instance, soaps, building materials, adhesives, vitamins and pharmaceuticals all rely on chemistry. Plastics and polymers revolutionized the world and now researchers are discovering ways to make these materials more earth-friendly.

Chemistry Now

Resource: Educators, Students (middle-high school), General Public

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This website hosts a video series exploring the chemistry of common objects in our world and the changes they undergo. NBC Learn, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and NSF joined forces to create the series in celebration of the International Year of Chemistry. To delve deeper into the world of chemistry, there are: additional videos, including current and archival news stories related to chemistry, and lesson plans from NSTA for middle- and high-school students.

ChemEd DL: Chemistry Education Digital Library

Resource: Educator (high school-college) and Student (K-12 and above)

Describing itsefl as "everything you need to teach and to learn chemistry," this site is a collaborative, community-driven effort to provide digital resources, tools and services to aid in teaching and learning chemistry. Resources including interactive simulations, tutorials, activities, reference materials, images, video and more, spanning all aspects of chemcial education. The site offers collections for different areas of chemistry and for different educational levels (K-12, higher education).

WWW Chemistry Guide

Resource: Educator and Information Research (high school and above)

A collection of more than 250 links aimed primarily at chemists and researchers but also useful to teachers, organized by categories. The sites are reviewed by a team of editors for excellence and those sites offering the best information, resources, design and navigation are included.

Chem4Kids

Resource: Students (middle-high school)

Rader's Chem4Kids is a website for students learning the basics of chemistry. The site provides explanations, activities and other resources to aid students (and everyone) who wants to understand matter, atoms, elements, the periodic table, reachtions, biochemistry and more.

Welcome to the Organic Chemistry Educational Resources (OrganicERs) faculty learning community, a web-based community primarily designed for college-level instructors to network and to collaborate; and to access, share and develop curriculum materials. In 2020 NSF approved a grant to resume ALOC workshops starting in 2021.

Participants in the 2023 Active Learning in Organic Chemistry Workshop can visit this page for information and resources related to the workshop. Access to the page is limited to workshop participants. Some workshop resources are available to others. Workshop material for the 2021 workshop participants can be found here. Materials for the 2022 workshop are also available.

The organicers.org site provides free access to numerous resources. Once you have registered and signed in to the site (see menu above), you may add new resources, contribute curriculum materials and participate in discussions on the forums. Most of the discussion among OrganicERs members these days takes place in our Facebook group.

As a new Assistant Professor teaching a large organic chemistry lecture (150+ learners), I do my best to integrate my research into my instruction. My doctoral research with Maria Oliver-Hoyo at NC State involved the development of instructional resources that utilize physical and augmented reality models to support learners in visualizing the concepts relevant to infrared (IR) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectral elucidation.

The Department of Chemistry offers a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry with a Materials Chemistry Track. In materials chemistry, molecular-level understanding drives the design, synthesis, and characterization of materials with interesting and useful properties. Insight into catalytic, electronic, optical, or structural characteristics of substances allows them to be tailored for different applications. This track includes a breadth of coverage in both hard and soft materials and prepares students for further study in materials chemistry or employment in a variety of industries.

Graduation requirements include a requirement for 3 hours of International and Cultural Diversity courses and 3 hours of Cultural Discourse courses. A course satisfying a Core category, a college/department requirement, or a general elective can be used to satisfy this requirement.

RIT offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs that prepare you for professional work in research laboratories and industrial settings. The materials science graduate program seeks to provide solutions for several different fields, including energy, medicine, clothing, and equipment production.

Our chemistry and materials science and engineering graduate programs prepare professional scientists by offering curricula that allow students to specialize in their chosen fields while engaging in rigorous, meaningful research using state-of-the-art instrumentation and facilities, under the guidance of a faculty mentor.

A graduate certificate in materials science and engineering that develops a foundation of materials-oriented knowledge, conceptualization, product development, and production decisions needed to strive in engineering.

Chemistry is intrinsically a part of our society from the fuels we use, the air we breathe, and the water we drink to the complex chemical behaviors of our own bodies. Chemistry is involved in the development of myriad materials such as computer chips, packaging materials, and alternative fuels. Increasing numbers of policy and ethical choices facing the global community involve issues where chemistry plays a pivotal role. This minor provides students with the opportunity to study chemistry in order to build a secondary area of expertise in support of their major or as an additional area of interest.

Co-ops and internships take your knowledge and turn it into know-how. Science co-ops include a range of hands-on experiences, from co-ops and internships and work in labs to undergraduate research and clinical experience in health care settings. These opportunities provide the hands-on experience that enables you to apply your scientific, math, and health care knowledge in professional settings while you make valuable connections between classwork and real-world applications.

Undergraduate research is one of the greatest strengths of our School of Materials and Chemistry Science programs. Alumni often come back to report that their undergraduate research experience is what set them apart upon graduation and strongly poised them for success. Students are encouraged to participate in undergraduate research experience under the guidance of faculty mentors as early as their freshman year. Students can also apply for summer research internships at RIT and other institutions. Once a student has worked at least one semester with a faculty mentor in our school, they may apply to the Chemistry Research Scholars Program.

Faculty in the School of Chemistry and Materials Science at RIT are experts in their field of study. They bring their professional skills and experience to the classroom, teaching, and research labs. Our faculty are scientists who strive to make the world a better place. Chemistry, biochemistry, and materials science are central to the knowledge and skill sets necessary to address our global challenges.

RIT is spearheading a transformative $7.3 million research hub in collaboration with the University of Rochester. The center will study the lifecycle of microplastics, including its origin as plastic waste, distribution, and movement in the Great Lakes freshwater ecosystem.

There were 3 types of teachers that emerged during COVID closures and the abrupt switch to online teaching and learning. The first was the teacher that took their old materials, took pictures, and posted them for students to find a way to submit their answers. The second type of teacher was the one that could not make up their mind about the applications for their classroom and tried anything and everything. And lastly, there was the teacher who started the school year looking for a few reliable tools to keep students learning.

My class is structured so that the students receive their resource materials though Wakelet.com which allows you to curate a variety of resources. For each topic, I make sure to include reading resources, video resources, and practice resources. I also include a link to the Loom video that I had created for the lesson and the Google Slides presentation containing the notes on the content.

I used EdPuzzle to enhance the lesson or the topics we were covering. Students were able to watch the video and answer the questions. I was able to allow students to rewatch videos with difficult concepts to improve their understanding and to receive a better grade. Another application I utilized was CK12.org. This OER site offers STEM textbooks with adaptive practice activities. I would have my students read, listen, and watch videos about certain specific topics in Chemistry and then complete the adaptive practice materials, allowing them to work at their own pace.

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