New England Association of Chemistry Teachers News

April 2026 ChemChat Thermodynamics

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 15:40:36 GMT

On April 9th, seven teachers joined me in pondering how to teach thermodynamics. The video of the 'Chat can be found here.

A lively discussion was held on the issue of particle modeling. Most thermodynamics is taught from a mathematical or statistical point of view. How does one model enthalpy? We ended up with bond energy-distance graphs but no "traditional" particle models.

How deep is deep enough was another topic. While there are guidelines for AP classes, below that lies a huge variation in how much thermo gets covered. Check out the video for more details.

The remaining ChemChats this year are:

May 7th Phenomenon-Based Chemistry (registration now open)
June 11th Books and Articles: Recommended Reading for Teachers and Students

- Sue Klemmer, ChemChat Facilitator

March 2026 ChemChat PREPPING FOR THE AP EXAM

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 21:11:49 GMT

10 teachers joined me for a dynamic discussion oh how to rep for the AP exam.We also diverged for a bit on how to keep students engaged: clickers, group whiteboards, and Socrative were all recommended.

As for AP prep, we started with a presentation from Carlin Robinson on a free part of PIVOT. Here is her email. She can sign you up for a limited time free access to the AP test prep and lab materials.

We then discussed favorite online expert resources. So many good resources were mentioned that I have a link to the Chat so you can see everything that was posted. [We didn't end up putting anyting in thenususal google.drive folder.] The big names were Michael Farabaugh (one place to start is here), Sue Briggs, Kristen Vanderveen and Bozeman Science. And of course the AP Central released test questions, found here.

Here is a link to the video of the Chat.

The next ChemChat will be held Thursday, April 9th from 4-5 pm EST. The topic is THERMODYNAMICS.

The remaining ChemChats for this school year will be May 7th (Phenomenon Based Chemistry, back by popular demand) and June 11th (send me a topic!). Then I take a break for July and restart in August.

February 2026 ChemChat "Electrochemistry"

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 22:12:01 GMT

Five teachers spanning the USA from CA to New England had a wide-ranging discussion of electrochemistry. You will find a lot of activity and information in the google folder here. The video of the ChemChat is here. And I am trying something new this month: here is a link to the ChemChat chat text. These "conversations" have links that can be useful. Let me know if you want this to continue (sklemmer@mac.com).

Highlights of the discussion included what activities gave the best "bang for the buck" when time is limited: we agreed some type of electrolysis is probably the best at getting multiple core concepts across. But we also looked at redox activities, galvanic cells, metal reactivity vs. standard potentials, and resourc es such as the ChemMatters archive of articles and APTeach.

Here are the upcoming ChemChats, all held on Zoom from 4:00-5:00 pm EST.

March 12th: Prepping for the AP Test
April 9th: Thermodynamics
May 7th: Phenomenon-Based Chemistry
June 11th: TBA

Stay warm, my fellow chemists -

Sue Klemmer, ChemChat facilitator

January 2026 ChemChat "Favorite Demos"

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 22:18:10 GMT

Four teachers joined me Jan. 7th to talk about their favorite demos. We started with a request for demonstrations on solubility and intermolecular forces, and variations of the "mix-water-and-alcohol" phenomenon were offered. Mixing the two in a small diameter glass tube showed the most dramatic reduction in volume (fill half with water, then the other half with alcohol, cap and mix), while doing it in a graduated cylinder allowed a quantitative measurement of the reduction. We wondered how much difference in reduction would result from using different alcohols, and some suggested coloring the water. Also, it was was noted that adding salt would reconstitute separate alcohol and saltwater layers.

We then touched on the reduction of copper oxide to copper (see Royal Society video here) and of malachite (see this Royal Society video) and noted a good manual on microscale gas experiments that includes "gassing copper" might still be around (Microscale Gas Chemistry by Mattson, Anderson and Mattson). The conversation also included favorite silver nitrate demos and a cool gas law demo: connect a small balloon and a big balloon with a stopcock. Predict what happens when you open the stopcock. Surprise! The gas from the small balloon rushes into the larger balloon. Hmmmm.

Unfortunately I botched the video so this one is not available. Sigh.

The next ChemChat open discussion will be held Feb. 12th and the topic is "Electrochemistry". Registrations are open under "Events".

- Sue Klemmer, ChemChat facilitator

December 11th ChemChat: Holiday Chemistry

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 22:08:08 GMT

Ten teachers gathered to share ideas on what to do at the end of the year, when both focus and attendance can be low.

Various "snow labs" started the discussion, and we all agreed it was important to avoid Christmas references in most schools in order to be inclusive.

The discussion then ranged into lots of different content areas, from playing with ice to absorbant polymers and saturated solutions to the distillation of wood. Multiple files can be found on this google.drive folder.

The Zoom recording can be found here.

The next ChemChat will be held on Thursday, January 8th from 4-5 pm. The topic is "favorite demonstrations". Registrations are open: see "Events".

At this point I am soliciting topics for February through June. You can send them to me at sklemmer@mac.com

November 2025 ChemChat

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 22:17:47 GMT

Ten teachers had a very informative and lively discussion about AI in the Classroom, looking at both the teacher side and the student side. Two podcasts were recommended for those who want to explore this further: skills21.org/podcast has several, and PBS's Wonder of Science posted this one. There is also a rich diversity of resources in our google folder.

Want to watch the ChemChat? It is available on YouTube here.

Upcoming ChemChats:

Dec. 11th 4 pm EST "Holiday Chemistry"
Jan 8th 4 pm EST "Favorite Demonstrations (postponed from October)

Sept ChemChat "Google Classroom"

Tue, 16 Sep 2025 12:46:16 GMT

Seven teachers joined me in a lively discussion of how to use google classroom and the google suite of products. We ended up not saving any resources to a folder, but you can go here to see a recording of the 'Chat.

A highlight of the discussion revolved around organization. Several system for organizing materials for students were tossed around, including folders and icons. It was noted that learning how to organize information, whether in real paper folders or some digital format, is a valuable soft skill that is unlikely to become outdated any time soon. YOu can find a YouTube recording of the 'Chat here.

A second highlight was Sean Regan's sharing of his conditional formating of google.drive spreadsheets to make interactive lessons. If you are a member of AACT ( highly recommended!) try this link to read an article on his work.

Registration for the Oct. 9th ChemChat on Favorite Demonstrations is now open in "Events". Note that ChemChats, unlike division workshops, are open to nonmembers of NEACT.

The remaining fall NEACT ChemChats are:

Oct 9th Favorite Demos

Nov. 13th AI in the Chem Classroom

Dec. 11th Holiday Chemistry (or What to I do when half the class has left for vacation?)

Aug ChemChat "Real World Chemistry"

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 12:40:00 GMT

12 teachers had a lively discussion of real world chemistry. This piggybacked on the Summer Conference, which had the same theme. One resource that was mentioned a lot was AACT. Did you know that for members you can not only find activities and lessons, but also watch any of their webinars? AND they have all 33 years of ChemMatters articles, fully indexed. AACT is found at https://teachchemistry.org/.

This google.drive folder has a great lab on titrating yellow mustard, plus a very smelly lab, and one of the ChemMatters articles: The Crash of Flight 143, which crashed due to a dimensional analysis error.

The video of the ChemChat can be found here.

Please join us Sept. 11th for a look at the google suite of programs. Need help with google classroom or have a cool tip? We'll be online from 4-5 pm EST. See Events for registration.

June ChemChat

Thu, 12 Jun 2025 21:10:14 GMT

4 teachers from NH, ME, MA, and Korea (yes, this brave soul got up at 5 am to join us!) held a wide-ranging discussion on June 12th. We started out sharing the realities of teaching in small schools, such as teaching in rooms not equipped for chemistry and with very limited equipment, and teaching 2 levels of chem at the same time in the same space. We moved on to handling AP under these conditions and everyone agreed you do the best your can with what you've got. Can't do some of the labs? Then dig into other aspects of the curriculum such as good experimental analysis techniques or particle modeling. I did not record this session. Two resources that were mentioned during the 'Chat were Adrian Dingle's Chemistry Page for AP resources and the use of simple alcohol burners (like these on amazon) when gas is not available.

ChemChats goes on break for July, but will be back on August 21st (a little later in the month than our usual 2nd Thursday) at 4 pm. A topic has not yet been chosen, but registration will be open shortly and when I have a topic I will amend the registration notice.

- Sue Klemmer, ChemChat moderator

May ChemChat

Fri, 09 May 2025 11:40:56 GMT

ChemChats are a service NEACT offers freely to all chemistry teachers everywhere: nonmembers are welcome.

On May 7th eight teachers from Maine to Wisconsin had a lively conversation about "End of the Year Activities". You can find the Zoom recording here.

A variety of options were discussed, from extended labs and experimental projects to research opportunities to deeper dives into curriculum topics not touched during the year. You can find some of these ideas in our resource folder on google.drive, uploaded here. (You can still add to this folder, too!)

The last ChemChat of the 2024-2025 school year will be held June 12th from 4:00-5:00 pm EST. The topic is "Summer Work for Students". Registration is now open in "Events".

Note that ChemChats will take a break in July. ChemChats will resume August 14th, Registration for that event will open July 1st (there will be an email that goes out to members). The tentative topic is "Beyond the Textbooks: Other Books for Chem Classes."

If i don't see you in June, have a wonderful end of your year,

Sue Klemmer, ChemChat moderator

April ChemChat

Thu, 10 Apr 2025 21:14:49 GMT

We had quite an animated discussion on EL learners in Chemistry on April 10th, ranging from cultural aspects (students afraid to share their country of origin due to political issues in the US and abroad) to specific curriculum challenges (the abstract nature of chemistry makes it one of the harder sciences for bridging language barriers).

We had some bright spots in our discussion as well. Sean Regan shared an article he wrote for AACT that you can find here. Its about a technique applicable not only to EL students but to all students. And we thought it would be great to remind folks of AACT's webinar archive, which you can find here. Sean gave a webinar on 4/12 which should be uploaded soon.

The recording of the April 20025 ChemChat can be found here.

The May ChemChat will be held 4:00-5:00 pm EST on May 8th. The topic is "Activities and Topics for the End of the Year. Registration is now open under EVENTS.

ChemChats for the 2024-2025 school year will end on June 12th with the topic "Summer Work for Students". Registration will open May 9th.

Jan-March ChemChat

Thu, 13 Mar 2025 21:34:21 GMT

We have had three interesting discussions this winter. In January eight teachers joined me in discussing Chemical Literacy. In February 15 folks took a hard look at AI, sharing resources and sharing experiential advantages and problems when using AI as a teacher or having students use AI. No one left resources on the google.drive for these chats, but you could still add resources for Literacy here and for AI here.I am working at uploading recordings of the Zoom sessions. (Sorry for the delay.)

Just today we had 9 people talking about Acids and Bases, which the AP teachers are hitting right now. There are a bunch of resources in the google.drive folder here. And the Zoom recording is here.

The April ChemChat will be on Zoom on April 10th from 4:00-5:00 pm EST. The topic is "Assisting Multi-Language Learners in an Inclusive Chemistry Classroom".

Nov/Dec ChemChat Report Out

Fri, 13 Dec 2024 13:25:32 GMT

In November 21 educators signed up to talk about "Sense-Making". We had a great discussion among nine on how to help students understand what they are seeing in terms of unseen particles: building conceptual understanding form phenomena. We did not end up putting anything in the google.drive folder. Here is the Zoom recording: we had trouble recording and I only have the 2nd half of the discussion.

In December 9 educators signed up to talk about Teaching in Non-Ideal Spaces. We talked about portable butane burners and alcohol burners, inexpensive centigram or milligram electronic balances (like this one from amazon), and the use of videos to replace demos and labs. We got into a discussion of using historical data and there are some examples in this google.drive folder. A participant tried out the Zoom AI companion to record the ChemChat and we discovered it can't be recorded from 2 sources. So I do not have a recording of this ChemChat.

You can sign up for the January 9th session on Chemical Literacy under Events.

Fall ChemChats report out

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 18:44:51 GMT

SEPTEMBER: "What's New for 2024-25?" 9/19/24

Nine folks joined me and discussed "What's New for 2024-25?" There was no recording made, but we did end up with a set of topics that will take us through January 2025. They are listed at the bottom of this report.

OCTOBER: "Green Chemistry" 10/10/24

Eight people joined me for a lively discussion on how to replace labs with toxic chemicals with safer alternatives. Attached here is a link to a document that is an old "recommended not to use" list. [Please ignore the handwritten comments.] The recording of the 'Chat will be up soon.

UPCOMING ChemChats:

November 21st, 4-5 pm: "Sense-Making" registration now open
December 12th, 4-5 pm: "Teaching Chemistry in Non-Ideal Spaces"
January 9th. 4-5 pm: "Chemical Literacy: Can our Students Communicate?"

submitted by Sue Klemmer (sklemmer@mac.com)

Northern Division Meeting Update

Thu, 03 Oct 2024 17:44:40 GMT

The Northern Division of NEACT will hold a 2-part virtual workshop on OpenSciEd (https://www.openscied.org/). This is a nonprofit company that has designed curricula for grades 7-12 that are "different from traditional science curriculum. Our world-class, Next Generation Science standards-aligned instructional materials are designed for how students learn science best. " - OpenSciEd website. My school has found their phenomenon-based, driving question approach to be in line with our own philosophy of teaching, and are spending our departmental PD time this year exploring how their curriculum might be implemented within our program. (Note: The curriculum is not free.)

During our main evening event a presenter from their partner Kendall Hunt will provide an overview of the Chemistry curriculum in which participants will try out some of the activities. We will follow this up with a shorter afternoon open consultation session with an OpenSciEd staffer to answer specific questions you may have about how OpenSciEd might work in your situation.

I do not have an exact date yet, but am aiming for the last week in January through the first week in February. Stay tuned for more information.

April ChemChat canceled

Thu, 11 Apr 2024 20:14:20 GMT

2 minutes into the April ChemChat on "Differentiation", internet died at my location in the midst of driving rain. It came back around 5 minutes later, but the one person that had signed on had left by then and neither of the the other two invitees signed in. So ... enjoy your month, folks!

The May ChemChat is scheduled for 5/9. See "Events" to sign up.

February ChemChat report

Mon, 05 Feb 2024 20:36:27 GMT

A small but intense group discussed the problems (and joys) of implementing NGSS in the chemistry classroom. We discussed resources, especially for phenomena around which to craft curriculum and assessments.

You can see a video of the Zoom here.
You can access our folder of shared documents here.

See "Events" to register for the March ChemChat.

January ChemChat

Fri, 19 Jan 2024 17:31:31 GMT

14 chemists had a great discussion on "Using Everyday Reactions as Anchoring Phenomena."

You can watch a recording of the chat here.

You can access a folder of shared ideas here.

Report on Fall ChemChats

Thu, 14 Dec 2023 22:31:03 GMT

OCTOBER saw 15 people with a lively discussion on teaching heterogeneous classes. We shared many of the same struggles, and some useful tips were shared. The link to watch this ChemChat is here.

NOVEMBER saw 7 people talking about teaching EL and other language-challenged students. Massachusetts seems to be further along than other NE states in providing PD and support in this area. The pros and cons of word banks, phone translators and other techniques were discussed. The link to watch this ChemChat is here.

DECEMBER saw 10 people discussing anchor demonstrations. A folder of shared ideas can be found here. Ideas using elephant's toothpaste, historical recreations of the work of Lavoisier and Dalton, dry ice, and others were shared. The link to watch this ChemChat is here.

The next ChemChat will be January 18th, 4-5 pm EST and the topic will be using everyday reactions to dive deep into chemistry. Registration is now open under Events. ChemChats are free to everyone: you do not need to be a member of NEACT to join in. [But please consider joining!]

Northern Division Meeting moved to March, 2024

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 11:42:24 GMT

The Northern Division meeting has been moved to March to accommodate two dynamic speakers: Anjana Iyer and Cathy Zavacki of Hillsborough High School in NJ. They will be presenting a two-night virtual program on kinesthetic chemistry: how to use getting your students up and moving to teach concepts and skills. More details will come later. I went to 2 workshops of theirs at ChemEd last summer: be prepared to get up out of your chair at home and move!

Here is the link to the Zoom recording of the first night: LINK.

- Sue Klemmer, Northern Division Chair

Sept ChemChat: IB Chemistry

Fri, 15 Sep 2023 18:54:26 GMT

We had a lovely online discussion with several practioners of IB Chemistry at both high school levels and the middle school level, along with folks who don't teach IB but were interested.

We'll post the recording on the NEACT YouTube channel and provide a link from here as soon as possible.

Join us for an open roundtable on the other end of the spectrum - teaching heterogeneous classes - on Oct. 19th (see EVENTS to sign up).

ChemChats past and future

Thu, 17 Aug 2023 21:01:50 GMT

ChemChats are back for 2023-2024!

A dozen teachers had a great discussion on Nuclear Chemistry Aug, 17, 2023. This is a topic that often gets neglected when it is not on our state list of required content but has great interest for students. A folder of ideas that were discussed can be found here. As soon as the recording is uploaded to YouTube that will be added here as well.

The topics for the next two ChemChats of the 2023-24 school year have already been chosen. On Sept. 14th we'll be discussing ideas on teaching International Baccalaureate (IB) Chemistry, and on October 19th we'll look at how to handle heterogeneous Chemistry courses. Note that the Oct. ChemChat is the 3rd Thursday in that month (we normally run on the 2nd Thursdays).

Want to sign up for a ChemChat? Go to EVENTS: each new ChemChat is posted as soon as the previous one has been run.

Have a a topic you want to discuss? Email me at sklemmer@mac.com.

Announcing the 2023 Summer PD Series!

Wed, 07 Jun 2023 13:56:32 GMT

NEACT is excited to announce that the Summer PD series will return for 2023! The format will be a 45 min presentation followed by a 15 min Q and A.

We plan to have weekly one hour remote presentations on a variety of topics. The day and time of the week will vary based on presenter availability - we will announce the full list of dates and times once the schedule is finalized. PDPs for 1 hour will be provided and a video of the presentation will be available to NEACT members for future viewing.

SHARE YOUR SKILLS and IDEAS! If you are interested in presenting at the 2023 Summer PD series, please contact NEACT president Kristen Vanderveen by June 23 at neact1898@gmail.com

April and May ChemChat Report Out

Mon, 22 May 2023 12:14:27 GMT

Due to the change in date we only had 3 participants in the April ChemChat, but Kirsten and I met a new person and had a great conversation not only about Electrochemistry but also got to know one another.

May's LAB SAFETY ChemChat was a hit, with 19 attendees getting a lot of very thoughtful and useful information from Jim Kaufman at the Laboratory Safety Institution. This is a great resource both for proactive work keeping yourself and your students and staff safe and also for help when you have a problem. You can contact them at labsafety.org

Note that there IS a June 8th ChemChat (see "Events") but none in July.

2nd DATE CHANGE

Mon, 24 Apr 2023 15:22:55 GMT

My apologies on not holding the April ChemChat on April 20th.

It has now been rescheduled to April 27th (same time of 4:00-5:00 pm).

DATE CHANGE

Fri, 24 Mar 2023 15:23:01 GMT

The April ChemChat will be held April 20th, the third Thursday in the month, and not April 13th.

March 2023 ChemChat Report

Fri, 10 Mar 2023 12:43:11 GMT

10 participants shared resources and ideas on teaching thermodynamics and thermochemistry on March 9th. The conversation ranged from what AP students need and find problematic vs. what beginning chem students need to vocabulary mismatches in the high school to college transition.

You will find a recording of the Zoom meeting - including the chat (which has some good resources) here.

You will find a google.drive folder with additional resources posted by the participants here.

The next ChemChat will be Thursday, April 20th from 4-5 pm. The topic is ELECTROCHEMISTRY.

February ChemChat Report Out

Thu, 09 Feb 2023 22:07:02 GMT

Eight teachers from California to Rhode Island joined in a discussion of "Solutions, Acids and Bases" on 2/9. We shared out ideas for demos and labs and lamented the impact of lack of time in covering a topic we all enjoy and see around us daily.

Click here to go to the google.drive folder where we shared documents.

Click here to watch and here the video of our ChemChat, including links and documents posted in the ZOOM chat.

Our next online ChemChat will be Thursday, March 9th, from 4-5 pm EST. The topic will be THERMOCHEMISTRY.

Dec ChemChat Report Out

Fri, 09 Dec 2022 13:07:41 GMT

On 12/8 we had a wonderful discussion of the particular challenges teaching chemistry to English language learners. Click here to see the ZOOM recording, including some great resources in the chat. Although our group was small (10 people) it was far-ranging, including teachers not only from Maine to Maryland to Michigan but also from Milan (yes, Italy!) and S. Korea. As host, I am always grateful for the opportunity to have honest discussions with colleagues from such a wide range of teaching situations and perspectives.

Northern Division Meeting 11/9/22 and 11/16/22

Thu, 08 Dec 2022 20:31:51 GMT

Thank you to our presenters Dr. Mackenzie Stetzer, Dr. Mila Kryjevskaia and Dr. Beth Lindsey for two evening presentations on Dual Processing. We learned about intuitive vs. rational reasoning and the reasoning pathways students take while solving problems. We also learned about two techniques for helping students see their own thinking and help teachers see how students think. We experienced "logic chains" and "paired questions with salient distractors" for ourselves on the 2nd night, and had extra insights from college chem teachers Dr. Mitchell Bruce and Dr. Alexey Leontyev.

Stay tuned: there will be a double evening followup in the spring for our fall participants to practice these techniques and share their design and implementation experiences. Dates have not been set yet.

Here are the links to recordings of DAY 1 and DAY 2.

October ChemChat

Fri, 14 Oct 2022 16:12:14 GMT

THANK YOU to the 18 participants in this month's ChemChat on "sustainable demos". We had high school and college folks from Maine to Virginia and a lively conversation.

Here is the link to the google.drive folder containing shared work.

Here is the link to the recorded video.

Food for thought: Do science courses need hands-on labs to be effective?

Thu, 15 Sep 2022 18:28:29 GMT

Here is a thought-provoking article about science education from Chemistry World

https://www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/do-science-courses-need-hands-on-labs-to-be-effective/4016216.article

ChemChats

Thu, 25 Aug 2022 14:45:01 GMT

THANK YOU to all who participated in our August ChemChat. We brainstormed some topics for this year's roundtables, and plan to do more of this in September. Topics currently being planned are

SEL: implementing social and emotional learning within a chem curriculum
DEMOS: how to include meaningful but easy-to-sustain demonstrations
NGSS: how are folks implementing this?
READING: how to bring outside readings into the classroom in ways that are meaningful to students but not time-intensive for teachers
ASSESSMENTS: streamlining assessments; assessing skills
DIFFERENTIATION: how to implement differentiation without burning the teacher time candle at both ends

We wish everyone a joyful and peace-filled start to their school year.

"Chem-Chats" will run every 2nd Thursday from 4:00-5:00 pm (EST).

Annual MA Marine Educators Conference: April 30, 2022

Sat, 30 Apr 2022 04:00:00 GMT

Plan to attend the Annual Massachusetts Marine Educators Conference on Saturday April 30 at the Quissett Campus at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. This year's theme is "Ocean and Coastal Data." You can find more information at
https://www.massachusettsmarineeducators.org/annual-meeting-and-conference-at-woods-hole