High School Teachers Workshop

U Department of Chemistry

October 8, 2022

Thatcher Building for Biological and Biophysical Chemistry

Following on the success of bringing back the in-person semiannual High School Chemistry Teachers' Workshop last spring, we held the fall High School Chemistry Teachers’ Workshop on Saturday, October 8 in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Utah. Organized by Michael Morse, the Saturday morning event brought together 30 high-school chemistry teachers from around the region, including 4 University of Utah chemistry majors who are studying to be high-school chemistry teachers and part of the University’s Noyce Scholars program to learn about and discuss ideas about the teaching of chemistry. It was terrific to see both new and returning teachers to the event!

Attendance at the workshop counts toward continuing teacher education and is designed to help Utah chemistry teachers learn more about specific chemistry topics that they want to hear about, as well as bringing in leaders in chemistry education to provide their insights. With a line-up of Chemistry Department faculty, the program this time consisted of three presentations: “How do we know basic chemical quantities like ionization energies, electron affinities, bond lengths, and bond energies?” by Michael Morse, whose talks are always educational and a joy to hear; "What does Cognitive Psychology say about effective study habits?  And what study habits do students use in introductory science courses?" by Gina Frey; and ending with Kaci Kuntz showing us a treasure trove of quick and easy demonstrations one can use in high-school chemistry and general chemistry, “Exploring the Current Applications and Research of General Chemistry Topics” The discussions during the presentations were lively with great questions and comments.

The Workshop ended with lunch where the engaging conversations continued. We will be holding the next workshop this spring (2023). We look forward to seeing all the high-school teachers again and invite interested chemistry faculty in the department to join us also.