Articles in the Journal of Chemical Education have a “touch of the chef” about them as well. Chemical educators develop their own teaching ideas over time, in the constant testing of their classrooms. They may have started with someone else’s recipe, and added their own touches. Submitted manuscripts are then “taste tested” by JCE peer reviewers. They might really like how one part worked, but suggest a modification for another portion. Further revisions by authors and JCE staff refine an article, until its presentation in print. For example, Thamburaj presents an interesting analogy connecting the process of covering floors with tiles to the mathematical relations of Coulomb’s Law. The author states that one of the reviewers suggested the sketch included in Figure 1. It’s an effective addition to the article, and provides an extra help for visualizing the mathematics.

“The Best Recipe” editors realize that while parts of cooking are objective, there is also the matter of personal taste. I tried their recipe for baked potatoes, and they’re good. When I remember to start preparing them well before suppertime, they’re my top choice. However, in a rush situation, the microwaved ones are good too. A particular article may not fit into your current classroom situation. One may not mesh with your instructional style, but that one looks just right. Maybe an idea just needs a dash of your own spice to make it work for you. DeMeo describes how he and his students create and use a graphic organizer to solve acid–base equilibria problems. In his conclusion, he comments “The four decision maps presented here should be viewed as malleable templates rather than rigid diagrams. They serve as examples of how teachers can become involved with their students to make and structure knowledge.” We can consider the wide array of ideas, select some to try, and maybe find a new favorite.

Now, have I got a great recipe for peach cobbler for you…

Professional Development Opportunities

Spring 2007 brings the American Chemical Society (ACS) meeting to Chicago, IL on March 25–29. This issue shares the ACS program for the Division of Chemical Education, as well as the Presidential Events. Sunday’s High School Program looks excellent, with a large variety of high-quality presenters. If you can attend on a weekday or two as well, there are multiple symposia that will interest high school educators. The National Science Teachers Association national convention meets March 29–April 1 in St. Louis, MO. JCE will have a booth at both conferences, so stop by to renew (or start!) your subscription, to chat, or even just to check out the freebies. We’ll be marbling name badges in St. Louis, as we did last year (see photo), so you can also try out a little bit of chemistry and art.

ACS is sponsoring summer workshops in 2007 at locations around the U.S. Two workshops will be available at each location: ChemCom teacher training and advanced high school chemistry teacher training. There is a $50 registration fee, but room and board are provided for participants. For more information, visit the ACS web site and follow the Workshops & Courses link.

Laura's Take on the Issue

This issue covers a number of labs and the insight they provide in various ways throughout a chemistry course. As an Advanced Placement chemistry teacher, two articles especially grabbed my attention. Kinetics is a topic that my students either get very well or really struggle over. Cunningham suggests a research assignment about the rate of a real world chemical reaction that enhances student understanding of kinetic problems.

Henary and Russell provide not only an inexpensive experiment, but also an opportunity to include Beer's Law. Exposing students to both Beer's Law and reaction rates would allow teachers to cover two required labs in preparation for the AP Chem exam. I am looking forward to trying this lab in early March.