Since the last national meeting your committees have been very busy with a necessary, but not particularly enjoyable task: updating their committee Operations Manuals. Gina and I offered a short virtual meeting for people to share ideas and ask questions: some committees had just a few tweaks, others had some overhaul, and yet others had no manual at all, requiring them to start from scratch. ALL of them are making progress or have completed their updates and over the next few months I will be checking them over and then you will see them on the Division website. We are making strides for sure!

Yesterday, as I was on my way to the airport after the Biennial Conference on Chemical Education (BCCE), I spent some time reflecting with my colleagues. If you have never had the pleasure of attending a BCCE I would highly recommend it. Here are the Top Ten tidbits that arose from that conversation.

1. Huge opportunities for collaboration between higher education and pre-college teachers - many of the symposia and workshops were very accessible to people at all levels, and so we found ourselves meeting and sharing with people from across the educational spectrum.
2. Networking with teachers from across the country - meeting people with whom you have professional commonalities helps you to develop your own “chemfam.”
3. Wide variety of formats - it’s not just about symposia, there were also workshops, labs, Birds of a Feather meetings, poster sessions, an expo, and number 4.
4. Informal conversations between sessions - so many times those tips and inspiration of educational gold can come from information conversations between symposia. They are amazing and absolutely a value-added piece that doesn’t show up in the advertisements.
5. Swag and Food - I think these speak for themselves! The freshman fifteen has nothing on BCCE, especially this year.
6. Nuggets you can employ immediately - especially in the pre-college focused sessions the materials and ideas are classroom ready.
7. Inspirations for pedagogical shift -  You will see something you want to try. So much of the conference is related to how students learn, specifically how they learn chemistry. These pieces of information can be vital for someone encountering resistance to a new pedagogy. Many sessions provide examples of how people can use different learning/teaching along with that research-based support. You never know until you ask and new pedagogy is scary enough for the teachers - many administrators are not well versed in the research and BCCE provides a lot of support in that area.
8. Finding mentors and thought partners - Just as many people referenced in the symposium saluting Basaam Shakhishiri, mentors are important and there are few better places to make connections or deepen relationships than BCCE.
9. Demonstrations - how to do them, how to set them up, how to clean them up, how to use them for either outreach or to enrich the classroom learning experience.
10. Meaningful Q and A after presentations - presenters often provide inspiration for us to try something new because they have a different perspective. The Q and A sessions after the presentations are possibly even more valuable; especially in a group of chemistry educators who are so kind to one another.
11. Wait - Why does it go to eleven???? - Dance Party! Proud Mary! Ellen and Sam!

If you have never attended a BCCE you should seriously consider it. Also, if you are a two-year college instructor please consider submitting a proposal to host a symposium or present at a symposium. There was some talk about wanting to increase the choices available and we cannot do that without people being willing to present. 

Sea you in BCCE 2028 in San Diego, if not before!

Amiee Modic