Demonstrations are often used by teachers as a way to grab the attention of students and illustrate chemical phenomena. The “wow, gee whiz” demonstration is effective as a hook to pique student interest, but it is less frequently used to help develop chemistry concepts. This symposium will focus on demonstrations that can be implemented to facilitate student learning above and beyond engagement and application, placing particular emphasis on instructional strategies that help students develop rich conceptual understanding of familiar chemistry topics. Presentation abstracts must include a description of the demonstration as well as the specific instructional techniques which promote conceptual understanding of chemistry.
