Preparation of a polymeric foam: an activity designed to increase teachers' awareness of the utility of condensation polymerization

The new Scottish "Curriculum for Excellence" places a greater emphasis on the societal implications of chemistry concepts, including polymer chemistry. This has led to many Scottish secondary school teachers having little experience and background knowledge with which to satisfactorily explore the topic of polymers as they deliver the curriculum. Here we detail our development of a practical demonstration of polymer foams and its inclusion in a continuous professional development module for Scottish secondary school teachers. This demonstration has now been incorporated into chemistry classrooms across Scotland as a means of exemplifying the topic of polymers.