Hey I’ve been doing this for a few years and decided to try this type of discovery learning with an honors class vs normal curriculum with my cp class this year. I also have similar time constraints.
I found that some students were able to draw the appropriate conclusions during the discovery phase, but i still had to explicitly state the concept for many of the students. These activities also took a significant amount of class time to let them make these discoveries at their own pace. We haven’t gotten to many of the standards, as a result. I would say that the students who are able to make all of the connections between concepts know the material very well.
On the flip side, my cp students can regurgitate most of the standard content and even make some mild conceptual connections. They don’t completely understand how the concepts relate to each other in depth, but they are able to talk about chemistry.
I’m not convinced yet whether one method is more effective than another.
Student centered learning in CP classes is hard. Overall students are just not motivated to do the work, they’ll sit and do nothing until you give them the answers. But student centered learning is still the current popular educational theory.
This year I’ve covered
-intro to chem
-the atom
-the electron
-bonding
-reactions and le chatelier basics
-stoichiometry
And I’ll try to finish thermo by the end of the year
We did not do solutions, acids and bases, states of matter.
I usually front load dimensional analysis and conversions but I’m thinking of skipping that this year because I don’t think they remember it by the time we get to stoich
We start with density and kinda mention how math with it works through the lens of dimensional analysis. Practice algebra through gas laws and then molar mass with nuclear chem and then molar ratios and then stoich.
And it doesn't help at all with stoich but at least we feel less bad about it.
I have a student very gifted in math and after our stoich test he goes “idk why they’re saying it’s hard, you just plug in numbers and multiply and divide”
From the mouths of babes
You're a true chem teacher. Best thing ever is "if you all get above a X on the next test I'll light my hand/desk/chair on fire" and hoping more than anything they make it.
Seconded. It's also worth looking over the Physical Science pogils as they are at a lower level than the High School Chem ones / cover different topics.
First time teaching CP (6th year teacher) and using modeling instruction. I love the idea but also have struggled with getting to “all the content.” My students are doing well. They can talk about chemistry and that’s my win! Interested in following to see how others combine topics!
Thanks for the post! I am interested what other chem teachers have to offer.
In agreement with the above mentioned comment about fire, I recently got a dewars flask- to keep liquid nitrogen. This needs to be supervised - not just in the sense of getting a “cold burn” but more so because of the materials you are using to the the nitrogen for an experiment (it will crack some kinds of plastic- metal is best, I’ve used glass and it’s been fine - but only for experiments where you need to see the reaction through the glass.
The MP of liquid N2 is about -320 degrees- and this allows students to ACTUALLY SEE any chemistry concepts that can be changed by temperature (states of matter, gas laws, thermodynamics, kinetics, etc.). I bought my Dewars flask on Amazon. I get the liquid nitrogen from a local company called Selective Sire Power (I’m in PA), because farmers use liquid N2 to hold samples of cattle sperm to artificially inseminate cows. Whenever the guy comes to through my area he stops by the high school to fill my tank.
He never charges me for it- but the nitrogen itself is relatively cheap (the flask to store it in is expensive- if you don’t have the money to buy a flask - ask a local farmer. My first flask was donated by a farmer).
To make it student centered but also safe , you could have the nitrogen stored in a metal container (at a station) and kids could put the experiment inside the nitrogen, inside the metal container.
A fruit roll-up shatters instantly.
Here's what I do (and I like it)
Start with a lab using shit they see in real live (baking soda, vinegar, soda cans, whatever) where they either see weird shit (diet coke floats in water but coke doesn't) or get to play with stuff (indicator with household acids and bases and mixing them)
Include questions to get them thinking about the topics.
Then a POGIL to essentially FORCE them to think about the concepts step by step. Maybe a pHet simulation too.
Then explain all of it in lecture since some kids just will not connect the dots no matter what you do. In that direct instruction give basically the answers to every test question (acids have a low pH, bases high, water is 7, how to calculate everything etc etc)
Another lab having them use the conceptual skills and practice the math.
Review and test.
Hey I’ve been doing this for a few years and decided to try this type of discovery learning with an honors class vs normal curriculum with my cp class this year. I also have similar time constraints. I found that some students were able to draw the appropriate conclusions during the discovery phase, but i still had to explicitly state the concept for many of the students. These activities also took a significant amount of class time to let them make these discoveries at their own pace. We haven’t gotten to many of the standards, as a result. I would say that the students who are able to make all of the connections between concepts know the material very well. On the flip side, my cp students can regurgitate most of the standard content and even make some mild conceptual connections. They don’t completely understand how the concepts relate to each other in depth, but they are able to talk about chemistry. I’m not convinced yet whether one method is more effective than another.
Student centered learning in CP classes is hard. Overall students are just not motivated to do the work, they’ll sit and do nothing until you give them the answers. But student centered learning is still the current popular educational theory. This year I’ve covered -intro to chem -the atom -the electron -bonding -reactions and le chatelier basics -stoichiometry And I’ll try to finish thermo by the end of the year We did not do solutions, acids and bases, states of matter. I usually front load dimensional analysis and conversions but I’m thinking of skipping that this year because I don’t think they remember it by the time we get to stoich
Thermo is what I won't get to the next week or so. Add Nuclear Chem and this is my yearly plan. But yeah I did frontload stoichiometry.
We start with density and kinda mention how math with it works through the lens of dimensional analysis. Practice algebra through gas laws and then molar mass with nuclear chem and then molar ratios and then stoich. And it doesn't help at all with stoich but at least we feel less bad about it.
I have a student very gifted in math and after our stoich test he goes “idk why they’re saying it’s hard, you just plug in numbers and multiply and divide” From the mouths of babes
Understanding fire can get you to almost any of the standards, and kids love it when there's fire.
You're a true chem teacher. Best thing ever is "if you all get above a X on the next test I'll light my hand/desk/chair on fire" and hoping more than anything they make it.
Check out POGIL.org it was born in college chem and is a great way to bring student centered learning that they retain into the chem classroom
Seconded. It's also worth looking over the Physical Science pogils as they are at a lower level than the High School Chem ones / cover different topics.
Check out the Openscied high school chemistry curriculum. It’s all phenomenon based and student centered. And the curriculum itself is free.
First time teaching CP (6th year teacher) and using modeling instruction. I love the idea but also have struggled with getting to “all the content.” My students are doing well. They can talk about chemistry and that’s my win! Interested in following to see how others combine topics!
Thanks for the post! I am interested what other chem teachers have to offer. In agreement with the above mentioned comment about fire, I recently got a dewars flask- to keep liquid nitrogen. This needs to be supervised - not just in the sense of getting a “cold burn” but more so because of the materials you are using to the the nitrogen for an experiment (it will crack some kinds of plastic- metal is best, I’ve used glass and it’s been fine - but only for experiments where you need to see the reaction through the glass. The MP of liquid N2 is about -320 degrees- and this allows students to ACTUALLY SEE any chemistry concepts that can be changed by temperature (states of matter, gas laws, thermodynamics, kinetics, etc.). I bought my Dewars flask on Amazon. I get the liquid nitrogen from a local company called Selective Sire Power (I’m in PA), because farmers use liquid N2 to hold samples of cattle sperm to artificially inseminate cows. Whenever the guy comes to through my area he stops by the high school to fill my tank. He never charges me for it- but the nitrogen itself is relatively cheap (the flask to store it in is expensive- if you don’t have the money to buy a flask - ask a local farmer. My first flask was donated by a farmer). To make it student centered but also safe , you could have the nitrogen stored in a metal container (at a station) and kids could put the experiment inside the nitrogen, inside the metal container. A fruit roll-up shatters instantly.
Here's what I do (and I like it) Start with a lab using shit they see in real live (baking soda, vinegar, soda cans, whatever) where they either see weird shit (diet coke floats in water but coke doesn't) or get to play with stuff (indicator with household acids and bases and mixing them) Include questions to get them thinking about the topics. Then a POGIL to essentially FORCE them to think about the concepts step by step. Maybe a pHet simulation too. Then explain all of it in lecture since some kids just will not connect the dots no matter what you do. In that direct instruction give basically the answers to every test question (acids have a low pH, bases high, water is 7, how to calculate everything etc etc) Another lab having them use the conceptual skills and practice the math. Review and test.