from Laura Slocum, JCE High School Associate Editor

A couple of years ago I started making small changes to the order in which I teach some of the topics in my first-year chemistry course. I did this because I had noticed that when I followed the traditional chapter order of the text, I was transitioning back and forth between the “math-intensive” and less quantitative topics. As I made each transition, many students became frustrated and rarely asked questions. Then after a few days, most would settle into the new topic and start asking questions again. But it was hard for me to see the confusion in their eyes and not have them ask the questions that were obviously there. So, I wondered if changing the order of topics would help keep my students more focused and asking questions.

The first year I made changes in small ways, more in the second, and even more this year. I feel really comfortable with the changes, and I like the changes in my students too. However, this means I am no longer teaching the textbook order of the chapters and some of my students—and many of the parents—were quite surprised that we “are not following the book”. Now I only teach metric conversions as the students need them for the laboratory part of the course. But stoichiometry, both composition and reaction, comes all together as one unit at the beginning of second semester. Solution concentrations then follow stoichiometry. Three years later, I am still making sequencing changes to my first-year chemistry course because I have been making small incremental changes, and I know that my course is still not exactly where I want it to be for my students.

I mentioned the biggest change to this year’s sequence in Laura’s Take in the February issue of the Journal of Chemical Education. That issue focuses on Earth Day, and I noted that I would celebrate it in the classroom for the very first time this year. The 100th JCE Classroom Activity: How Heavy Is a Balloon? excited me and had a direct application to the gas laws. I knew that my students would love the activity, but I did not want to just do the activity to celebrate Earth Day: I wanted the activity to “match my curriculum”. So, I purposely moved the section on gas laws to April to “fit” Earth Day. We have already done lots of stoichiometry and solutions by that time, and I believe this will allow me to better connect the two topics for the students.

Teaching in different sequences has been personally and professionally invigorating. I find that by teaching the less “mathematically based” chemistry topics first, then when I move into the more mathematical topics—stoichiometry, concentration, and now gas laws—the students make the transition more easily. One way that I measure how they are doing is by their comments. So far this spring, I have not had one student say, “not more math!” That’s a very refreshing and encouraging change. At the end of the semester I will definitely evaluate reordering topics more extensively for consideration in future years.

Another change that I have made is adding more inquiry-based labs and activities to my classes, something that I haven’t always found simple. However, I found Cacciatore’s and Sevian’s research and suggestions for incrementally incorporating inquiry into their curriculum very helpful. Their article also made me think about how changes do not need to always be “big” or done all at once, but I do need to consider many things when I make changes—who they will impact, how will they impact them, how to implement the change, how to pay for the change, etc. Curriculum changes abound. Share your thoughts on curriculum changes by emailing Erica or me.

Microcapsules coated on a human hair. See Activity #101, The Secret of Smart Paper, to see how microcapsules are used in everyday materials. Image by Appleton; used with permission.

Erica’s Take on the Issue

Nostalgia took hold when George Sellers first shared his story with me about his “Nobel gift” of an Erector Set for Sir Harold Kroto. It brought back visions from childhood of my brother’s heavy wooden box packed with Erector Set components—all sorts of nuts, bolts, and slim metal pieces covered with holes. You could build pretty much anything, limited only by your imagination and the agility of your fingers. I took Kroto’s advice and purchased a set for our family a month or two ago. Even younger elementary-aged children can benefit from the practice of deciphering the pictorial directions and the skill of properly threading a nut and bolt and tightening it just enough. This first “Teacher Talk” anecdote had a real effect on me, and I hope the set will have a lasting impression on my children. What experiences can you share?

For more information about Kroto’s life, his fascinating work with fullerenes, as well as his thoughts on teaching and learning science and creativity, see Liberato Cardellini’s JCE article “Chemistry, Creativity, Collaboration, and C60: An Interview with Harold W. Kroto”.

JCE High School Chemed Learning Information Center (CLIC)