Posts tagged chemistry

Stoichiometry Blues

This year's stoichiometry test has come and gone with less than thrilling results. We're okay on unit conversions, but when we add that extra step of using the balanced reaction to describe ratios between substances, things fall apart.

This is a tough concept that I struggle to teach well. I don't know if more labs/hands on will help - I added one this year and I didn't see better results. Granted, we had several weather interruptions last week that preceeded the test, but even today, there are still large gaps in understanding that I need to do some digging into to figure out what is going on. My hunch tells me that is a "will" issue instead of "skill" issue for 90% of students.

Iodine Clock Saga

I wrestled hard with an iodine clock reaction this week. I haven't taught kinetics in many years, so I was re-learning a lot as I went. I'm still confused a little by the data I got vs what I expected, but I think it's a case of the real world being much messier than practice problems.

MSTA 2024

I attended the Michigan Science Teachers Association Conference on March 1st. It was the first all-science teaching conference I'd attended, which ... Read more

Back to the Lab

Today is my last day with my current school district. A little over eight years ago, I started mid-year, taking over a class that had been taught b... Read more

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