Today I kept getting the idea that my students have learned something. Quite a lot, actually. The difference in their explanations of phenomena, and their drawings, and even their math, is noticeable and significant.
It is a very good feeling. I actually taught them chemistry. Well, I won’t rejoice too much until after I grade the [...]
Archive for January, 2008
I think they’re learning
Posted in chemistry, tagged predictions, prior knowledge, success on January 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
HOT: evaluation
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged evaluation, group work, higher order thinking on January 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
HOT = Higher Order Thinking.
Today we did something that I came up with that proved to be very successful. Back when they did their drawings of what happens to a balloon at three different temperatures. I picked out some interesting ones that had common misconceptions or mistakes, and some really good examples. I made copies [...]
When planning was futile
Posted in difficulties, tagged improvisation on January 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
So, I had yesterday all planned. I had worksheets and homework. I had a brilliant plan to get them to review and study themselves, without me leading the class. The lecture from the day before wore out my patience for that. Then nothing was copied.
I think I handled it pretty well. The class activity was [...]
The no good, awful, very bad day
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged bad day on January 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Yesterday I didn’t have time to journal.
I got to school and found that my photocopies were not made, despite the fact I requested them 24 hours earlier. Now, let me say that I LOVE the fact that there is a science assistant, and that she makes my photocopies. This was an amazing, earth-shattering discovery that [...]
The Purpose of a Quiz
Posted in assessment, purpose, tagged math, quiz on January 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Last night, I thought I had about 30 minutes of grading. Everyone seemed to find the equations and homework easy. I was going to grade their homework on a credit, half-credit, no credit basis. Ahhhhhh, the honors students.
The first one I graded I actually used as a key, it was so perfect. Then, things went [...]
My first write-up
Posted in homeroom, tagged homeroom, write-up on January 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
So, today before I left, I mentioned that today I would have my first write up in homeroom. How did I know, you might ask?
Well, even in my brief experience, I have noticed that toddlers and teenagers have at least one thing in common. They both test boundaries. The students have been testing me, and [...]
Ignoring the Pain
Posted in homeroom on January 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Tuesday and Wednesdays are homeroom days.
I dislike homeroom for many reasons. First of all, my regular classes are shortened. This did not seem like a big deal when I was in high school, but it is a huge deal as teacher.
Second, homeroom has no purpose. It is an example of what happens when too many [...]
Timing and Topics
Posted in chemistry, purpose, tagged biochemistry, timing, topics on January 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I have been wondering if I am going too slowly. My students have told me they like the pace–and not just the lazy ones =).
To be honest, I don’t have a very firm idea of exactly what I think we should accomplish. I really want my students to understand what we do. I am a [...]
Lecturing
Posted in chemistry, tagged demonstrations, lecture on January 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Today was a lecture day. I have found these to be occasionally necessary. The benefits are that a relatively large amount of information can be presented in one day. Whether that much information can be assimilated is another problem. I have also found that people tend to think they understand something when they have only [...]
Bell Jar Vacuums, part 2
Posted in chemistry, tagged gas laws, kinetic molecular theory on January 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Overall, I think the little mini-vacuum sets were useful. As I grade their answers, I can see that some of the students are really improving their conception of gases. I have a couple who are just lost, and pretty clueless. Hopefully the discussion and notes helped.
I can tell that the students who really like math [...]
