Welcome back y'all! The beginning of the year is so exciting! I feel energized and look forward to meeting my new students. My classroom is neat and tidy, even my lab is organized and clean. And then, it begins. We do a lab, the students get to experience chemistry through some hands-on work, and I need to see what they have learned. Oh, the lab reports!
What a mole-riffic time we are having here in Kennesaw, Georgia! Some highlights from my time here include:
~ The very appropriate cooling towels (Chill-its) we (ChemEd X) handed out to folks who stopped by our table, ran the Mole Run, or we saw between sessions. Several teachers have been diving in to research how they work. Chemistry in action!
In just 2 weeks chemistry teachers from across the country will be heading to Kennesaw, Georgia! I am looking forward to being among my fellow teachers discussing labs, demonstrations, assessments, teaching methods, and so much more! Will you be there? If it is your first time I encourage you to be bold. Engage speakers and participants in discussion.
I am teaching this summer and it is especially exciting as I am piloting the labs I wrote this spring. We are using these labs exclusively and I am collecting student feedback for each lab to help in the editing, refining, and revision process.
Last night I had the opportunity to do another lab that I wrote with my students. It is so exciting to see something go from words on a screen to a group of students working together in a laboratory. I learned so much as I walked around the room last night. Here are a few highlights:
Labs! They have been the most overwhelming part of my career in chemistry. I felt the least prepared in this area when I began teaching and walked into my first lab as a teacher. Knowing all of the chemicals and equipment were under my care was a bit terrifying.
One of the mantras in the article was “Blind people can’t do those things.” Blind people can’t walk without a cane. Blind people can’t climb trees. Blind people can’t go to a regular public school. Blind people can’t do various jobs. Blind people can’t pursue certain careers.
Wow! Night one of the semester we did the activity Change You Can Believe In. It was my second time facilitating, so I did a much better job of directing students when they asked questions and it went much faster than last semester. I did still, as expected, have students that were frustrated.
