collaborative/cooperative learning

So I wrote this project for my students - now what? Part 2: The group contract

Tracy Schloemer | Sun, 09/20/2015 - 12:11

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Have you ever worked with someone on a project and you couldn’t get a hold of them? Or you realized, a bit too late, that they need extra reminders to get stuff done? Oh, and by the way, how did that guy get to be in charge? As adults, we can probably remember more than one situation where this has happened. Maybe it was in school, maybe it’s in your job.

Teaching Kids How to Fail

Erica Posthuma | Mon, 09/07/2015 - 10:54

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Last year, I worked hard to teach my students how to fail and I believe it was the most important lesson they could have taken away from my class.

So I wrote this project for my students - now what? Part 1

Tracy Schloemer | Sat, 09/05/2015 - 18:49

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Recently, I saw this really funny meme on facebook about the creative process. I think it also sums up designing and sustaining students in long term inquiry:

Backwards planning your PBL unit An Overview of an Entire Unit

Tracy Schloemer | Sat, 08/08/2015 - 11:44

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Check out this overview of what a PBL unit has looked like in my classroom. I provide concrete examples and an outline of how I plan a project.

Chemistry Summer Camp - Day 4: Exploring Voltaic and Electrolytic Cells

Dan Meyers | Mon, 07/27/2015 - 10:54

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During our recent chemistry summer camp, we used some electrochemistry activities. We had some logistical issues, but they were an overal success!

Chemistry Summer Camp - Day 2: Limonene Extraction at Kalamazoo College

Dan Meyers | Thu, 07/09/2015 - 10:23

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Yesterday I posted about Day 1 of the Chemistry Camp

Chemistry Summer Camp - Day 1: Plant Pigments & Photosynthesis

Dan Meyers | Wed, 07/08/2015 - 10:36

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My goal with this summer camp was to expose students to the chemistry of things around us - plants, food, batteries, fuel, etc. Fortunately, by studying plant pigments and photosynthesis, students were able to learn about and utilize common lab techniques.

Periodic Table Board Game

Dan Meyers | Wed, 04/08/2015 - 12:27

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During our “Periodic Table and Periodicity" unit, we take about 3 days to learn the content and another 3-4 days to practice the content (more for Chemistry 1, less for Honors). One way that I have my students review the content is by playing a board game that I recreated from an NSTA conference a few years ago.

The Chemistry of a Family-Style Dinner

Allison Tarvin | Mon, 03/30/2015 - 14:50

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Science is creative; it requires new ideas, new patterns, and new solutions to old problems. A deep understanding of the periodic table is the most critical knowledge in chemistry. I want my students to experience the table and conceptualize its trends in a deeper way.

Using Periodic Properties to Group Students for an Activity

Lowell Thomson | Thu, 03/19/2015 - 07:38

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Today in my IB Chemistry class we were reviewing the Born-Haber cycle. This has proven particularly challenging in the past so I wanted to try something a bit different and have the students review in groups. The task for each group of students was to create a visual Born-Haber cycle for potassium oxide - ignoring the math and calculations but instead focusing on each process within the cycle. I'd like to share how I grouped students using periodic properties.