I use a wide variety of instructional strategies in my classroom to engage students and encourage them to develop deep understanding of chemistry content. The core strategies that are a part of my instruction include organizational aids—with direct instruction, guided notes, collaborative classwork, independent practice and assessments—labs and other hands-on activities, and literacy integration. While I use many other strategies more sporadically, these three concepts are the cornerstones of instruction in my classroom. 

 

This range of instructional strategies is designed to incorporate student interest, effectively scaffold information, spiral standards and learning, and differentiate so all students can access the chemistry content. Each of these instructional strategies has several secondary aims in addition to mastery of content. I strive to help my students develop into well-rounded individuals who will succeed in the 21st century when they leave my classroom. The various strategies presented in this section are designed to help students strengthen core skills—such as organization, collaboration, effective collaboration, critical thinking, literacy, etc.—that will help them succeed for the duration of high school and beyond. 

 

When I first started teaching, I conducted several informal surveys of adults and my peers to determine what they remembered about their high school chemistry classes. I found that the overwhelming majority of people remember chemistry in high school as being entirely pointless. Many people feel that they learned a lot of difficult theoretical information that was not useful in life, and they promptly forgot it when they were no longer in the class. This was my personal experience with high school chemistry as well. I used this research as a starting point to design a classroom environment that would leave none of my students feeling this way. Each of these instructional strategies was designed to show students the link between what we are learning in class and the real world applications of materials. Chemistry knowledge can be applied in meaningful ways in students’ everyday lives and in their potential future careers. Each of these strategies is designed to allow students to learn chemistry content in the most authentic and meaningful way possible. 

 

Please click each of the three images below to learn more about how I use these instructional strategies to help my students develop a deep understanding of chemistry content, its connections to other content areas, and how chemistry can be applied in meaningful ways.