I write this last post for Modeling Chemistry as we prepare to go back home. It is just too hot in Arizona that 75℉ is cool here. The air conditioning system is set to 75℉. At home, 75℉ is when I start to wonder about moving to a cooler region of the country…or maybe going to the beach where the water is still very much ice cold. I know that the first post was going to be the last time I complained about the Arizona heat…but I cannot. It is 2-3am and I cannot sleep it’s too hot. But my perception of how hot it actually is might have to do with the fact that I’m ending my first trimester…
U8 WS3
We spent some time working on WS3. It involved drawing particle diagrams, balancing the equation for the described reaction, filling out the BCA table, and writing out the answers. I really liked this approach because of multiple representations and the fact that you don’t actually need Dimensional Analysis to do this. I think I’m going to offer Dimensional Analysis for the students who can do it. For students who have a fear of fraction bars, we can use the Proportional Reasoning tables.
WB WS 2 and WS 3
We spent some time whiteboarding some of the problems. From the discussion, it came out that maybe we needed to be more consistent with significant figures. Some offered what they have their students do and some talked about what they were told as students. I honestly cannot remember what my high school or college Chemistry teachers/professor/TA’s told me. All I know is that I’m slightly fearful of SF.
What comes after Unit 8- Stoichiometry?
Mitch talked about what the units might look like after Stoichiometry. I kind of thought that we were done there, but then Jae mentioned that he uses the Alternative sequence. When I looked at that, I thought that maybe I need to pay attention to it since it closely mirrors what the learning team might want to do. Basically, the ModChem journey isn’t quite over just yet. Looks like I may need to go look at Chem 2 in the near future?
Closing
We finished the workshop out by completing the Reading survey (which ones we liked and which ones we didn’t find so useful). Then, we completed the ABCC survey to determine how much we, the chemistry teachers, have learned. It was basically the same test we took at the beginning of the workshop. As I was completing the test, I realized my own misconceptions about Chemistry. I’m not sure if I’ll administer this to my students next year as I’ll be gone for a part of the year, but maybe in the future!
Learning with Ms. Medrano 