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petegt:
I teach high school chemistry.  I've had good success so far with my kids.  Here are some key things I've done/seen:

-Be engaging.  Don't just lecture.  I try my hardest to have some sort of video/demo/lab once a day.  Is that tough?  Heck yes!  But It's worth it for the kids.

-Have a style of teaching that makes you show your enjoyment of it.  I said stupid stuff all the time like, isn't that hydrogen spectruum so amazing!  And I do a little dance.  Kids think i'm nuts but they are happy to see i'm interested in it.

-Challenge.  There's nothing worse than only giving them a little and not trying to make thme do work that they don't think tehy can do.  Most teachers in my area have a tendency to writeoff kids and give up and only do a little bit.  I give mine a good amount of work to keep them busy.  And my management and instruction are all the better.  In the begining it's tough for them and even for me to keep assignments up and running and checking them.  But you gotta do it.

-Take any and all questions that pertain to chemistry.  I usually take a question that doens't eem to fit and somehow end up making it fit.  If I don't know the answer to a question i say, sorry I don't know but I will get back to you on that.

Hopefully this helps.

Pete

movies:

--- Quote from: petegt on July 26, 2005, 12:35:40 PM ----Take any and all questions that pertain to chemistry.  I usually take a question that doens't eem to fit and somehow end up making it fit.  If I don't know the answer to a question i say, sorry I don't know but I will get back to you on that.

--- End quote ---

This is a really great point that I hadn't considered before.  I remember hounding my science teachers in high school about the various science topics I became interested in and for the most part they happily answered my questions.  I really took that for granted, but in retrospect there was no better way to encourage my interest in science.  I think that more teachers should be aware of the fact that a big part of their job is to be a resource to the students, not just a lecturer.

Linkiroth:
I may only be a high school student, but let me put it by a quote from my class.

"I love when Mr. C blows **** up!"

Demonstrations, jokes, participation. Livelyness! I love Chemistry, however, it, like most topics, can get dull. Keep the class exciting. Depending on the size of the class, you can do different things. I.E. The first day of school last year, the first thing my teacher does, Takes Sodium (Actual Na, not a compound, it was vacuum sealed and etc to prevent oxidation) and water... and throws the sodium into the water. Although it was a small amount and preformed behind a plastic hood, it was still a brilliant display. I don't care how smart someone is... I don't care how boring someone is. Everyone loves to see things blow up.

Best lab: 5 minute ice cream.

We did everything except handle the Liquid Nitrogen... Tell me that free ice cream doesn't make chem the best class ever.

I haven't attended courses in a university setting, so I don't know if this would apply, and I'm sorry if it doesn't. Just giving some ideas out there.

~Erick

lemonoman:
Demos will indeed keep students interested, and paying attention is class...the other thing is that for the mathematical part of chemistry, demos aren't that helpful.  And for some reason, its this mathematical part that makes students hate chemistry.  I think that if students had a good math background in them, then this part of the class might also be more interesting, and they would learn more from it.

What I notice in University is that people either like or hate chemistry.  None of this in-between stuff  :P

One thing that keeps people interested is to hear good reviews of the professor/teacher from other students before the class even begins.  If they go in expecting a good class, they'll be more attentive, and understand more.  If they go in expecting a boring old geezer, then they'll be tainted for the duration.  In that respect, the vitality/uderstandbaility/enthusiasm of the professor can be what makes a class 'good'.

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