One’s method of teaching reflects one’s understanding of how learning occurs. Consequently, educators must critically analyze their goals for teaching to ensure that these align with student learning patterns and that content demanding subjects such as chemistry can be fully comprehended by students. The latter paper will mostly focus on the transformative element of learning where the latter phenomenon is aimed at boosting learners’ ability to construct meaning in abstract contexts and interpret one’s perceived reality. This kind of interpretation of learning requires that there be a student-centered approach in the classroom. The research intends on illustrating how this can be done practically in the chemical environment.
Using teaching methods that apply to the chemical curriculum in high school
The lecture method has been a common approach in teaching chemistry for decades. Most educators tend to adopt this kind of style because of its predictability and its ability to leave everything in the hands of the teacher. Educators, therefore, enjoy the control that this method accords them and students also get used to the non-challenging environment created by such a strategy. However, this study will emphasize a different teaching method because most students rarely bother listening let alone retaining the subject matter taught through the traditional method. Consequently, the paper will endorse the adoption of a student-centered strategy and how this can best be modified within the chemistry classroom. This research will show what teachers can do in order to supplement the traditional/ lecture teaching method for a student-centered approach. In the latter approach, very little room is given for second-guessing how much students have learned. Instead, frequent monitors must be instated by the educator throughout the learning process. One way of ensuring that this occurs is through prompt evaluation of students. More often than not, tutors teach their students a huge chunk of curriculum material without checking their understanding in each phase. To this end, teachers often become frustrated and disappointed after giving their students tests and realizing that they had understood only a small portion of the material. This research will illustrate the importance of implementing frequent checks in the chemistry classroom. It will also show how best to carry those out in order to facilitate greater understanding amongst one’s students. In so doing, the paper aims at assisting educators and students to know what students need to improve on and what they need to maintain. This makes teaching very effective and result-oriented.
The paper will illustrate how teachers can best use technology to make their teaching methods more student-friendly. Experts assert that the average student only s to his or her tutor fully during the first fifteen minutes of a lesson. However, certain subjects like chemistry may record even lower concentration times. Therefore, in order to deal with this problem, teachers must resort to creative ways of presenting their curriculum material. For instance, they can use PowerPoint slides that have written questions on them. Students can then be encouraged to answer. This research will give a series of possibilities for the employment of technology by teachers in the chemical curriculum and how this can be effectively translated into tangible results. (Fernandez, 2005)
Educators can always utilize a series of techniques and methodologies in order to improve thinking and comprehension within the classroom. The research aims at providing solutions to the problem of short concentration spans in chemistry lessons. Tutors have a series of options that they can employ such as taking breaks in between their lessons and by letting students discuss previously mentioned work. This study will show how such teaching methods can be applied in the chemistry platform. Also, there are a series of avenues that can be employed in order to make the classroom more student-centered. These strategies will be unraveled both in small ways and also conceptually through the entire chemical curriculum.
Using learning methods that help students understand chemistry
Cooperative learning has been a critical part of teaching in other disciplines; consequently, the same can be said of the chemical curriculum. Therefore, this study will attempt to reveal how cooperative learning can be effectively used in boosting students’ learning outcomes. Issues such as cooperative groups in class will be critically analyzed. A number of educators have applied the latter dimensions through creation of groups in the classroom. (Russel, 1998) This research aims at bringing out various ways in which cooperative groups ask questions amongst each other, how those questions are circulated and how discussion points in chemistry are done. Active reviews have also been suggested as an important method of ensuring that students fully understand chemistry. In this regard, the research aims as moving away from the traditional approach where tutors dominate classroom sessions by responding and hence dictating to students’ correct answers. The paper intends on illustrating how the chemical curriculum can incorporate students in questions or reviews by working in groups and discussing the said solutions.
Most students tend to yield better results when they are actively engaged in the material being taught. One way of doing this is through the blackboard. Since the chemical curriculum is full of several instances where problem-solving is required, then this research will identify and show how students can fully embrace the blackboard as an important tool for learning chemistry. In relation to the latter approach is the use of jigsaw grouping. Here, students are given specific tasks which can only be fully completed upon joining together these pieces with others. In other words, the latter approach goes a long way in making sure that children take responsibility for their learning by playing their part. This research will unravel how the latter method can be applied in a chemistry classroom especially given the fact that students can become experts in their areas of specialty. Active learning can be done through a series of pathways. One must always go out of one’s way to think of new and creative ways to promote this participation. Therefore, the paper will explore how teachers can use methods such as posing questions and getting answers in order to make students more involved in the lesson. There have always been assertions that learning aids like daily journals can go a long way in enhancing students’ ability to comprehend difficult subjects. In this regard, the research will dedicate a large portion towards unraveling such learning aids in the chemistry environment and how these can best yield results for the concerned parties. How teaching is done in the active learning scenario is quite different from the traditional approach because teachers here always think about their students and ways in which they can assist them to retain the material. The paper will show how teachers can employ certain strategies in the middle of their teaching processes in order to involve everyone in the lesson. Here, the viability of methods such as clarification pauses (breaks in between important points in the lesson) will be illustrated in the chemical environment. Suggestions will be given on some of the possible activities that can be carried out during such moments so as to create an active learning environment at any one time.
Since chemistry is a particular content-rich subject, then an educator has to ensure that one fully encourages critical thinking in one’s lessons. Here, a great deal of time and effort needs to be given to the identification of intuition and puzzles preexistent within the students before the actual lesson begins. This will create some sense of curiosity amongst them and it may also encourage a number of them to develop interest and hence understanding of subject matter as the lesson proceeds. The research will therefore offer a series of pathways that can be particularly useful in assisting teachers to create such environments in their classrooms.
Helping students change their attitude towards chemistry
This research will dwell on assisting students to change their attitude towards the chemistry curriculum. Although not all students need external motivation for chemistry, it is a given fact that a large number of them have a negative attitude towards the sciences and they need that occasional nudge from their educators in order to perform well in this subject. A number of writers assert that proper learning only takes place when students have been challenged, stimulated, and inspired to do well. It is therefore imperative for teachers to keep the interest of learners both inside the classroom and outside. Various factors have been identified as critical sources of motivation for students in a particular subject. For instance; natural like for the subject, a drive to be good in any work to be undertaken, continual hard work, and belief in oneself with regard to a specific subject. Also, different students respond to different ways of motivation. This research will therefore shed light on those specific values that are common to most students and how these relate to the chemical curriculum.
Most analysts in the field of education have asserted that once educators can identify and capitalize on student needs, then chances are that they may be well on their way to boosting these individuals’ motivation towards chemistry. For example, some students may possess a desire to be perfect in a certain area. Some may need to socialize with others while others are merely looking for new experiences. Satisfying the needs of such students will be critical in making sure that students are motivated to strive for success. Therefore, the latter study will show how teachers in the chemistry classroom can best identify a learner’s needs and hence use them effectively to develop them in the future.
Active participation will be the main area of focus in this research. In other words, the paper will strive to show how chemistry teachers can best motivate students by involving them in the classroom. Consequently, various routes will be identified on ways of problem-solving, creating, writing, and doing things in the class in order to enhance student interests in the subject matter. (Silberman, 1996) Students will likely identify factors common to almost all classes such as a teacher’s level of enthusiasm, involvement of students in the lesson, having a rapport with the teacher, having well-organized curriculum content, and dealing with difficult material. This research will show which factors are most important in motivating students within the chemistry arena as a large share of them may not necessarily understand this concept to their fullest ability.
It has frequently been stated that motivation does not just lie in the hands of the learner alone. Educators have a crucial role to play in making their students enjoy the subject matter of a certain curriculum. Therefore, the purpose of this study will be to show how teachers can contribute towards encouraging their students to be motivated through their expectations and actions. When students feel that their educators have set realistic goals for them, they will likely be encouraged to meet those expectations. This research will therefore illustrate how teachers in the chemistry class can effectively set goals and translate these into motivational cues for learners. Alongside this approach, the paper will also focus on assisting students to meet their goals. It is an accepted fact that when students comprehend what is at stake, then chances are that they are likely to work towards those respective goals. In other words, they need to be involved in setting standards for their achievement. This study will show how students can critique their work and hence be involved fully in this motivational aspect. In close association with the latter mentioned approaches, the paper will also be instrumental in bringing out other ways in which educators can effectively structure their curriculum so as to motivate students. Here, emphasis will be given to aspects such as strengths and interests of students and incrementally increasing the difficulty of course material as the year progresses.
Connecting the curriculum with the research field so that students can connect with what the world needs
Concept mapping is a critical tool in today’s education sector. The latter term refers to the process of forming linkages between various terms and concepts covered in the syllabus. In other words, a concept map is an effective method of letting students know that what they learn in the chemistry curriculum has a direct relationship to newer material and this eventually gains application in the real world. The research will illustrate how this phenomenon can help learners relate chemical materials to the real world.
Panel discussions have always been great ways of making students understand the importance of theoretical material in day-to-day environments. In such cases, students are given specific topics and then asked to discuss them in the form of presentations. Usually, this works well when the rest of the class has also been granted roles because each student can then personalize his or her part in the panel discussion. The research will use examples to show how the latter method can assist in forming connections to the outside world. For instance, in case the students are studying various forms of energy, then the rest of the classroom can be given roles such as environmentalists, commuters, transport officials and the like. All these assist in showing the relevance of the chemistry curriculum in the real world. The latter research will also illustrate how chemistry can be connected to the outside world through another similar approach i.e. debates. Here, teachers normally select a controversial element about a certain topic and then give the students sides where they can either defend that controversial element or oppose it. In doing so, the research will have illustrated how argumentative skills can be developed even in the chemistry curriculum and how these can gain a wider application in the wider corporate arena. (Nahum et al, 2007)
In conclusion, most chemistry teachers assume that the traditional manner of teaching the subject is appropriate since this is a content-rich field. However, this curriculum along with many others can still be developed in order to promote active learning and cooperative or collaborative learning techniques. This study will therefore illustrate ways in which teachers can reorganize their teaching techniques and methodologies in order to incorporate other strategies that have the potential to revolutionize the retention and understanding of the material taught in the classroom. Making students a critical part of their learning will form the biggest portion of this paper’s methodology and analysis.
References
Fernandez, M. (2005). Little tricks to help students learn basic concepts in chemical engineering. Chemical engineering education 39(4), 302
Nahum, T., Mamlok, R. & Hofstein, A. (2007). A new teaching approach for teaching chemical bonding. Wiley Periodicals, 91(4), 579-603
Russel, M. (1998). Cooperative learning for the first day of class. S. Francisco: Jossey bass Publishers
Silberman, S. (1996). Active learning. Boston, Allyn and Bacon