Chemistry
Philosophies of the class
The typical progression of a unit in chemistry starts with gathering data and experimental evidence. That evidence is compiled on a whiteboard and discussed in a large group. From that discussion students construct new ideas while improving their previous knowledge about the topic being studied. We do a lot of thinking at the particle level for what is happening. These two videos (1 and 2) reflect a lot of how I attempt to teach.
How grading works
I try to make the grade reflect what the students understand and can communicate about chemistry. I also try to make the grades flexible in timing so that students can have multiple opportunities to assess on a topic. At the end of a unit students are given a set of standards that describe what I will be assessing their understanding of. The tests are questions designed to determine how well students understand that standard. A score from 1-4 is assigned for each standard. Students can often reassess on standards that they are not pleased with their initial score. A 4 is a quality answer that demonstrates understanding and communicates well. A 3 score is a good answer but missing small but critical details, makes a minor mistake or has communication issues. A 2 score is incorrect or explained incorrectly. A 1 score is way off or completely incorrect.
Resources for students
Class Website (has standards under each unit, help videos, worksheets, extra practice)
Twitter hashtag (you don’t need a twitter account to find this #michichem19)
How to do well in the class
The best way to do well in chemistry is to focus on class time. Every day should involve learning and reflection and the best learning possible is in class.
If struggling, the initial response should be to look at what is going on during class. Are notes being taken? Are you thinking during class? Are you reflecting on what we learned in class? If class is too fast paced, then I recommend preparing for class by looking ahead on the website and reflecting on class by comparing notes with the standards. Reflection should involve predicting what questions are expected and preparing quality answers to those questions.
Things that I find ineffective would be reading the textbook, watching Khan Academy style videos and doing large amounts of practice problems*.
Retrieval Practice is one of the best ways to study and prepare for tests. It can reduce test anxiety, improve performance and is backed by a large amount of cognitive science research. Please help replace outlining, highlighting and reading notes with retrieval practice.
*Doing a lot of practice problems is about transferring knowledge into automated thinking systems. Most of our assessments do not test this but occasionally there are a few concepts that are helpful to do this.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is there no grade for a B?
The standard grades are 1, 2, 3 and 4. For each standard there is no grade but the combination of scores can result in a B. The scaling from 1-4 is an improvement over most tests where questions are either 0 or 100% and the final grade is a compilation of right and wrong only.
Do you recommend using the textbook?
I do not find textbooks to be helpful in this course. It can be used as a resource but we do not follow along the order for most subjects and the textbook is not designed to lead to deep thinking that is critical to do well on the assessments.
Should we get a tutor?
It can be helpful, but I think it is more valuable for students to focus on their time in class rather than trying to hear something simple to avoid thinking. All students have sufficient resources during class to do well.
What class should we take next year?
I strongly recommend everyone takes AP chemistry or IB chemistry HL. If you are good at chemistry it is a rare talent. If you need more practice high school is the best place to get help since college chemistry is much faster paced with less instructional pedagogy.
What is the difference between AP and IB chemistry and which is better?
I’ve taught both and I love both classes. The biggest difference I found was that AP chemistry moves faster. IB chemistry covers about 40% more material in double the time. So the learning expectations are higher in IB while AP allows a second course to be taken. I really like both classes though because they fill in a lot of gaps from chemistry. Many students can do most of chemistry, but feel insecure because they sense there is missing information. They are correct and a lot of that missing information comes in AP and IB chemistry.
Why did I do worse on test ____ than test _____ or standard ____ than standard _____?
The standards are not all the same difficulty. A 3 score on one standard might be a good score because of the difficulty. A score of 3 on another might be bad because of the simplicity. The tests have varying score averages and so trying harder might not show immediate improvements while slacking off might not show immediate plummeting of scores.
When are reassessments?
About once a week either after school, before school or during lunch. The schedule varies so that if someone cannot make one they can do the next one hopefully. If you love reassessments consider asking for a testing center investment for open use by all students so that even more reassessments could happen!
Can I reassess more than once?
Time permitting, definitely. I just ask you try to improve your knowledge/reflect before reassessing so it doesn’t waste my time and yours.
Is there really not homework or is my child lying?
I rarely assign homework (maybe once a month but sometimes less than that). There is studying expected at times but we aim to do our learning during class and respect your time after school to do other things.
Is there anything extra my child that loves chemistry can do?
If they take IB chemistry HL or AP chemistry I strongly recommend working on Chemistry Olympiad. The top students from the region win $150 and get to take a brutally challenging 6 hour chemistry test and if they qualify attend a 2 week training camp to qualify for the four students that represent the USA in the International Chemistry Olympiad. I also find this twitter account really cool and recommend books #3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9 from this list.
How can we get more 4s and fewer 3s?
Focus during class, participate during whiteboarding/discussion, take notes during discussion, reflect after discussions, think a lot, prepare responses for anticipated test questions, use retrieval practice, explain things with fewer vocabulary terms to show complete understanding.
How can we get more 3s and fewer 2s?
Have more confidence, participate more in class, write out what you think more frequently and then as you write learn to evaluate what you know and do not yet understand, pay attention to key ideas from experiments and discussion and write those ideas down so you remember to highlight them on tests, use videos with extra practice problems, think a lot, try and figure out what things you know and use those to build new ideas, explain things you are learning about to someone else.
Is it true that Mr. Milam said something hilarious in class?
No. I never say anything funny in class and remember that most high school students are probably lying.
IB Chemistry HL
Philosophies of the class
I have two principal goals in this course, to teach as much high level chemistry as possible and to prepare for the IB chemistry HL exam.
How grading works
Currently grades are 70% test scores and 30% homework and labs. The homework and lab grade is expected to be near 100% for all students. Homework that is marked below a 100% can be fixed for full points unless the assignment is turned in late.
Tests are curved to adjust for the IB scale. The score is converted to a percent, that percent is square rooted and multiplied by 10 (IE a 64/100 becomes an 80%, 49/100 becomes a 70%). We are currently exploring reassessments in IB but it is a work in process.
Resources for the class
The website has a lot of helpful materials. I wrote a textbook that is split up by chapter in a google doc so that students can make a copy and edit as they please. Notes for each unit are available and a lot of instructional videos, practice problems with video solutions and flashcards are posted.
Our reflections will be in threads under #IBchemHL1 #reflection
Textbook - I’m not a fan of textbooks in general but the IB textbook walks a thin line of ethics where the phrasing used in the textbook mirrors the markschemes of the exams. The textbook can be helpful at improving test scores and is recommended for use.
How to do well in the class
Think hard, explain your thinking and reflect.
Keep your homework grade as close to 100% as possible. Use the syllabus to reflect on what you do and do not understand.
Try and learn 2 new things every time we review a test.
Continue learning even when topics are challenging and frustrating. The last 2-5 months things really come together because it is easier to learn when you know a bit of everything.
Form a pair with another student and practice explaining things to each other and quizzing each other where you use retrieval practice.
Tutor a student in chemistry to focus your chemistry basics.
Spend a lot of effort on your reflections and then keep them to review your original thoughts as you learn new topics.
Find connections between topics.
If class is too fast look ahead and prepare for class.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there anything extra my child that loves chemistry can do?
If they take IB chemistry HL or AP chemistry I strongly recommend working on Chemistry Olympiad. The top students from the region win $150 and get to take a brutally challenging 6 hour chemistry test and if they qualify attend a 2 week training camp to qualify for the four students that represent the USA in the International Chemistry Olympiad. I also find this twitter account really cool and recommend books #3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9 from this list.
What is an IA (internal assessment)?
Students in IB chemistry HL have to design their own personal high level chemistry experiment, do the experiment and write a report that gets turned into IB and counts toward their IB score.
What is a group 4 project?
All students in the Diploma Program do a group 4 project where the entire group gets together and does something that connects the fields of science (physics, chemistry, biology). Last year students studied adhesives and the year before international cuisine.
What should IB students do the summer of their junior year entering into senior year?
THEIR EXTENDED ESSAY!!!!!!!!! Get the rough draft done by the end of summer and your lives will be much better. Please!
What is a good IB score?
Generally speaking if a student gets a 4 score on all classes they will get their diploma as long as CAS/EE pass. If a student has 3 HL classes they need 12 HL points. So if they get a 3 in IB Chem HL, they would need a 5 in another HL course to balance. I think with a 2 in an HL course there is a separate set of requirements.
About half of the students that get a 3 in chem HL get the diploma and I think every student that got a 4 or higher in chem got the diploma.
What is a perk to IB chemistry HL?
Learning organic chemistry in advance of college is wonderful. Organic chemistry is very challenging and we learn a large portion of organic 1 and a small amount of organic 2. That is a huge leg up for a weeder course for medical school. We also learn some basic NMR, IR and MS.
Are there really well sung IB chemistry review songs that are also Disney parodies?
Maybe.
Is it true that Mr. Milam said something hilarious in class?
No. I never say anything funny in class and remember that most high school students are probably lying.
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