Your classroom might just be too quiet. The longer I have taught chemistry, the louder my room has gotten. And not because I’m losing control, or the kids are misbehaving. It has gotten louder because I am asking them to talk. A lot. I really mean a lot.
Maybe you were like me, not a chemistry major. When I finished chemistry in college, I was sure that was the last time. And God quietly laughed. 23 years later and I’ve essentially ONLY taught chemistry. I wouldn’t have it any other way now. But in the first year, it was a struggle. In my head, I thought I knew things. And then I opened my mouth. What came out was wrong, or garbled, or semi-true, or just plain incomprehensible. I didn’t know how to communicate complete thoughts about chemistry. As I practiced and studied, I noticed that my words got more succinct.
I use that exact same process in the classroom now for the students. They need to communicate their thoughts out loud. They think they get it. It makes sense on paper. But when they open their mouth to teach it to someone else, they confirm that they have no idea. By talking out loud, they make their thoughts concrete and are forced to edit or abandon them. They create stronger relationships among topics in their head. And it gives them talking points about each topic, instead of being able to gloss over it. Here are a few ways that I organize talking in chemistry.
1. Turn and Talk
This is a classic. In the span of one class period, I will literally tell the kids to turn and tell the person next to them something probably 10-15 times. That means every three minutes, they have to articulate a thought. They are taking what I just said and trying to communicate it. Each talk might only last 8-20 seconds. They have learned that they talk to their neighbor and then very quickly are going back to class. The transitions get faster as your expectations are met. Many of the strategies below, I will incorporate into a Turn and Talk.
2. Super Short Definition
When we are unsure of what is in our head, we keep adding words. If you want to find out who really understands a concept, limit the words they can use.
For example, “Give a three-word definition of first ionization energy.”
Their answers might be some of the following (can you guess who knows the real answer?)
Atoms outer energy
Atoms and Ions
Energy in electrons
Energy to remove
When it comes down to three words, you can really see their brains working to eliminate superfluous words and focus on the core. As you walk around the class, listen for some different answers. Then I will frequently highlight a few of the different ways to communicate the thought.
3. Predictions
Have the students predict something. Anything. It could be the reactivity of the next atom in a list. It could be a family that will have higher 2nd ionization than Noble gases. It could be a number. If they are making predictions, then they are taking what they understand about the content and applying it to form a model. The process of going from idea to model is very powerful. If they are constantly predicting incorrectly, then they know they aren’t understanding it. That also gives them some internal feedback that they need to come in for extra help. Just the other day, I had a student in AP chemistry (and a likely National Merit Scholar) come up and ask for some help. The question started with, “Today when we were predicting what would happen, I got every one wrong…” It gave her some internal feedback and she got the help she needed. That is a gift to the student and to you.
4. Word Lists
I started doing this in AP biology but have found that in units of chemistry that are term heavy, this is very effective. I will put up two lists of terms on the board. One desk partner is assigned each list. They have to define each of the terms in their own words, and then they have to work together to find the relationship between all of the words. Here is an example.
Zeff Radius
First ionization energy Energy level
Core electrons Electron affinity
Even with three words each, they quickly have to think about the ways that the terms interact. It is easy for you to set up and allows them to have a very focused and intentional conversation. I have even gamified it. Give six terms in each row and each pair has a die. Each kid has to roll to find out what word they define. Then you can ask them, “What number didn’t you want to roll?” It’s a really simple formative assessment.
5. Place Your Bets
No, we don’t actually gamble in class. But having students place bets on who will win can be an effective way to force the students to make a choice and have a reason. For example, “Place your bets on which of the following atoms will have the highest first ionization energy; B, C, N, or O.” They will think it through and then possibly have the wrong answer. Maybe they will choose oxygen due to its high Zeff. But they forgot about the stability of a half-full p subshell. When you announce which element wins the bet, they have some emotion. It seems silly, but they actually care. And because they care, and have an emotional response, it helps to solidify concepts in their brain. They won’t bet on oxygen again.
I hope some of these strategies will help you increase the conversation in class which in turn leads to an improved comprehension. Once the kids are trained, you can be highly efficient and build a culture of striving in your room.
Place your bets, which kid will be the first to break a beaker? How about a buret?
PS, I already found my buret winner yesterday. Sheesh.
Want to increase the rate of communication in your classroom? Have the students play curriculum-based games. Kids will argue and defend their decisions to win a game. And guess what they are arguing about when they play Stoich Decks’ games? Mass, atoms and moles in Up & Atom. Ionic formulas in CHeMgO. Periodic trends in Trendy. It makes sense to engage your kids in purposeful conversations that propel your curriculum. You can get all three games to serve 30 students in the Ultimate Classroom Set.
These are great ideas for generating discussion! What do you do with reluctant participants for turn and talk? Sometimes I resort to using Pear Deck for discussions because I get more responses than I do with turn and talk and they can share anonymously, but I would prefer they talk to each other more to bounce ideas back and forth.