I am personally okay if they are. If a student is ever curious, I ask them to reserach the element and bring back some fun "did you know" info for the class. Francium has a half-life of about 22 minutes, astatine is the rarest element on earth, etc.
Neither would be useful in a general chemistry lab. Memorization is not a bad thing, when used appropriately and not as an ends in itself. I am curious to see your responses to Erica on how much class time you spend on these activities and the benefits you observe. Oh, you are absolutely right. Students do forget some, but the ones they use frequently stick! I do also know what you are talking about when you refer to assessing skills separately.
However, I do think that there is still a place for summative sort of assessment where it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect a student to pull together a variety of chemistry skills. For instance, I could ask questions on a quiz about stoichiometry simply assessing the calculations when provided with a balanced equation, and sometimes I do.
However, I think it is also valuable to see if students can put the pieces together to write the formulas, predict the products, balance the equation and then be able to use the stoichiometric ratios in a conversion problem.
Assessing separate skills in isolation is sometimes called for, but so is assessing that global "how does this fit together with the stuff I learned earlier this year" sort of thinking. As far as the rare elements That is really why I want them to be at least aware of synthetic elements, rare isotopes, and such.
Last year was the first time and I think I will make it an annual trip. I was pleasantly surprised how some students got excited to see where "real science" is done. This is especially cool because particle physics is obviously not the focus of junior chemistry or a high school physics class for that matter , but you never know if that is the thing that peaks the interest of a kid who wouldn't consider pursuing science as a career if they were unaware.
The question of memorization is one for which science has agreed upon a clear right answer. Other posts there may be of interest as well. Conceptual frameworks are built in the brain by wiring synaptic connections between neurons that store elements of knowledge. And storing the exact relationships of science and math in long-term memory takes repeated effort to recall the relationships, spaced over time.
What cognitive science says is needed for efficient learning is: First thoroughly memorize fundamental relationships, THEN use them to solve problems in a variety of distinctive contexts including demonstrations and inquiry problems. I'm curious about what, if anything, teachers have their students memorize. For example, while I do not require my students to memorize the element names and symbols, I do find it helpful to have my students memorize roughly 15 polyatomic ions symbols, charges, and names.
Upon telling my students to do so, I make it absolutely clear there is a difference between memorizing the symbols of the polyatomic ions and being fluent with using them. I strongly stress that my desire for them to memorize the polyatomic ions is the first step, but the end goal is for students to be fluent in the language of polyatomic ion symbolism. Are there any teachers that don't have their students memorize anything at all in their classes?
I'd like to see a follow-up poll which surveys teachers if:. A They do ask their students to memorize some things formulas for equations, polyatomic ions, the periodic table, vocabulary, etc. I do not have my students memorize the elements or polyatomic ions. I tell them that before I went back and got certification to teach, I worked as a chemist in a lab. If I forgot something, I had the skills to know where to look. That is the skill I want my student to have. To feel comfortable to understand the beauty of the periodic table, for example, why do polyatomic ions arrange the way the do?
Using a modeling approach has really led my students to a deeper understanding of chemistry. When my students hear that they do not have to memorize it lifts them up and makes them more open to learning.
They find that over time with use, they start to know more about the elements, their placement on the periodic table, why they form certain ions and why compounds join up.
Utilization over memorization. Can't say I learned much else as I found out when I switched schools in 9th grade, but that's another story for another day. Similar to what Deanna, Erica, and Tom mentioned, I have my students memorize very little and you'll see why in a moment. I do have freshmen Chem 1 students memorize 35 common elements name and symbols as well as 18 common polyatomic ions, which I find makes nomenclature go by a little bit more smoothly.
Along with my department colleagues, I provide students with a laminated periodic table that has common polyatomic ions, activity series, solubility chart, and electronegativity values on the back. The goal is that students will demonstrate proficiency with learned skills rather than learned facts, especially in our Chemistry 2 course.
By the sounds of it, you teach a year-long course so having scaffolded learning targets for the elements throughout the year makes sense.
You have the opportunity to hit that multiple times. In our district, Chemistry 1 is a semester-long course for freshmen and it currently covers lab safety and measurement, atomic theory, nuclear chemistry, periodicity, bonding, nomenclature, chemical reactions, and physical properties. Chemistry 2 is considered an elective and is taken primarily by juniors. Occasionally we get the sophomore or senior too. As you might imagine, when Chemistry 2 begins we have to review atom counting and balancing equations.
By this point, students have been out of the game for a year or two and have subsequently forgotten the difference between ionic and covalent bonds, not to mention nomenclature; students don't necessarily need to know bonding or nomenclature to tackle the applied mathematics aspect of stoichiometry, solutions, energetics, etc. It'd certainly make for increased scientific literacy but isn't required to demonstrate proficiency in applied mathematical skills.
I'm really interested to hear about the diverse types of courses everyone here teaches! I assumed obviously naively that most schools have chemistry as a course for upperclassmen only and as a yearlong course. I can't imagine the pace you would have to move at to do chem as a semester course! However, given that sort of time constraint, yes, not memorizing makes sense.
I think you are right though in your assessment that my curriculum is scaffolded even if I didn't consciously do that. One benefit I also have is that for most of my students I have them for three years in a row so I get to "scaffold" across years. First, I teach at the community college level and have done so for over 25 years. When I ask other Chemistry Faculty "Why? I do not have my students memorize anything as I provide then with all formulas and constants as well as a periodic table with the names of the elements and a sheet with all of the polyatomic ions.
I do warn them, though, that the more familiar they are with identifying them, the more quickly they can work thorough an exam and have time to check their work. The reason I have not required memorization is because of Bloom's Taxonomy. Remembering something is the lowest level of learning in Bloom. Ask your self this - is it more important to be able to match the phosphate ion to the correct formula and charge Bloom - Remembering OR to pair the phosphate ion with a metal like magnesium and produce the proper formula Bloom - Applying?
I would argue for the latter. This website uses cookies and similar technologies to deliver its services, to analyse and improve performance and to provide personalised content and advertising. Information about your use of this website will be shared with Google and other third parties. Read our privacy policy. By putting the elements together in various combinations, as we do when we spell words, we can build our dictionary, containing all the substances in the universe. For that, you also need to understand why the elements are in that order.
That said, anyone who has ever watched a class of students search the periodic table blindly for even the most common elements would probably agree that a good familiarity with it is important. Chemists need to know the symbols of common elements and have a feel for where they are located.
But this is all learned in context. Remembering which elements are found within the same period is also useful, as is learning which elements are found within specific blocks. The analogy I use is speaking foreign languages.
He taught me instead to learn them in context: Der Mann, das Kind, mit dem Bus.. Chemistry Expert. Helmenstine holds a Ph. She has taught science courses at the high school, college, and graduate levels. Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter. Featured Video. Cite this Article Format. Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph. How to Use a Periodic Table of Elements. Element Families of the Periodic Table. First 20 Elements of the Periodic Table. Clickable Periodic Table of the Elements.
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