Tag Archives: chemistry

Data: LAMP Project

Student teachers at Ball State University are required to complete an in-depth unit long data driven analysis of their student teaching called Learning Assessment Model Project (LAMP).  I chose to run the project during the stoichiometry  unit.  Stoichiometry is a unifying topic of chemistry.  It synthesizes previously taught topics of writing chemical formulas, calculating molar masses, performing molar conversions, and balancing chemical reaction equations so that students may apply prior knowledge to its fullest use.  Stoichiometry is rigorous and challenging for students.  My aim was to make this topic both accessible and useful for my students by relating it to their everyday lives.  We chose the stoichiometry unit to run our LAMP project in as most students, except possibly those who have taken integrated chemistry and physics, have no experience with stoichiometry.  We wanted to see the direct impact that our teaching had upon students.  The following is a summary of the project, its outcome and conclusions drawn from it.

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Solution Riddles

Riddle clues hidden throughout the classroom.
Riddle clues hidden throughout the classroom.

I adapted the http://espace.bsu.edu/akhouck/2015/10/08/find-me-a-solution-please/ lab from Chemistry II for the Chemistry I students to use as a lab in preparation for the end of unit lab practical exam that some students had chosen to take.  Aside from reinforcing solution chemistry calculations, this lab offered more in class practice using volumetric glassware and their associated techniques.  A problem arose when each lab group required 3 volumetric flasks and our room only had a total of 12 flasks available for use.  In order to circumvent extra large lab groups, but still keep students engaged, I composed a nine question problem set involving molarity, molality and dilution caluclations.  In order to solve the problems, students had to answer riddles and find clues hidden around our room.  At each location students solved a particular problem and then moved on to find a the next clue to solve.

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Activity: Conjugate Acid/Base Pairs

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Kinesthetic conjugate acid/base pair cards.

Chemistry II students have sat and listened to a lot of lecture here lately, as we have been covering chemical kinetics and equilibria.  They have been cooperative, using the quadratic formula and solving problems along the way.  However, once we got into weak acid/base equilibria, in particular conjugate acids and bases,  I wanted a kinesthetic activity that would get the students up an engaged.  That was the genesis of this activity.

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Gas Law Demo Day

I started teaching the Gas Law unit lacking inspiration.  I have always considered the Gas Laws to be rote and uninspiring.  My first period unit opening lesson was less than engaging.  After class Mr. Smith asked me how I thought it went I said that it was less than ideal.  After some discussion, and finding a vacuum pump, I scrapped my lecture plans in favor of performing Gas Law demonstrations.

Gas Law Demos.
Gas Law Demos.

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Preassessment Gallery Walk: Gas Laws

We began the Gas Laws unit with a gallery walk preassessment to see how much, if any, knowledge the students had regarding the Kinetic Molecular Theory.  All eight postulates of the theory were written on the white boards around the room.  Students were grouped into pairs and given dry erase markers and asked whether or not they agreed with the written statements of:

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States of Matter Sort

Chemistry I students last discussed the states of matter in sixth grade, but they are also used as a discussion lead in to thermodynamics in chemistry.  Because students have experience with states of matter, I wanted to find an engaging way to activate previous knowledge and begin our thermochemistry unit.  I generated a list of eight properties of each of the three common states of matter, printed them on colored sheets of paper, cut them into slips and mixed them together in a bucket.  Then I divided the class into three teams and assigned each team a state of matter to represent and asked them to pull eight random slips from the bucket.  The teams were to discuss amongst themselves whether or not each of the eight slips they pulled out matched their state of matter.  If the group found that some of the slips descriptions didn’t define their state, they were to trade with another group until they found descriptions that did, but not to have more than eight slips at once.

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Best Days: Differentiated Instruction

There was an advanced group of students developing in one section of Chemistry I that began to act out in boredom in class during the Gas Laws unit.  I used pregnant pauses, proximal discipline and even stopped my instruction in an attempt to quell their behavior.  Over one weekend I really thought about how best to approach the situation and I came to the conclusion that that particular group of students simply needed to be given work and then set loose to complete their required assignments.  What was really needed was an equitable assignment for all students, but in multiple versions.  My second attempt at differentiated instruction had begun.

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Authentic Assessment: Solution Exam Practical

I always enjoy any activity that involves authentic laboratory work, so when it came time for the solutions unit in Chemistry I, I decided to allow students a choice for their end of unit assessment.  Either assessment was worth the same number of points, but there would be an option of either completing a traditional paper and pencil test, or performing a lab practical exam that involved making actual solutions.  A rubric was constructed to grade the outcome of the practical: Solution Lab Practical Rubric as well as a modified testing instrument: Solutions Practical Exam

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Gas Laws Inquiry Investigation

I began the Gas Laws unit wondering how to present Gas Law equations in a more engaging way.  Mr. Smith suggested that we approach the discussion from an inquiry perspective using the new DataHub instruments at the school.  We had used the DataHub during Gas Laws in Chemistry II, so I modified an activity that had been used with them to present and derive the Gas Laws for Chemistry I.  The following data table was generated for student data collection during the in class demos: Gas Law Investigation

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Using the DataHub to collect real time pressure data to derive the Gas Law equations.

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Stoichiometry Project

A requirement of the LAMP project was to have students complete a project related to the unit of study.  My LAMP project was completed during the stoichiometry unit, so the project I assigned involved students profiling a kind of chemical reaction of interest to them, and then performing a 5 gram mole to mole stoichiometry calculation using a balanced reaction involving that reaction.  The end product students produced was either a  poster or a brochure describing their reaction, with an illustration and the required calculations outlined.  The results were fantastic:

Bulletin board project results.
Bulletin board project results.

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