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Teach electron configuration with Battleship!
The electron configuration unit can get a little dry. Electron configuration is a tough unit for highly connected labs. Try using this...
Brennan Koch
Oct 18, 20243 min read


How dog training can help you become a better chemistry teacher
I was listening to a bird hunting podcast about how to train your bird dog, and I realized that they might as well have been talking...
Brennan Koch
Oct 4, 20244 min read


Use chemistry tests for growth, not punishment
Tests used to be punitive. I wielded them like a weapon, seeking out those who were underprepared and chopping them down like the...
Brennan Koch
Sep 27, 20244 min read


Introduce equilibrium with less mess and less headache.
The first time hearing about equilibrium can be confusing for students. That’s why there are so many ways to introduce it. Many are...
Brennan Koch
Sep 20, 20244 min read


Assess more. Grade less.
You should assess more. You should grade less. Those two statements seem mutually exclusive, but they aren’t. The longer that I teach,...
Brennan Koch
Sep 13, 20244 min read


Start teaching dimensional analysis with a puzzle instead of math.
Wish me luck. I start dimensional analysis today. For some (like many of us), it just makes sense. And for others (like many, many of...
Brennan Koch
Sep 6, 20243 min read


A better way to use the exploding gummy bear demo.
Don’t you hate it when you see a cool demo, but have no place for it? That is the way I felt about the exploding gummy bear demo. It’s...
Brennan Koch
Aug 23, 20243 min read


Use this demo to get students asking "How?"
This could be the most important question for students to be asking in chemistry; “How?” At almost every level of chem, one of the...
Brennan Koch
Aug 16, 20243 min read


What to do with AP Chem test scores (or any test score!)
It’s almost time. AP scores come out very soon. For some of us, it feels like Christmas slowly approaching. For others of us, it feels...
Brennan Koch
Jul 3, 20244 min read


Teach the gas laws using the disposable water bottle lid launching demo
If you have taught as long as I have, you have lived through at least two really annoying disposable water bottle fads. Bottle...
Brennan Koch
May 3, 20244 min read


Late to the Party: Tips for Doing the Blue Glitter Intermolecular Force Demo for the First Time
I was late to the party. Like really late. I just did the blue glitter intermolecular force demo for the first time. I know, it’s the...
Brennan Koch
Apr 12, 20244 min read


AP Chemistry Unit 9: How to Remember Which Electrode is the Anode and Cathode
It's crunch time for AP chemistry. Many of us are teaching unit 9 right now. Here is a visual reminder for them which electrode is the...
Brennan Koch
Apr 5, 20241 min read


5 Simple steps to draw Lewis dot structures without puzzle pieces
I have to admit something. I don’t like using puzzle pieces for molecular compounds. There I said it. It’s cute for methane and...
Brennan Koch
Mar 29, 20243 min read


6 tips for being wrong the right way in the chemistry classroom
I can remember it like it was yesterday. I was in fourth grade competing in a Quiz Bowl with my other science nerd friends. The...
Brennan Koch
Mar 15, 20245 min read


Apply limiting reagent calculations with Jet Boat Races
While the applications of limiting reagent calculations might feel obvious to you and I, they aren’t to the students. Often, the...
Brennan Koch
Mar 8, 20244 min read


Use the Alka Seltzer lab for limiting reagent
There are a million different versions of the stoichiometry Alka Seltzer lab out there. And maybe I’m just a contrarian, but I have...
Brennan Koch
Mar 1, 20244 min read


Use the Stability First method for predicting chemical equations
There is an answer in chemistry to almost every “why” question. To become more stable. Why does nitrogen make a diatomic element? To...
Brennan Koch
Feb 23, 20244 min read


Use this fun video to introduce the rate determining step in kinetics
The rate determining step in kinetics can be made visual. I show this same grainy video every year to help students just starting...
Brennan Koch
Feb 16, 20242 min read


Stop teaching Conservation of Mass before completing chemical reactions.
This is the year for trying things in a new order. Some of them have worked to remove some common errors. I always used to teach...
Brennan Koch
Feb 9, 20243 min read


How to use a limiting reagent reaction to introduce writing chemical equations.
I’m doing an experiment. With my students. I introduced the concept of limiting reagent before they even know how to balance...
Brennan Koch
Feb 2, 20244 min read
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