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Improve lab cleanliness with a tissue.
Your students think they are clean in the lab. They aren’t. Every one of us, during the lab safety talk, mentions keeping a clean and...
Brennan Koch
Aug 25, 20232 min read


Are you making periodic trends too complicated?
I’ve been overcomplicating the way I teach periodic trends. Have you? The goal of teaching periodic trends on the table is to allow the...
Brennan Koch
Aug 18, 20233 min read


You are asking the wrong questions. 10 better ways to talk to students on the first day of school.
You are asking the wrong questions to the kids who are coming into your classroom on the first day of school. How do I know? Because we...
Brennan Koch
Aug 4, 20234 min read


8 Chemistry Lessons from the Show 'Alone'
I love the show “Alone” on the History Channel. It is one of my dreams to be on the show. Facing off against the unknown wild, trying...
Brennan Koch
Jul 21, 20237 min read


11 Final Keys from APSI Chemistry 2023
And now for the notes from the final day of APSI chemistry 2023. 1. The Nernst equation and deviations are primarily tested...
Brennan Koch
Jun 30, 20232 min read


14 Key Takeaways from Day 3 of APSI Chemistry.
Welcome to day 3 of the APSI 2023 in chemistry. Here are the top takeaways from today’s session. 1. In a buffer system, the weak...
Brennan Koch
Jun 29, 20233 min read


12 Highlights from AP Chemistry Summer Institute Day 2
Another day at the AP Chemistry Summer Institute completed. Here are my highlights from today. 1. Show animations for dynamic...
Brennan Koch
Jun 28, 20233 min read


10 Highlights from AP Chemistry Summer Institute 2023 (APSI) Day 1
I am attending an AP Chemistry summer institute for the next few days. I will post a few highlights and valuable links so you can glean...
Brennan Koch
Jun 27, 20232 min read


Improve next year with a checklist review of this year.
We did it! We made it to the end of the school year. Now it’s time to dive into a summer that will last approximately eight seconds,...
Brennan Koch
May 26, 20234 min read


How to write a great final: 10 Do's and Don'ts
It’s that time of the year! Final-writing season. Writing a good, fair, time-sensitive final can be a challenge. I’ve written some...
Brennan Koch
May 19, 20234 min read


Write the best labs ever by failing forward.
Has this ever happened to you? You come up with a great idea for a lab. You can see how much the kids will learn by applying the...
Brennan Koch
May 12, 20233 min read


Review the most important topic in chemistry.
Let’s play a guessing game on the most important thing to review at the end of chemistry. Significant figures? No. Stoichiometry? Not...
Brennan Koch
May 5, 20234 min read


How a highlighter changed my labs forever
You’ve had this question before. “Should I have weighed my filter paper before I started filtering?” Duh. Of course, you should have. ...
Brennan Koch
Apr 11, 20232 min read


7 Catchy Phrases to Communicate Effectively with Your Chemistry Students
MFEO. Teachers and catch-phrases are just that; Made For Each Other. And yes, I’m a male in my mid-forties who just quoted “Sleepless...
Brennan Koch
Mar 31, 20234 min read


Stop writing questions. Students learn more when they do the asking.
You write amazing questions. You create practice problems for your student that are deep and engaging. By writing all the questions, you...
Brennan Koch
Mar 17, 20235 min read


A Simple Method to Ask Better Questions Today
“Fine.” It’s the worst answer to a teacher’s question. Let me interpret “fine” for you. It could be “this is the best day of my life”...
Brennan Koch
Mar 10, 20235 min read


Teach Limiting Reagent More Effectively with a Lab You Are Already Using
Don’t you love it when this happens? It’s the 'aha' moment. And it’s one that you set them up for all along. My students discovered...
Brennan Koch
Mar 3, 20233 min read


5 Ways to Grow Your Students by Making Them Get Creative
You have this student in your class. She is perfect. She rarely misses questions on tests. Everything is by the book. Well, I gave...
Brennan Koch
Feb 24, 20235 min read


3 Words That Can Connect You To Your Students
I made a girl cry in chemistry yesterday. Actually, the world made her cry, I just happened to be the final straw. But in that...
Brennan Koch
Feb 17, 20236 min read


Use confidence to build confidence in chemistry.
Chemistry is hard. That is why we love it. If it was easy, it would be called “English”. Kidding, I’m kidding. Save the hate mail. But...
Brennan Koch
Feb 11, 20234 min read
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