How fast should you teach chemistry?
Pacing is important. If the students are lollygagging, you won’t cover what you need to. If you are speeding through content faster than they can handle, you are setting them up for failure. Whether it’s in a lab period or the whole year, having the correct pacing sets the students up for success. Here are some tips about pacing to help you maximize your time and effort.
Use the finger gauge
In yesterday’s lab, my class had to work through 9 different compounds in a flame test. In order to keep track of their pacing, I would periodically ask them to raise their hand and show me how many they had left. Some groups only had two left. But my group of boys, you know the ones, had five left. When they saw that everyone else only had two to go, I watched their disposition change. All of a sudden, they were more efficient at getting their chemicals. They were spending less time watching the colors burn.
Not only did I have a better gauge on how to pace the rest of the class, but the students were getting feedback as well. The group of “must do it right” girls were relieved that they were pacing on time. The slacker boys were prompted to speed up. This allowed my lab to end appropriately and on time. Just a couple of times showing me with their hands how many steps left and the pacing improved.
Don’t be afraid to mix things up
I teach both AP Chem and AP Bio. Pacing is of the utmost importance in these classes with a lot of content and a hard stopping date. Especially in these harder classes, I have found that changing the order of the chapters actually improves our pacing through the school year.
For example, in AP chemistry, if you teach in the order of the CED, the spring semester will include topics that my grade-level students either only hint at or are not taught at all. That makes the spring semester of AP chemistry pretty heavy on their brains. And that weight shows up in a decreased pace.
I changed the order of chapters of number of years ago to spread the mental effort out. It has made the flow of the class faster and more efficient. I now teach matter, measurement and stoichiometry. And then equilibrium. Bam. It’s a step up, but the kids respond. And by teaching equilibrium early in the year, I can then teach acid/base equilibria.
Think about your classes. If there is not a distinct reason to teach one unit before another, consider rearranging it to increase the pacing.
Be intentional and flexible with due dates
I tell my students two things at the beginning of the year about pacing.
1. This class will push you out of your comfort zone due to the pacing.
2. We will go as fast as we can for as long as we need.
Students aren’t used to hearing #2 after #1. In order to set my pacing in the class, I have to be getting formative assessments along the way in order to inform ME how fast to go. That is one reason that I do warmups every day in grade-level chemistry. (Here is a link to a blog about how to make effective warmups.) It gives me feedback daily on how my pacing is doing.
This also means that I don’t set my test calendar weeks or months in advance. I don’t know these students, so how am I supposed to know what the right pacing for the year is before I meet them?
I had an AP student ask me the other day if we were on the right pace. I honestly asked her if she thought she could go faster. She said no. And then I responded with a smile that we are right on pace.
I am perfectly comfortable moving a test date back (or up) if the pacing of the class will benefit from moving it. That can also feel odd to a student because they believe that due dates are written in stone. The only thing written in stone in my class is that you will be uncomfortable at the pace. So, thrive in that discomfort.
What to do with stragglers
Not every student works at the same pace. And the pace that pushes one student out of their comfort zone might be excessive for another student. I don’t have a magic wand to tell you how to manage that. It will always be the struggle. But here are two key ideas that will help you in the struggle with the slow students.
1. Prove to them that you are in their corner.
2. Build a library of resources to share.
Yesterday after school I was working with a new girl at our school. She had told me that due to a number of reasons, she hadn’t done full-time school for the past two years. She was struggling with the pacing in my class. In fact, she was still making up stuff from over a week ago. She is bright enough to keep pace with the class. And yesterday, she finally got caught up. As she was preparing to leave, I told her how proud I was of her for continuing to come in and learn things and clarify assignments. And that she was finally done with old stuff! Hooray! She looked at me and said, “Mr. Koch, I was sitting in my car ready to leave but I knew you would want to help me. So, I came back in.” That’s it. She knew I was in her corner. And the pacing with her will only improve because of it.
I often get asked by over-zealous parents if they should get a tutor for their child. My answer is always no. That is because over the years, I have built up a library of practice problems, awkward videos of me solving problems, and lots of keys. And all of those things are posted in every chapter. So before a tutor starts using different terminology and confusing the kid, they should use all the resources that are already posted. This gives kids who are slower the opportunity to see questions worked out so that they can apply it to their homework. I even post homework keys with about 40% of the questions done. Simply so students can increase their pace because their understanding is being built. And all of that can happen without me spending one on one time with them.
Give some of these hints a try. And you will find that you can go as fast as you can for as long as you need. And then you are done.
I don’t like wasting time. I’m allergic to it. That is why I designed Stoich Decks games to be integral parts of my lesson and not simply an add-on. Check out how you could use these tools to increase engagement in your classroom.
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