How teaching of physics is different from teaching of Chemistry. Give examples to support your answer.

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Teaching methods in chemistry : Secondary chemistry teachers face a host of challenges as they are given the responsibility of deciding how they will deliver assigned curriculum. Much like a complex equation, teachers must factor in numerous variables that will change every semester or year depending on student loads, student needs, grade levels, maturity, development, resources, as well as environmental factors outside the school. These intricate variables play a crucial role in developing a solution to this complex equation. Once the educator has determined those unknown variables, a decision can be made as to which pedagogical and technological methods to apply. A central theme herein is the “Social Constructivist Learning Theory.” The “Social Constructivist Learning Theory” implies that students learn better through active interactions with their peers rather than listening to lectures [=Social constructivist’s reason that through peer interactions, students are able to process new information in a way that’s understandable to them, therefore leading to higher order thinking [=Science-based pedagogies that support the “Social Constructivist Learning Theory” are problem-based learning (PBL), process-oriented guided inquiry (POGIL), and project-based learning (PjBL) =Educational technology is one of the greatest resources we have to help our students learn. While chemistry is a part of our everyday lives, students have found that chemistry can be difficult to understand [8]. If a student is found to be weak in one area, additional support should be given to help that student strengthen their weak area so that they too can have an opportunity to realize their full potential.

For teachers, finding time to provide additional support to help students overcome weak areas can be very difficult. Using technology as a way for students to build skills in weak subject areas will make difficult times of learning fun and enjoyable, but most importantly it will help students build the confidence they need to succeed. Technology is not only beneficial to struggling students; rather, it is beneficial to all students. By using technology, teachers can bring chemistry to life and students will be able to visualize abstract concepts and test new learned concepts in chemistry. For 21st century learners, incorporating technology into the classroom is critical (Saba). Exposing students to technology while teaching chemistry will increase their knowledge and help them build skills that will make them competitive in the STEM workforce (Strengthen Science Education and the Scientific Workforce - American Chemical Society). Active learning is facilitated through students’ activities and by promoting student engagement. Redish et al. demonstrated in a study with their students, that achieving significant gains is possible, using active learning as opposed to didactic lectures enhances student learning continuously after missing fundamental concepts. Science pedagogies discussed in this paper facilitate active learning and student engagement, through an inquiry based problem approach. Pedagogical strategies reviewed in this article can be implemented independently of each other or in conjunction within an instructional setting. Problem-Based Learning is a science based pedagogy that was first implemented inmedical schools during the seventies to help students retain large amounts of information through open-ended questions.

Incorporating the use of student smart phones in the classroom has proven to be a useful instructional tool, especially for teachers who have limited technology resources. Web browsers, applications (apps), and 2D barcodes to create smart objects, can all serve as learning tools that facilitate independent learning Video tutorials and quizzes can serve as differential methods of instruction for chemistry teachers inside and outside of the classroom. For example, Khan Academy is a popular site for chemistry teachers and teachers of other various content areas as well. Instructional methods for which Khan Academy can be utilized include, blended learning, one-to-one classrooms, and online classes Khan Academy provides data for teachers to see where they need to help their students who are struggling Branded by older generations as the “gamer generation” chemistry teachers are now using online games as a way to actively engage students in learning chemistry concepts of all levels.

A simple google search of chemistry video games will put students in a virtual world of molecules, molar masses, and complex equations. Virtual labs are one of the most effective ways for chemistry teachers to engage their students with active learning Virtual labs allow students to experience what it is like to experience a chemistry job in a stem field. This is an excellent way for students to realize their own potential by getting to think like they are working in a field. Students become actively engaged when they are able to see concepts being studied, applied to real life. Going from teacher-centered learning to student-centered learning can be a little nerve racking initially, for both the teacher and the student. Student-centered learning gives students the ability to actively learn and engage with their peers without depending on the teacher for answers. Of the three pedagogies discussed, problem based learning is one of the easiest teaching methods to implement due to minimal preparation time. It is important for problem based questions to be relevant to real life so that students can identify with the problem, making it become personal. Case studies, vignettes, and open-ended task completion problems are the most common used.

Problem-Based Learning can be incorporated into the POGIL method during the application phase to test the new knowledge learned. The Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) method is the newest and most challenging methodology to implement of the three methods. Teachers face a learning curve with initial implementation of POGIL; however, student success with this method in general chemistry classes is well documented.

When needed, teachers can provide mini lectures in between phases, as tier 2 instruction for students struggling. Project Based Learning (PjBL) is a very popular and effective method to teach chemistry. Its growing popularity in recent years can be credited to the shift from teacher centered learning, to student centered learning. In the past, PjBL, was an independent learning strategy, where students carried home and completed an assigned project, then returned back to school. Many students lack adequate support at home to complete these types of assignments, resulting in an overall negative impact on the students. Chemistry teachers, implementing project based learning inside of the classroom, can design projects to specifically meet the learning needs of students in their classroom An invaluable component that should be incorporated into each of these pedagogies is the use of 21st century technology. For chemistry teachers who use lecture and textbooks as their primary instructional tool, incorporating technology into instruction is imperative to the success of struggling chemistry students. Pressure to strengthen writing skills, has fallen on all content teachers. Chemistry teachers must look for creative ways to build their students writing skills. Incorporating online blogging, discussion boards, or constructing wiki pages allows students to build online literacy skills, which is a critical asset in today’s workforce. Smartphones are one of the simplest ways of implementing technology in the classroom, however, it should be noted that implementing smartphones into lessons, without adequate preparation by the teacher, can result in unwarranted classroom behavior. Smart phones give students access to videos, tutorials, quizzes, smart objects, and apps specific to content needs. Smartphones facilitate self-guided learning, when additional resources are needed, to understand or expand on chemistry concepts.

Taken together, these capabilities are creating a world of mobile computing that may have an impact on society, including chemical education that may be even greater than the changes brought about by the personal computer Careful attention should be given to students presenting difficulty mastering chemistry concepts before assigning supplemental instructions. Differentiation between students, who are weak in one or more subject areas versus students struggling with a concept, should be identified. Chemistry teachers can help students struggling in other subject areas by assigning lessons on Khan Academy to help strengthen weak skills. Students, who struggle with abstract concepts, greatly benefit from online simulations. Laboratory instruction is and should be a central component to every chemistry class. Laboratory instruction allow students to actively learn and engage with their peers. Laboratory prep times, limited supplies, or no access to a laboratory, leaves many chemistry students in secondary schools, shorthanded. Utilizing technology in the classroom, affords the once shorthanded chemistry students, with a virtual chemistry lab. Virtual chemistry, cannot fully replace students skills built during lab but it does give students a realistic idea of how labs work, with the application of newly learned chemistry concepts.Chemistry students, in today’s secondary education schools, need instruction that fosters active learning and student-peer engagement, while building 21st century workforce skills. Chemistry instruction, best effective for student learning and building 21st century skills, incorporates social constructivist inquiry, based pedagogies with technology Chemistry teachers should provide students, who are weak in one or more subject areas, resources to build skills. Material should be presented in a way that is relevant to the student’s life It should be critically noted and addressed that during the process of reviewing literature for this research study, published demographics of underrepresented groups in the field of chemistry is the suggestive reason for employment gaps in chemistry and STEM fields [Secondary education chemistry teachers must realize that the outcomes of their instructional methods directly impacts the chemistry workforce.

Teaching in Physics : Instead of writing and solving equations, the students engage in a more intuitive discussion of the main concepts and their relevance to natural phenomena and the applications and devices that we use regularly. Here are the main points of how I teach by the Socratic method:1 • Start the class with an interesting, relatable, and answerable question.

• List all the students’ answers and discuss them broadly for a few minutes. If students have missed a crucial answer, give them hints that lead to it.
• From the list of answers, pick those directly related to the particular topic and continue the discussion.
• Gradually introduce concepts by asking thought-provoking but not difficult questions. If necessary, give the students additional clues. If the method is done well, students will pose questions, other students will answer them, and the teacher effectively becomes a moderator in a panel discussion.
• Do not try to finish a set amount of material during each class. Discuss only as much as the students can understand.

The approach also fosters a deep sense of connectivity between scientific concepts and our own perception of reality. I urge all physics teachers to give the method serious consideration

How Teachers Teach: Specific Methods

• Teach scientific ways of thinking.
• Actively involve students in their own learning.
• Help students to develop a conceptual framework as well as to develop problem solving skills.
• Promote student discussion and group activities.
• Help students experience science in varied, interesting, and enjoyable ways.
• Assess student understanding at frequent intervals throughout the learning process.

LECTURES
Evidence from a number of disciplines suggests that oral presentations to large groups of passive students contribute very little to real learning. In physics, standard lectures do not help most students develop conceptual understanding of fundamental processes in electricity and in mechanics (Arons, 1983; McDermott and Shaffer, 1992; McDermott et al., 1994). Similarly, student grades in a large general chemistry lecture course do not correlate with the lecturing skills and experience of the instructor (Birk and Foster, 1993).

Enhancing Learning in Large Classes
Despite the limitations of traditional lectures, many institutions are forced to offer high-enrollment introductory science courses. Many professors who teach these courses feel that lecturing is their only option, and can only dream of what they could accomplish in smaller classes. However, there is a small but growing group of science faculty members who have developed ways to engage students in the process of thinking, questioning, and problem solving despite the large class size. Strategies in use in introductory courses in biology and geology are described in the sidebars.

Although many of the methods described in these sidebars are consistent with what experts know about how students learn they may not be welcomed by all of the students in a class. There are several ways to help students make the transition from passive listeners to active participants in their own learning (Orzechowksi, 1995):

• Start off slowly; students may not have much experience in active learning.
• Introduce change at the beginning of a course, rather than midway through.
• Avoid giving students the impression that you are "experimenting" with them.

Biochemistry, Genetics, and Molecular Biology at Stanford University
Professor: Sharon Long
Enrollment: 400 students

For these, I walk up the side of the auditorium and designate even and odd rows. Then I say that the even people should turn around and face the odd people and do the exercise together. This generates groups of 2-6 people. They all put their names onto the single sheet they are to turn in.

Then the students work together on a question for 3-4 minutes. I walk around the room, answering their questions.

When time is up, the TA stands at the overhead projector, and I walk through the crowd (I have a lapel mike so they can hear me), collecting their answers for each question. Then we talk about solutions. Usually the time runs out, and the students turn their papers. Of course, they get credit for their participation, and that provides some motivation, but I am sure students understand the concepts better than if they were presented only in my lecture.

This process engages the students. Of course the hub-bub grows as the students move from the assigned topic to other conversations, but they come back fairly quickly. It is a bit unnerving because there is the potential for loss of control in the class, but the students seem to either like it or are indifferent, but certainly aren't quite as passive as they are while being lectured at.

• Don't give up lectures completely. 
• Anticipate students' anxiety, and be prepared to provide support and encouragement as they adapt to your expectations. 
• Discuss your approach with colleagues, especially if you are teaching a well-established course in a pre professional curriculum. 

Hints for More Effective Lecturing 
When lecturing is the chosen or necessary teaching method, one way to keep students engaged is to pause periodically to assess student understanding or to initiate short student discussions (see sidebars). Calling on individual students to answer questions or offer comments can also hold student attention; however, some students prefer a feedback method with more anonymity. If they have an opportunity to discuss a question in small groups, the group can offer an answer, which removes any one student from the spotlight. Another option is to have students write their answer on an index card, and pass the card to the end of the row; the student seated there can select one answer to present, without disclosing whose it is.
The literature on teaching and learning contains other examples of techniques to maintain students' attention in a lecture setting (Eble, 1988; Davis, 1993; Lowman, 1995; McKeachie, 1994):

•  Avoid direct repetition of material in a textbook so that it remains a useful alternative resource.

Who doesn’t have the experience of having the coiled headset cord of a telephone show super coils (twists around itself)? This presents the students with the chance to play at home, where they can convince themselves that the direction (handedness) of the super coils depends on the direction of the original helix, and on whether the cord was under wound or over wound before the headset was replaced (constraining the ends). Students learn both an important principle for understanding nucleic acids and a handy practical tip that lets them predict the easiest way to get the kinks out of the phone cord! They get the chance to test their understanding by making predictions and doing trials-exactly what one hopes for in active scientific learning.

A professor’s questions should build confidence rather than induce fear. One technique is to encourage the student to propose several different answers to the question. The student can then be encouraged to step outside the answers and begin to develop the skills necessary to assess the answers. Some questions seek facts and simply measure student recall; others demand higher reasoning skills such as elaborating on or explaining a concept, comparing and contrasting several possibilities, speculating about an outcome, and speculating about cause and effect. The type of question asked and the response given to students’ initial answers are crucial to the types of reasoning processes the students are encouraged to use. Several aspects of questions to formulate them, what reasoning or knowledge is tested or encouraged, how to deal with answers-similar for dialogue and for testing. Chapters 5 and 6 contain more information on questions as part of assessment, testing, and grading.

Demonstrations
Demonstrations can be very effective for illustrating concepts in class, but can result in passive learning without careful attention to engaging students. They can provoke students to think for themselves and are especially helpful if the demonstration has a surprise, challenges an assumption, or illustrates an otherwise abstract concept or mechanism. Demonstrations that use everyday objects are especially effective and require little preparation on the part of faculty (see sidebar). Students’ interest is peaked if they are asked to make predictions and vote on the most probable outcome. There are numerous resources available to help faculty design and conduct demonstrations. Many science education periodicals contain one or more demonstrations in each issue. The ‘’Tested Demonstrations” column in the Journal of Chemical Education and the “Favorite Demonstration” column in the Journal of College Science Teaching are but two of the many examples. The American Chemical Society and the University of Wisconsin Press have published excellent books on chemical demonstrations (Shakhashiri, 1983, 1985, 1989, 1992; Summerlin and Ealy, 1985; Summerlin et al., 1987). Similar volumes of physics demonstrations have been published by the American Association of Physics Teachers (Freier and Anderson, 1981; Berry, 1987). You should consider a number of issues when planning a demonstration (O’Brien, 1990):

• What concepts do you want the demonstration to illustrate?
• Which of the many demonstrations on the selected topic will generate the greatest enhancement in student learning?
• Where in the class would it be most effective?
• What prior knowledge should be reviewed before the demonstration?
• What design would be most effective, given the materials at hand and the target audience?
• Which steps in the demonstration procedure should be carried out ahead of time?

DISCUSSIONS
Small group discussion sections often are used in large-enrollment courses to complement the lectures. In courses with small enrollments, they can substitute for the lecture, or both lecture and discussion formats can be used in the same class period.

Why Discussion?
Focused discussion is an effective way for many students to develop their conceptual frameworks and to learn problem solving skills as they try out their own ideas on other students and the instructor. The give and take of technical discussion also sharpens critical and quantitative thinking skills.

Planning and Guiding Discussions
Probably the best overall advice is to be bold but flexible and willing to adjust your strategies to fit the character of your class. If you want to experiment with using discussions in your class, here are some things to consider:

• Decide on the goals of your class discussion. What is it that you want the students to get from each class session? Concepts? Problem solving skills? Decision-making skills? The ability to make connections to other disciplines or to technology? Broader perspective? Keep in mind that the goals may change as you progress through the material during the quarter or semester.
• Explain to the students how discussions will be structured. Will the discussion involve the whole class or will students work in smaller groups? Make clear what you expect them to do before coming to each class session: read the chapter, think about the questions at the end of the chapter, seriously try to do the first five problems, etc. Let students see you take attendance. Students who do not come to class may not be studying.

LABORATORIES
It is hard to imagine learning to do science, or learning about science, without doing laboratory or field work. Experimentation underlies all scientific knowledge and understanding. Laboratories are wonderful settings for teaching and learning science. They provide students with opportunities to think about, discuss, and solve real problems. Developing and teaching an effective laboratory requires as much skill, creativity, and hard work as proposing and executing a first-rate research project.

it is common practice because it is efficient. Laboratories are costly and time consuming, and pred

Developing Effective Laboratories
Improving undergraduate laboratory instruction has become a priority in many institutions, driven, in part, by the exciting program being developed at a wide range of institutions. Some labs encourage critical and quantitative thinking, some emphasize demonstration of principles or development of lab techniques, and some help students deepen their understanding of fundamental concepts (Hake, 1992). Where possible, the lab should be coincident with the lecture or discussion. Before you begin to develop a laboratory program, it is important to think about its goals. Here are a number of possibilities:

• Develop intuition and deepen understanding of concepts.
• Apply concepts learned in class to new situations.
• Experience basic phenomena.
• Develop critical, quantitative thinking. .
• Exercise curiosity and creativity by designing a procedure to test a hypothesis.
• Better appreciate the role of experimentation in science.
• Test important laws and rules.

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