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I make a daily commitment in my class to do the following:
Student engagement:
Engage my students in the chemistry content is an aspect of teaching that is very important to me. If my students are not engaged then learning chemistry is much more of a struggle. One aspect of engagement that I value is student collaboration. Throughout my lessons I provide many opportunities for my students to engage in many peer-peer interactions either through asking questions, exploring and discovering the science together.
Be excited about the science and learning:
Show excitement and enthusiasm while teaching. When discussing a concept that my students are struggling with my students often laugh at me because I get so excited when they "get it". I love this! My students can truly see my passion for chemistry and my passion for each of my student's understanding. It is so awesome to be a part of that daily!
Give mental-breaks:
Implement mental breaks for my students a couple of times throughout the lesson, that way they can talk and walk around and have a couple of minutes of free time to be off topic and take a break from chemistry.
Visuals and Demonstration to enhance learning:
Provide my students with visuals is very important to me. All of my lessons and slides include visuals and/or animations. In addition, I like to implement mini-labs and demonstrations that provide students a real visual of the chemistry concept they are learning. Proving the hands-on visuals gives my students something to draw on their notes and/or a visual to remember when applying the new knowledge.
Checking in with my students both whole class and individually:
I take time to check-in with my students everyday. I know the importance of getting to know my students, as this is a crucial step in making the science content both relatable and relevant. Knowing who my students are, culturally, socially and academically is very important.
Constant praising and communication:
I am a very vocal teacher and try to praise all the positive aspects that each of my students bring to my chemistry classroom. I have started many lessons with talking about an "issue" on campus, that has nothing to do with chemistry but has everything thing to do with our community, their safety and teaching them ways to respond (or not to) negative comments and people. Honestly, this is one of the best aspect of being a teacher and one that I know makes a huge impact on my students.
Use technology:
One important aspect of teaching today's students is using technology in my lessons. I really like using online simulations to reinforce the chemistry concepts we cover in our class. These lesson really engage my students in learning the content in new and unique ways, plus is helps my student visually understand the concepts. Implementing technology in my classroom daily is still a learning process but I am improving daily!
I make a daily commitment in my class to do the following:
Student engagement:
Engage my students in the chemistry content is an aspect of teaching that is very important to me. If my students are not engaged then learning chemistry is much more of a struggle. One aspect of engagement that I value is student collaboration. Throughout my lessons I provide many opportunities for my students to engage in many peer-peer interactions either through asking questions, exploring and discovering the science together.
Be excited about the science and learning:
Show excitement and enthusiasm while teaching. When discussing a concept that my students are struggling with my students often laugh at me because I get so excited when they "get it". I love this! My students can truly see my passion for chemistry and my passion for each of my student's understanding. It is so awesome to be a part of that daily!
Give mental-breaks:
Implement mental breaks for my students a couple of times throughout the lesson, that way they can talk and walk around and have a couple of minutes of free time to be off topic and take a break from chemistry.
Visuals and Demonstration to enhance learning:
Provide my students with visuals is very important to me. All of my lessons and slides include visuals and/or animations. In addition, I like to implement mini-labs and demonstrations that provide students a real visual of the chemistry concept they are learning. Proving the hands-on visuals gives my students something to draw on their notes and/or a visual to remember when applying the new knowledge.
Checking in with my students both whole class and individually:
I take time to check-in with my students everyday. I know the importance of getting to know my students, as this is a crucial step in making the science content both relatable and relevant. Knowing who my students are, culturally, socially and academically is very important.
Constant praising and communication:
I am a very vocal teacher and try to praise all the positive aspects that each of my students bring to my chemistry classroom. I have started many lessons with talking about an "issue" on campus, that has nothing to do with chemistry but has everything thing to do with our community, their safety and teaching them ways to respond (or not to) negative comments and people. Honestly, this is one of the best aspect of being a teacher and one that I know makes a huge impact on my students.
Use technology:
One important aspect of teaching today's students is using technology in my lessons. I really like using online simulations to reinforce the chemistry concepts we cover in our class. These lesson really engage my students in learning the content in new and unique ways, plus is helps my student visually understand the concepts. Implementing technology in my classroom daily is still a learning process but I am improving daily!