Jul 03 2008
Chemistry Curriculum
At my school we are looking into our chemistry curriculum with the idea of changing it. We are looking at many different areas including topics to cover and the depth versus breadth argument. I am looking for a little dialog about what and how things should be covered for a Chemistry class. We only have one level of chemistry in our school so this would be for all chem students.
Let me give you a little background. Freshman at our school take Biology, then as sophomores the more advanced students take chemistry while those who are weaker take physical science (a one semester intro to Chem and one semester into to physics with Earth Science sprinkled in). There are many students who take chemistry as Juniors after they have completed the physical science class. Even though the Juniors coming out of physical science have some chem background, the sophomores tend to outscore them on tests.
Anyway, I am hoping to get some ideas out there about topics and how much time/depth of covering them. There are times with I think we should stick with a few main topics and cover them very deeply and in the process we will cover some of the other things they may encounter in the future, and then I go to the other side and feel the students should be exposed to as much as we can cram in during the year. Let me know how you teach and what works best for you.
