Mixed Martial Arts and Chemistry

I walked into dojo. An american flag on the right wall, twin dragon flag on the left wall. In front of me is a group of students in a circle as Sensei (teacher) was asking for a volunteer to demonstrate what the student has learned. Much to my surprise Kai rasied his hand. Kai was going to demonstrate a front snap kick. Sensei was also surprised and smiled as Kai performed his front snap kick. Before Sensei critiqued his front snap kick he looked at Kai and the other students and said.

"Kai before I critique your front snap kick I want to acknowledge you as person and the energy you bring into my dojo"

So this evening I want to acknowledge you and your effort with a helpful hint:

To modern scientists, an orbital is.......a region in space in which the probability of finding an electron is high

First Blog at DNHS

So I am sitting here watching my boys eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches thinking about chemistry. Let me set the picture Koa my youngest has split his sandwich in half and is picking the peanut butter on one half and licking the jelly on the other half. Kai eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on a tortilla. He is wearing his Darth Vadar face mask singing "we will we will rock you". Yeah I know how does one eat a PB & J sandwich wearing a mask two words for you "THE FORCE" and not the cool Yoda style force.

So how can I be thinking of chemistry at a time like this...... It is just what I do. So read about what I was thinking about for my next tradition you may learn something.

Tennessee is not just another state. I came to this conclusion when making my test. I was having one of those serendipitous moments. Could of happened to anyone. I was eating chips and salsa, watching Kai kick the soccer ball in the house, holding Koa in my lap and writing my test on my laptop. I had just finished question number ten when I said to Koa "what letter should the answer be A, B, C, or D". Koa responded "C". Kai then says "C? what is C daddy?" I then said "Ten is C." That is when it hit me, Tennessee is not just another state. So as a tradition I will always make the answer to number ten "C". Oh yeah don't tell anyone because the tradition will be null and void.

Gases and the smoke monster

What does the smoke monster have to do with gases? Nothing really but read on and you will get a helpful hint on the Gas Law test. Suppose that you have 0.0857 moles of potassium chlorate produces 0.129 moles of an unknown gas. How many moles of the unknown gas would be produced if you if you started with 0.0214 of potassium chlorate?........................................................ ....................................answer is coming.......................................................................................................... .................answer is .0323 moles of unknown gas. That is right set up a ratio. That is your helpful hint of the day. If you are confused hit me up on facebook.

A transfer of electrons a Redox Reactions

In chemistry we define a Redox Reaction as a chemical reaction that occurs as a result of a transfer of electrons. A simple example is when a highly electronegative atom (Atom A) attracts an electron from another atom (Atom B). The results are Atom A becomes negatively charged and Atom B becomes positively charged and it is the attraction of opposites that creates a bond and a new compound (AB)

I was wondering it what ways do we transfer things that creates a bond between people. As I am pondering this question I start to listen to my boys downstairs.....I have the answer! Love. My wife is telling Kai what a good boy he is by sharing his train with Koa. For most of you out there Kai is not just sharing a train but Kai is sharing his TRAIN that is huge in our family. Kai has been known to yell I "I DON'T LIKE SHARING!" Kai is sharing! Sound the bells! Kai is sharing! This is Huge! This is bigger then the technical plans to the Death Star. This is as if free will and destiny have collided in some metaphysical way and not in some altered timeline but in real time. This is like John Locke and Darth Vader playing checkers drinking a lemonade on the front porch of the known universe talking about how there is no such thing as destiny.

This transfer of love will create something knew in our house!!!!............ at the very least a little peace and quiet.

Wikis in my future and yours

As I was getting out of the water after surfing today, a colleague asked me, “What are you learning about this week in your Masters’ class?” I explained to him that I’ve been spending quite a bit of time on wikis and the possibilities of using them in my chemistry class. I think that incorporating wikis into my teaching techniques would allow for a whole new range of assignments that would challenge and engage my students.

James and Margaret West, authors of Using Wikis for Online Collaboration say, "Students who engage in online collaboration and wiki work during their education will be well prepared for the challenges of the virtual workplace."

Yes, it’s that time of year again…the week that makes my students quiver with anxiety. It’s time for their chemistry final exam. This week, I began my preparations for this most feared test as I always do: I handed students sample questions and a study guide and did my best to answer their questions during class. That’s the way I’m supposed to do it, right? The tried and true and age-tested process of test preparation. Well, when all was done and my last student handed in his exam, I had a flash of brilliance. OK, maybe it wasn’t brilliance, but it’ was at least thought-provoking. What if I found a way to make exam preparation more engaging and effective for my students? Ok, here goes…Students can come up with their own sample questions, study guide and answers. Each class could have its own wiki. I could give each student the assignment of creating one problem, three study guide questions and editing someone else's assignment. Whatever I don't cover in class could be covered on the wiki. The wiki could be comprehensive and extensive. The best part is that the wiki would be created by the students, thus engaging them personally in both the process of learning and the material itself.

What I am still working through is how I would to grade it. I am not sure if I even need to. Will wikis make my teaching life easier or more difficult? I think I will try it out on our next unit test. Stay tuned…

Masters Blog 1

"The role of the instructor is not to provide learning. The role of the instructor is to provide the context in which learning can occur. Contextual teaching and learning engages students in significant and relevant activities that help them connect their academic learning to real-life situations and problems" (Using Wikis for Online Collaboration, James and Margaret West).

I must admit that this quote caught my attention and had me scratching my head at first. “The role of the instructor is not to provide learning”…Really? What is it exactly that I’m paying for? The more I thought about this in relationship to my masters courses, the more it made sense. In the past few months that I’ve been working towards this degree, I have not taken endless notes from lecturing professors nor have I memorized pages of seemingly important data. In fact, most of my interaction with my teachers has come in the form of feedback, occurring after my work has been completed. And yet, upon reflection, I must admit that learning has, in fact taken place. I’m using technologies proficiently in my classrooms now that I’d never even heard of a few months ago. Hmmmmm. Yes, I’d say the teaching style has been to create a context, or set the stage so to speak, for me to fumble my way towards my own learning.

Applying the principle of contextual learning to my own teaching could be a bit dicey. I am, after-all, a chemistry teacher. I’m supposed to teach formulas and chemical equations necessitating wrote memorization, right? Well, actually, I couldn’t agree more with the statement: "Contextual teaching and learning engages students in significant and relevant activities that help them connect their academic learning to real-life situations and problems.” In my heart of hearts, I believe that teaching chemistry is actually about creating a space for students to learn and experiment with the essential life skill of problem solving. My desire is for students to use their experience of the “cause and effect” process of chemistry to make wise choices in their real life activities. I am hoping that the wikis will provide the collaborative and creative space or “context” for my students’ learning.

It’s an interesting experience to be both teacher and student simultaneously. It does absolutely give me the opportunity to “walk my talk” in the classroom. As my students engage in new technologies that I introduce in my classrooms such as blogs, wikis, podcasts and Twitter, I am learning right along with them…As it should be.