In a few week’s time I will be leading a session with trainee teachers introducing teacher subject knowledge and a knowledge rich curriculum. Reviewing my notes from a similar session last year, I thought it might be helpful in refreshing my thoughts to write a summary which has ended up as this series of posts. … Continue reading Subject Knowledge and a Knowledge Rich Curriculum – Part 1: What knowledge do teachers need? →

Imagine being parachuted onto the top of a high mountain. The views are breathtaking. You look around and absorb the beauty of all you can see taking photos to remember it by. But how much greater would your enjoyment and satisfaction in that moment be if you had climbed the mountain on foot? If you’d … Continue reading Enjoying the Journey →

I’ve read a couple of blogs recently which really resonated with me - they were about individuality in teaching, and knowing when to ‘let it go’ in leadership. The first struck a chord because as long as I can remember I have frequently sought to fit in and be accepted by conforming to the ideals … Continue reading Emerging from the shadows →

You know those moments when something suddenly makes sense, but you’d never known it didn’t until you got it? I guess we could call it an ‘apple insight’! I had one of those with Newton’s Laws a few years back. At that point I don’t think I’d ever read an edublog, let alone written one … Continue reading Making sense of Newton’s Laws →

When teaching bonding, I used to start with covalent structures, now I leave them until last. This is because I think covalent bonding presents particular challenges which can be mitigated by teaching at the end of the topic. Three main reasons for this are: Why covalent bonds exist at all is less intuitive than for … Continue reading Teaching Structure and Bonding (Part 5): Covalent Structures →

Having introduced how I approach teaching the KS4 Structure and Bonding topic, I’ve described the teaching sequence I use for ionic structures in detail. These posts give a clear indication of the journey through each structure type which I take students on, from the macroscopic properties they are familiar with, to the sub-microscopic structure - … Continue reading Teaching Structure and Bonding (Part 4): Metallic Structures →

When I go for walks at the moment, I often listen to podcasts or audiobooks. Looking to find podcasts which would be both interesting in their own right, but also develop my own hinterland knowledge of the science I teach, I put out a request for suggestions on Twitter. This got far more responses than … Continue reading Science Podcasts →

Part 1: Teaching Structure and Bonding - The Challenges Part 2: Laying Foundations - The Particle Model I’ve previously outlined some of the key challenges in teaching Structure and Bonding at KS4, and how I have found it useful to review the particle model (especially changes of state) before moving on to study the various … Continue reading Teaching Structure and Bonding (Part 3): Ionic Structures →

This is Part 2 in a blog series about how I teach Structure and Bonding at KS4. Part 1 discussed the teaching sequence I used to follow and the main challenges and misconceptions presented in this topic. Before introducing anything new about bonding types and the resulting structures, I spend time reviewing the particle model … Continue reading Teaching Structure and Bonding (Part 2): Laying Foundations – The Particle Model →

The KS4 Structure and Bonding topic builds links between so many aspects of chemistry and it’s one of the first parts of the course which really starts to give meaning to a subject which can so often seem very abstract to students. This is why it has always been one of my favourite topics to … Continue reading Teaching Structure and Bonding (Part 1): The Challenges →