Guide your learners over common learning barriers, develop their chemistry knowledge and boost their confidence

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Confident learners are better equipped to overcome barriers in chemistry

In War and Peace, Tolstoy recognises important qualities of teachers: ‘The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.’ With this in mind, I have been piloting a new toolkit in the classroom, based on the acronym TIME (time, inspire, motivate and empower) to help students overcome learning barriers. I’ve used it across a range of common barriers to understanding, from solving unstructured calculations to recalling the variety of colours that feature in the chemical analysis topic.

Time

Rosenshine’s Principles, as interpreted by former headteacher Tom Sherrington, emphasise the importance of time to recap and reassess learners’ understanding in order to support long-term memory (bit.ly/4tYGHZD). My tools for this include whiteboard quizzes, phrasing questions such as ‘What is the test and positive result for the chloride ion?’ and ‘How could a question ask about alkanes but in terms of a previous topic?’ with possible answers including covalent bonds, simple molecular structures and dot and cross diagrams. This quick, low-stakes technique helps me identify whether my learners need to spend more time revisiting previous topics or consolidating current concepts.

We know it can take time for learners to have their lightbulb moments. James Nottingham’s Learning Pit explains the time it takes to master a concept well (https://bit.ly/4wnMHwy). It is important to emphasise to students that if overcoming barriers in chemistry feels difficult, then this is just good learning taking place.

Rosenshine’s Principles, as interpreted by former headteacher Tom Sherrington, emphasise that time is crucial to recap and reassess pupils’ understanding in order to support long-term memory. My tools for this include whiteboard quizzes, phrasing questions such as ‘What is the test and positive result for the chloride ion?’ and ‘How could a question ask about alkanes but in terms of a previous topic?’ with possible answers including covalent bonds, simple molecular structures and dot and cross diagrams. This quick, low-stakes technique helps me identify whether my learners need to spend more time revisiting previous topics or consolidating current concepts.

We know it can take time for learners to have their lightbulb moments. James Nottingham’s Learning Pit explains the time it takes to master a concept well. It is important we emphasise to students that if overcoming barriers in chemistry feels difficult, then this is just good learning taking place.

Inspire

Inspiring learners comes as second nature to teachers. It encourages learners displaying a fixed mindset (expressing a limit to their ability in a subject) to instead approach tasks with a growth mindset (belief that one can improve in a subject).

My school has recently focused on methods of feedback and a tool that I find works well for homework review is the DIRT (directed improvement and reflection time) task (rsc.li/4wltJXF). It only takes 10 minutes at the start of the lesson. I begin by briefly discussing the mark scheme and giving the whole class feedback. Students then use the remaining time to reflect and act on this feedback in their work. I find this tool increases learners’ engagement with feedback and inspires them to take more responsibility for enhancing their understanding.

Inspiring learners comes as second nature to teachers. It can encourage learners displaying a fixed mindset (expressing a limit to their ability in a subject) to instead approach tasks with a growth mindset (belief that one can improve in a subject).

My school has recently focused on methods of feedback and a tool that I find works well for homework review is the DIRT (directed improvement and reflection time) task. It only takes 10 minutes at the start of the lesson. I begin by briefly discussing the mark scheme and giving the whole class feedback. Students then use the remaining time to reflect and act on this feedback in their work. I find this tool increases learners’ engagement with feedback and inspires them to take more responsibility for enhancing their understanding.

Motivate

We all aspire to create a classroom environment where pupils are motivated to contribute without the fear or embarrassment of providing a wrong answer. I tackle this by spending time positively analysing an incorrect answer, for example, ‘I am so glad you said that, because we need to ensure we understand the difference between the terms ion and molecule. Can anyone try to explain the difference?’ I follow this by giving praise to students who volunteer an answer. Praise motivates students and encourages them to keep trying.

To increase classroom participation, I use the technique: think, write, pair, share. Pose a question, give learners time to think, write down their thoughts, then discuss their ideas in pairs before sharing them as a class. Sharing in pairs allows all students to discuss their ideas and thoughts with one peer, perhaps learn from that peer and be more motivated to share their ideas with the rest of the class.

Empower

Finally, we empower our learners. The pass the baton teaching strategy is a great way to start with this: I empower my learners by leading when teaching a new concept, then providing support while they consolidate their understanding. To check their understanding, I expand this strategy by asking students to explain and defend their answer, rather than just moving on to the next part of the lesson. I have enjoyed using this for unstructured calculations, such as reacting masses, where students defend their choice of molar ratios; or Hess cycles, where they apply their knowledge of enthalpy definitions to explain why the final step in their calculation might involve dividing by two.

It takes time and patience for learners to develop a detailed level of understanding, but when they can successfully defend their responses, they feel empowered.

More ideas

Phoebe Greenway

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