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Worst Subject?
Chemistry teachers will tell you that there is an experience they
have all had many times. Someone will ask them, "What do you do for a
living?" and when they reply, "I'm a chemistry teacher," the
all-too-common response is:
"That was my worst subject!"
Why is that? Is high school chemistry just so intrinsically
difficult that only students with great intellectual gifts are capable
of succeeding without heroic efforts?
"The Easiest Class in School"
Frank Cardulla doesn't believe that for a moment, and he will
hopefully convince you, as he has thousands of high school students,
that "chemistry is the easiest class in school."
Students often claim it is the "math" that is difficult. But high
school chemistry normally only demands that students be able to add,
subtract, multiply, and divide numbers and do some simple algebra.
Calculators take care of the first four, and most students can handle
the latter.
It's not the "math" that some students find difficult. It's the
requirement to engage in what might be called "quantitative
reasoning"—the ability to take the numbers presented in what are often
called "word" or "story" problems and put them together in the proper
way to arrive at the correct answer. Should the numbers be multiplied
or divided? And if divided, how do you know which number to put in the
numerator and which in the denominator?
This difficulty is far and away what "turns off" many students to
chemistry, and it is addressing this difficulty that is the focus of
these chemistry lectures.
The Hardest Parts Have Simple Answers
As Mr. Cardulla puts it, "My goal in these lectures is not to quickly
cover every topic that is typically included in most
high school chemistry courses. Most students don't need
a lot of help learning element symbols or memorizing
definitions. With reasonable effort they can learn the
basic structure of atoms and how the Periodic Table
works. That isn't the stumbling block. It's quantitative
reasoning—solving those 'story' problems. It's
the mole concept and its application to stoichiometry
and molarity and equilibrium. This is what frustrates
so many, because they think solving these kinds of problems
requires either some exceptional intellect or some kind
of 'special' approach totally divorced from the kind
of quantitative reasoning we all use naturally and often
effortlessly in everyday life. It doesn't."
He justifies this statement by showing how "chemical" reasoning is
nothing more than an extension of the kind of quantitative reasoning
that most of us use every day. Once this base is firmly established,
this simple, natural reasoning is then applied to most of the important
problem-solving situations that face high school chemistry students,
from density, to the mole, to molarity, stoichiometry, and equilibrium.
Genuine Understanding—That Lasts
Cardulla refuses to have students learn mathematical "gimmicks" that
allow them to obtain correct answers to simple problems without any
real understanding, only to have them fall apart later when problems
are encountered that demand understanding.
Instead, he establishes a firm foundation—a foundation based on a
real and deep understanding of basic concepts and how one can apply the
kind of simple, natural quantitative reasoning we all use every day to
what are truly simple chemistry problems once this basic understanding
is established. It is this basis of true understanding that makes
chemistry "the easiest class in school."
Mr. Cardulla has published articles and given numerous presentations
about this simple, logical approach, and the achievements of his
students bear testimony to its effectiveness. He has received citations
from institutions such as MIT and the University of Chicago for being
named "most influential teacher" by attending students.
He is the recipient of numerous teaching awards. Included are the
Davidson Award, a Presidential Award for Science Teaching, the National
Catalyst Award for Outstanding Chemistry Teaching, and the National
James Bryant Conant Award. The latter two are given to only one high
school chemistry teacher in the entire United States each year.
Throughout this tutorial, Mr. Cardulla uses, in equal
measure, the blackboard, a flipchart on an easel, and
computer-generated graphic screens to illustrate his
lessons, which also include about a dozen physical demonstrations.
Available on DVD and Videotape
Due to the highly visual nature of its subject matter,
this course is available only on videotape and DVD.
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