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Author Archives: Mr. Bigler
Frustrations With Teaching Science in the Current Educational Climate
This is a message I sent to my department head that outlines some of my frustrations with teaching science in the current educational climate. For my out-of-state readers, MCAS is the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System–a set of high-stakes tests that … Continue reading
Students and Parents
This is kind of a stream of consciousness post. The school year has been in full swing now for long enough to start to get to know and understand several of my students as people rather than names in a … Continue reading
Untold Stories
I work at being the kind of teacher my students are comfortable with and are willing to talk to if they need to. One way I develop and foster this comfort level is that one of my first assignments to … Continue reading
Spending a Saturday Morning With Students
Five of the students from my AP Chemistry class participated in the Avery Ashdown High School Chemistry Examination Contest in Boston yesterday. +4-1
Snapshots
Because I’m one of the teachers whom a lot of students are comfortable talking to, sometimes the things that are the most exhausting about my day are one-on-one conversations with students that have nothing to do with the subject I’m … Continue reading
News Flash: Chemistry Works in Beakers Just Like it Does on Paper
My first-year college prep (middle of the bell curve) chem students have been studying different types of chemical reactions. I taught them to use the activity series to predict whether or not a single replacement reaction occurs. They can do … Continue reading
Formal Observation Feedback
I got my formal observation report back from my department head yesterday. My department head once reassured me that “No one but me will ever see your formal observation write-ups.” +5-1
Payoff
My AP kids did an experiment today (or I guess yesterday because it’s now after midnight) involving thermochemistry and Hess’s Law. I think as a class, they’ve really become the scientists I’ve been trying to teach them to be. After … Continue reading
No, Really, You CAN Get There From Here
One of the things I find myself saying often about teaching and motivating students is that the biggest single factor I’ve found is the extent to which the kids see a possible path to success. No matter how easy it … Continue reading
Dear Student
Dear student: Before turning in a verbatim copy of someone else’s formal lab report, it would be a good idea to check to see whether your friend’s report contains embarrassing material that might be memorable enough to make its way … Continue reading