August 1, 2023

I’ll never forget the moment when I realized that some of my students hadn’t really understood much of anything in my chemistry class. Students had just completed an open-ended experiential lab-based project at the end of the course, and I decided to interview each student to see what they had learned from the project and the course. When talking with one group, my spirit was crushed. I asked them some rudimentary questions about what we had learned throughout the year, and they didn’t have a clue. It was as if they hadn’t been in the class all year. I felt dejected and didn’t know what to do. 

What had no doubt happened was that these students had studied just enough to pass each test by regurgitating facts—but deep down, they didn’t understand the main principles of chemistry. Upon reflection and with an honest look, I realized that their lack of making any meaning from the course was my fault. I had focused on getting students to pass the tests and demonstrate their knowledge—but little work had been done to get them to truly understand the big ideas of chemistry.  

Our system of lecture, practice, test, and…