Why worksheets rather than lectures? You will recognize that much of subject matter in our chemistry program is taught without lecture. It is not that we believe that you will not need help with these subjects. Rather, given the fact that we have mixed chemistry 1, 2, and 3 together, we believe that lecturing is a poor mechanism to deliver such skills. We have chosen to deliver these skills, one at a time, through worksheets. The worksheet states and describes the skill, shows a few solved problems, and then gives you more problems to solve, with answers. When you have mastered the skill, we have quizzes that you can take in order to check your progress, earn some credit, and retake if more study is needed.

Many students do not use these worksheets and quizzes effectively, presumably because they do not know how.

Know which are the worksheets and study them early. First you should identify clearly in your own mind, which are the worksheets/quizzes that direct the flow of ideas in the quarter. These are listed in the summary tables at the beginning of each quarter. These assignments, if mastered, will make your work in chemistry much easier. You can move through these at your own pace and need not await the completion of other assignments. If you enter the final week of the quarter with a number of quizzes still to be taken, you are making the course more difficult than it is. A chemistry course is likely to be perplexing without an understanding of fundamental concepts,.

Asking the right questions. When you read a worksheet, it often happens that you come upon a part that you do not understand. This is not a cause for concern. However you should carefully write down a question identifying just what it is that you do not understand. It is most effective to work on three or four assignments each night and get to the point of forming a question. Then, the next day in school, ask the 3-4 questions. In this manner you will progress steadily through the material, making more progress each day. If you come to class with no questions, then there is a good chance that you have made no progress the night before.

Euphemisms common in high school.

What do many Wilton students believe one should say if one hasn’t prepared for class by reading and studying the worksheet? Here are the five most popular responses and what they really mean.

1. ” I don’t understand any of this.”What this really means is … “YOU don’t know how smart I am. You can’t INSIST that I understand. All you can hope for is that I tried. I’m TELLING you that I tried and YOU can’t disprove that. So I’m off the hook. Now YOU have to explain it to me.”

2. “I looked the worksheet over. I don’t understand it.”What this really means… “OK, so I’m pretty smart. I could have learned the material but I didn’t. However I didn’t ignore it altogether. I’m basically a good person. I did think of you and our course when I went home. I opened my book, saw the worksheet, and decided not to study it. In other words, I looked the page over but didn’t actually read any of the words. But the page and I, we were together in my room last night. However I had other more pressing things to do. So I don’t understand it. It’s easier for me if you teach it to me, one to one.”

3. “I tried but I really don’t get it.”What this really means… ” I tried solving some problems but I didn’t ACTUALLY read the explanations of the methods. I shouldn’t have to READ words. I just imitate the solutions. That’s all that’s ever been expected of me and that’s ALL I do. Imitate. Give me the iteration and I’ll follow the steps. This stuff is too hard.”

4. “What worksheet?”What this really means…”Oh, is this chemistry? I think I’m taking biology this year and mistakenly wandered into the wrong room. Which is the class that doesn’t have worksheets?

5. ” I kind of get it.”What this really means…” I’m clueless but I don’t know how to say, ‘I don’t know.’ I’ve NEVER said ‘I don’t know’ and I’m not about to start now. So, if you’re really nice, you’ll pretend that I do know but explain it to me anyway so that neither of us ever has to know that I didn’t know. OK?”

A useful solution

1. Read and study the worksheet
2. When you get stuck, even if it’s on the first word, convert the problem you are having into a specific question. Often just asking the question will give you the answer.
3. If that’s not sufficient, then write the question out in some detail. Come to class the next day and ask the question either before school or during class.
4. Ideally, you will be working on 4-5 assignments and will have 4-5 questions each day. In this way, each day you will make considerable progress in the course.

Although most of your education has probably focused on reproducing correct answers, we believe that scholarship is more closely a function of asking high quality questions. A student who can ask the right questions will make considerable progress every day and will learn a lot.

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