Teaching High School Science

Taking AP Chemistry: Your Way

• Kesha "Doc" Williams • Episode 13

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In this final episode of the AP Chemistry series, I address a common question: how can students participate in the AP Chemistry program if they’re not in a traditional school setting? I'll share practical tips on registering for the AP exam independently, working with tutors for personalized support, and accessing a wealth of resources through an AP account with the College Board. This episode is your comprehensive guide to maximizing the flexibility of AP courses and tailoring them to fit your unique educational journey.

Join me as I break down essential strategies for mastering AP Chemistry. Learn why a solid foundation in high school chemistry is crucial and how to effectively prepare for this college-level course's fast-paced, in-depth content. From accessing practice questions through AP Classroom to understanding the importance of early exam registration, I cover everything you need to set your student up for success. Tune in and equip yourself with the knowledge and tools to help your student excel in AP Chemistry, regardless of their schooling situation!

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Speaker 1:

Hey there, and welcome to another episode of Teaching High School Science. In this episode, I am addressing the questions I've gotten about AP Chemistry. Specifically, how do I participate in the AP Chemistry program if my child is not attending a traditional setting? So I'm going to go through the different ways that you can participate in AP program and I'm also going to talk about things that you need to be prepared for if you're participating in AP chemistry. So let's dive in. Welcome to Teaching High School Science. I'm your host, doc, a former biochemist, turned high school science teacher and private tutor. Whether you're homeschooling your team through high school science or teaching online, join me as I share tips and strategies I've learned over the years for at-home and online labs and activities, breaking down complex concepts and structuring learning in a way that makes sense. Now let's dive into today's topics.

Speaker 1:

One of the unique aspects about AP courses is that students have the flexibility to take the course without taking the exam and, on the other side, students can choose to self-study for the AP exam without formally enrolling in the course. So, in other words, you do not have to be in an official AP approved course in order to take the exam. Now what this does is. It allows a level of flexibility that allows you to tailor your academic experience based on your individual interests and goals. There are so many different options out there for career path. Some students do not have a desire to enter into the formerly four-year college route, but they may have an interest or a need for a particular topic like AP economics or AP chemistry in their career choice. In that case, depending on what they want to do, they may just be more interested in taking that college level course but not needing an exam to get college credit. On the other hand, if you're attending traditional school and your school does not offer the other hand, if you're attending traditional school and your school does not offer AP courses, or if you're homeschooling and the AP approved courses that are under some homeschool umbrellas, their timing and their structure does not fit your schedule and your needs. Those are the cases where self-preparing for the exam would be beneficial, where you can, with an unofficial program, take a class, work with a tutor for a more personalized program to help in areas that you want more help in.

Speaker 1:

In this case, you can contact your local school to arrange for your child to take the AP exam independently Now, while a lot of schools do this. Not all do. I recommend checking with College Board. They have an area on their website where you can enter in your area and find schools that offer AP exams to external students. If you plan to do that, do it early. I'm talking about toward the beginning of the year October timeframe, even though the exam is in the following year because AP coordinators start early ordering exams and getting everything together and you want to make sure that your child's name is on their radar. Another cool thing about College Board is that, as a homeschool parent, you can apply to College Board for an AP account. What that does is it gives you access to a lot of resources that teachers use. For instance, there is this huge document called the CED, which is a course and examination description, and while that is online right now, without even having an account, what you don't have is access to AP Classroom, which has a ton of practice questions and resources, and you also have the opportunity to participate in different workshops and online trainings, which can help you to better understand the exam and ways to support your student in preparing for that exam.

Speaker 1:

Now let's dive into AP chemistry specifically to better understand how to prepare for that AP chem exam. The best way to do this is to understand that AP chemistry assumes that students entering into a traditional AP chemistry course already have basic knowledge or prior knowledge of chemistry. Because AP chemistry is designed as a college level chemistry course and I'm not talking about middle school physical science, I'm talking about a high school chemistry or high school chemistry honors class and because students are expected to have principals from this high school chemistry class in place day one of AP chemistry. This means that, if you can imagine, the pace is very fast and students are expected to have that foundation to build upon. Even with the math.

Speaker 1:

Many students feel overwhelmed by the amount of information and the depth of the concepts covered in AP chemistry. So if you're self-studying, it may not be enough just to grab a textbook. It may not be enough just to watch videos. You may need to be prepared to hire a tutor or invest in some type of program whether it's a mini program, a small program that will be able to break down those concepts and show you the steps for solving certain problems.

Speaker 1:

Another thing that's going to be essential is organization. Because it's so much information, it is extremely important to stay organized. I recommend finding the largest spiral notebook that you can find the largest and have one that have sections and have pockets. There are nine units in the CED for AP Chemistry and each unit will have certain concepts and calculations and equations that you want to be able to associate with that information. Because when you go to review, you want to be able to associate with that information, because when you go to review, you want to be able to find things efficiently and quickly and with the proper association that's going to help you with the AP exam. And the next thing is definitely understand the makeup of the exam itself.

Speaker 1:

If the exam is something that you plan to take, you have a multiple choice section and you have a free response question section, which we call FRQs. These are timed. However, you can use a scientific calculator for both sections and it can be a graphing calculator. You do not need to clear out any programs. So if your student program things in the calculator, that is fine. The only thing is that it cannot connect to the internet, it cannot communicate with any other devices and it cannot have the QWERTY keyboard.

Speaker 1:

It is essential that your student is one with their calculator. They know how to use that calculator through and through because a lot of the mistakes and incorrect answers come from entering information into the calculator incorrectly what a calculator is not following the proper order of operations or whatever the case may be. So they need to really understand that calculator. I tend to have my students practice and practice and practice with known answers, entering in strings into their calculator to see if they get that answer and actually take notes, give an example of how to enter that particular type of information into the calculator so they can refer back to it. Type of information into the calculator so they can refer back to it. Also, with understanding the test comes with understanding what the writers are looking for with the test, and that comes with practicing FRQs, practicing multiple choice and practicing it in a time session.

Speaker 1:

There are different materials out there study materials, study guides that will help you and give you practice questions. I will link some of the things I have mentioned in the show notes Now. Some of the links to the guides are Amazon affiliate links. I'm just putting that disclaimer out there right now, but these are ones that I have used and I have worked with my students using and preparing for the AP Chem exam. I know this sounds like a lot. I know it may sound daunting and it makes sense because it is a college level course, but understand that it is completely doable. You can take a course to prepare for the exam, you can self-study for the exam, or you can take the course and not take the exam. It is up to you how you participate in an AP program, because the goal, at least for me, is to provide you the opportunity to have the experience.

Speaker 1:

If you have any more questions for me about AP chemistry, how to get started, or just looking for additional support, visit my website. I will also put that link in the show notes. In the show notes On my tutoring page I have purple links that will allow you to hop on my calendar and book a free call, or use the contact page to send me a message, and it goes directly to my email inbox. Let me know if you have any questions, ideas or other experiences that you'd like to share. Head on over to my podcast page, which you can access by visiting my website at thesciencementorcom. Then select podcast from the menu and subscribe now to the Teaching High School Science podcast for your regular dose of motivation and just-in-time science ideas, and together let's make high school science, a journey of exploration and achievement. Until next time, remember curiosity leads to endless possibilities.