Taking AP Chem? Tips for Starting Strong

Imagine acing your AP Chemistry course without the stress of last-minute cramming. Learn how to set yourself up for success with essential organizational and study strategies that will keep you on top of your game all year long. In this episode, Doc takes you through the crucial steps of preparing for AP Chemistry, starting with understanding your course structure by reviewing the syllabus and marking key dates in your planner. Hear expert tips on creating a productive study environment and using a binder system to keep your notes detailed and organized, ensuring you manage the influx of information effectively.

Uncover the secrets to consistent study habits that will reinforce your understanding of complex chemistry concepts over time. We'll explore why seeking help early and consistently is vital to avoid stress and last-minute panic. Doc shares proven techniques to maintain a balanced study schedule, including daily reviews to solidify your grasp on the material. Tune in and transform your high school science experience into a rewarding journey of exploration and achievement. Don't miss out on strategies that will help you excel in AP Chemistry and beyond.

Thanks for tuning in!

For more insightful discussions and resources on science education, visit my website at thesciencementor.com.

Don't forget to connect with me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook for updates and engaging content.

Are you looking for bite-sized science tutorials to use with your students or for a refresher for yourself? Visit my YouTube Channel.

Let's continue the conversation and explore the wonders of science together!

Chapters

• 0:00 Preparing for AP Chemistry Success
• 1:30 Creating a Plan
• 2:53 Setting Up Your Space
• 3:48 Establishing an Organization System
• 5:20 Study Habits
• 8:12 How to Start Preparing for the AP Chem Exam Now

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hey there and welcome to another episode of Teaching High School Science. This is a second episode of my three AP Chemistry series where we talk about prepping and getting started in an AP program, whether you're following a traditional program or doing it your way. In my last episode, we talked about the key topics you want to review now to set you up for AP Chemistry starting this fall, ways to get organized and then some resources to help you with extra help. If you didn't catch that, go ahead and grab that and listen to it. You'll find a lot of great information there. In the next episode in two weeks, we're going to dive into ways that you can participate in an AP chemistry program, especially if there's not one offered in your area or if you're homeschooling Today. In this episode, we're going to talk about some essential tips to help you get organized, stay organized, set up an effective study schedule and strategies that you can use to help you study throughout the school year to help you prepare for that AP Chem exam. So let's get started.

Speaker 1: 1:04

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. First things first. It is important that you understand the structure of the course, and this means encouraging your team to actually take time to look at that class syllabus that the teacher gives them, and not only the class syllabus for AP chemistry, but also for all of their classes For one. When they look at the class syllabus, they get a clear understanding of the structure and makeup of their AP class. There are nine units and many topics. Not every teacher follow the units in the same order, so them understanding how the course is structured, where the weights of assignments are going to be, is going to help them to navigate the class and the content that they need in order to be successful. Have them grab a planner or a calendar and have them marking down those test dates and all important other dates like quizzes, activities, projects, anything that is going to be a weighted class grade, and make sure that they're doing this in pencil, because we know things happen and change throughout the school year. Then, once they have this time frame down, have them work backwards to block off review times for the exam and then, even from there, have them pencil in regular, routine study times. This is teaching them how to build that study schedule that, when used effectively, will help them to avoid that last minute cram before an exam.

Speaker 1: 2:53

The second tip for that foundational component right now is to create that dedicated study space. Doing it now, before the school year gets crazy and things get unorganized, is very important. Find a dedicated, quiet, distraction-free area that is their area to study, and some students may need to be within the mix of things. So set up that area as well. Put it together. Make sure they have all of the materials that they would need. Make sure it's organized. If you need any organizers or bins, go ahead and get those now, especially when you have the big sales at the beginning of the school year. Make sure they have their notebooks, calculators, pens, highlighters, post-it notes anything that they use to help them study in easy reach. You don't want them to get up to go find something and then get distracted by something else or what else is going on at the house. Now for the second area of success. This is all about organizational tips for managing the ton of information they're going to get in AP Chemistry and, just like the other tips, this can be used for any class.

Speaker 1: 4:01

First, let's talk about a binder system. Now, when I say binder system, I'm talking about a system with clearly defined dividers, where you're dividing your binder into different units or topics and you want to make sure that they are clearly labeled and make sure they have pockets or a way to store handouts and worksheets, especially those return tests with any feedback. This makes it easier to go back, find information and review. Another component about this binder system is to be able to maintain detailed notes. Now, some teachers will have guided notes or a way to help them take notes, which can easily be put into each label section of their binder. But if their teacher does not have that, I always recommend using a date and a title for your notes, because this makes it easier to locate specific topics when studying, especially if you're going back to another month or earlier in the school year. Now, some of my students benefit from making a title page for each section in their notebook. For example, a unit may have six or seven subtopics, so if they number the pages of their notes. They can add that information to a running table of contents at the front of each unit that they can refer to and help them to easily find information throughout that unit.

Speaker 1: 5:20

So let's talk about some effective study habits that you can share with your team now to help them set up for the school year. One thing is to stay consistent with your study schedule, so that calendar or planner that we talked about earlier in this podcast. Make sure they stick to it and you definitely and again and again I mentioned writing in pencil. I recommend, at the beginning of each week, they go through and review their schedule for the upcoming week, making any changes in the schedule based on what the teacher has told them or any events or family things that have come up. That way it's easier for them to stick to it and they understand exactly what they need to do and when they need to do it. And that is a great time to make sure they pencil in their daily reviews. Spend about 10 to 15 minutes each day reviewing what you learned in class. Being consistently with that help to reinforce those concepts so they don't forget them later and avoid that last minute cramming concepts so they don't forget them later and avoid that last minute cramming and then also use active learning techniques.

Speaker 1: 6:29

Practicing problems is crucial. Make sure that they are practicing problems that they learned in class, because the worst thing that they could do is feel, hey, I got that in class, I don't need to practice, because once we layer in more problems and more work down the line, it's very easy to forget what we had not practiced in months. And don't let them work in isolation. Have them explain the concepts to you, have them explain it to a sibling, or work in a study group. If they are actively talking about it and explaining it, it helps to move that information from short-term to long-term memory and it also allows them to hear any gaps in their understanding along the way so they can go back and fill those gaps in. And, as I just mentioned, utilize study groups. Have them either join or form a study group with classmates, because studying in a group allows them to discuss those concepts, share notes and quiz each other, and usually someone in a group has the information for the gap they just realized that they are having and they can fill in that information for them and help them to actually get that immediate feedback on what they're doing and strategies to help them improve. One thing I tell my students when they are forming study groups is to set a study goal. Have a clear goal for that session, whether it is to be able to work problems or be able to discuss some trend or a topic, but set that goal to what they want to accomplish by the end of that study group and that helps to keep them focused and aim for a specific target through their work.

Speaker 1: 8:12

Now the next area I'm going to talk about is preparing for the actual chemistry AP exam. While this is a little bit later down the road, it comes up super fast and, since it's cumulative, it's great to go ahead and have these processes in place now, keeping your binder organized, because throughout the year they're going to have cumulative tests and it's going to be very important that they're able to go back and locate that information so that they are constantly remaining up to date with previous information as they're learning the new information. So that they are constantly remaining up to date with previous information as they're learning the new information and they need to regularly take practice tests under time conditions. So if you're using any type of AP prep books and you're doing a practice test or any other practice problems. Time yourself, get from your teacher the time frame for multiple choice and a time frame for FRQ and then apply that time frame by however many questions you're doing for multiple choice or how many questions you're doing for FRQ. As of right now, generally it's about 1.5 minutes for each multiple choice and about 2.2 minutes per point for FRQ.

Speaker 1: 9:25

The next tip in preparing for AP is to review and revise. So when you're reviewing old exams and you're reviewing questions, make sure that you're not just looking at what you got correct and what you got incorrect, but you're also able to revise your incorrect answers and get those points. And even if you got all the points, make sure you go back through there and understand why you got those points. Make sure that if it was certain terminology because we know the AP exam is looking for certain terminology you understand what that was, so you can apply that each time you see that concept. So review and revise and, most of all, seek help when needed. Ask your teacher questions, come in before class, after class, during lunch, whenever they allow you to come in for help, and don't be afraid to use resources. There are a ton of online resources and tutorials as well as investing in a science tutor. But if you go with a tutor, make sure that they are experienced with the AP chemistry exam, because it's not just understanding chemistry, it's also understanding what they're looking for with that exam.

Speaker 1: 10:39

So, just to recap, this episode was about helping you set up the foundation for success with AP chemistry meaning getting organized using a binder system, taking effective notes including dates and topics, making sure that you organize any handouts and things that are given to you, setting up a study strategy and having a place that is dedicated, distraction-free and organized, completely stocked for studying.

Speaker 1: 11:10

And then making sure that you are asking for help along the way. Do not wait for the last minute to ask for help. Ask for help as you go and these will help to reduce stress and to reduce that last minute cram for the exams and boost your success in AP chemistry. Let me know if you found this episode helpful or if there are other tips that you have that you would like to share. 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.