Category Archives: Pedagogy

Sauce for the goose ain’t necessarily sauce for the gander

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Ed Hitchcock

We wrapped up the Chemistry unit of Grade 9 Science recently, and I was looking for an activity for review that might be a bit different, a bit more engaging, and intellectually stimulating at the same time. Since I had … Continue reading →

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The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, or Never Use a Formula You Don’t Understand

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Ed Hitchcock

In my grade 10 Science class I recently gave my students an introductory microscope lab, and in my haste I used a “canned” lab from a textbook. Although there are some good activities in this lab, students are presented with … Continue reading →

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Eighty minutes well spent

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Ed Hitchcock

Eric Mazur gives a terrific, evidence based explanation of what is wrong with lecturing as a primary source of knowledge transfer, and what to do about it. I really like his explanation, about 51 minutes in, that the better we … Continue reading →

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I hate lying to students

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Ed Hitchcock

Much of what is covered in introductory Science is simplified. It is simplified for a reason – the full explanation is complex, involves higher level mathematics, or concepts that have yet to be learned. In most cases I explain to … Continue reading →

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Video of EdCampTO 2011

Posted on November 20, 2011 by Ed Hitchcock

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Socrative: web based response system for the classroom

Posted on November 9, 2011 by ed

I like the idea of “clickers”, when used judiciously, as a means of quickly checking rates of comprehension of a topic in a non-threatening (ie anonymous) way. But there are hardware requirements – both the clickers and the receiver – … Continue reading →

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A Foray into “non-traditional instruction”

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Ed Hitchcock

This year, with the Ecology unit in my Grade 9 Science classes, we focused heavily on invasive species. So after seven weeks of class (we have each class every other day), I think I gave a total of 4 traditional … Continue reading →

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The Trouble with Content

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Ed Hitchcock

One of the things that nags at me with Science education is that, at pretty much every level, the focus seems to be preparing kids for the next level. I recognize that the sciences cover a huge aount of information, and … Continue reading →

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Implications of the “Facebook Index” to the Secondary Classroom

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Ed Hitchcock

I recently cam across the article Students using Facebook in your class? Better try a bit harder by Matthew Ingram on the tech site GigaOM, which caught my attention because of this post I wrote not long ago.
Ingram begins the article … Continue reading →

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Simple analogy for homologous chromosomes

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Ed Hitchcock

I am teaching Grade 11 Biology this year for the first time in seven or eight years, and quite enjoying it. One thing about doing a course you haven’t taught in a while is the joy of going back through … Continue reading →

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