Success in AP Chemistry

1. Success in AP Chemistry

2. It’s in the attitude • Success in AP classes tied to certain key behaviors/practices • Students who struggle typically are not doing one or more of these key practices • Students who succeed are doing most of these things • Be an independent learner, be aggressive, actively invest in your education

3. Trust me, I’m from the government. • Extensive educational research • Experience, both mine and others • Same skills/behaviors needed for college • YOU ARE NOT AN EXCEPTION TO THE RULE. • You just got away with it so far.

4. Read the book • THIS IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL • Not all required material covered in lecture – must learn some concepts from reading • Many concepts confusing even in lecture without pre-reading • Many students have avoided reading in the past – they won’t be able to now • Actively read each chapter 2-3 times!!

5. How to read • Read 3 times • Before section discussed in class • After section discussed in class • While reviewing for exam • Read in 15-20 min blocks • Make a vocab list as you go through first time • Don’t skip the pictures and sidebars! • Be sure and look at goals, examples, tips, summary

6. Lecture Notes • Only part of required material (unlike other classes) • Use the Cornell system • Use abbreviations and shorthand, summarize on the fly • The better you do at reading, the less you need to write • Don’t waste time copying examples from book

7. Lecture title, date, subject, main essential question Use this section AFTER lecture Jot down key words and formulae Next, cover up the right side and self-quiz from your key words Work in this area during lecture Outline, map, or group similar topics Skip lines to separate different topics Capture general topics and definitions here A summary of concepts goes here IN YOUR OWN WORDS This should be done after the lecture The Cornell System • Divide your paper into four sections

8. Keep up with work • Seems obvious, but is a common problem • Self-scheduling and time management key – may have several assignments at once • Pace of class is too fast to put things off • If you don’t do the homework, you will probably fail the class. • Need to have assignments mostly done early so you have time to ask questions/get help

9. Fast HW, for srs? • #1 tip: TURN OFF THE PHONE, LOG OUT OF FACEBOOK/AIM/BLAHBLAH • Don’t be a hamster: If you don’t get it in a couple tries, walk away and get help. • Only do 20-30 min of one activity, then switch to something else (different subject, type of work, or just take a break) • This does take some planning so you’re not caught by due date

10. Be proactive • Be an active, not passive learner • Ask LOTS of questions in class (#1 issue last few yrs) • Ask questions about the reading in book!! • Process notes nightly • Take notes while reading book

11. Don’t wait for help • Class moves too quickly to fall behind • Curriculum is cumulative • Missing a concept means no later concepts can be learned • It won’t fix itself – need to ask for help as soon as something seems confusing • Available before/after school • Make time around extracurriculars – make school a priority

12. Attendance • Students must be in attendance as much as possible • Large amounts of material covered daily • Each day’s concept often depends on the previous day • Frequently missing class for field trips, vacations, college visits, etc. can result in being lost very quickly • Labs cannot usually be made up – AP tests have specific lab questions

13. Do extra problems • Amount of practice is directly related to the success in class • No one wants to do “extra work” …but it will result in better grades in class and on AP test • Do problems until they are right w/o looking at any reference • Reading supplementary materials, articles, other texts can help clarify concepts