East Brunswick School District:

        East Brunswick is a township located in north-central New Jersey. It has a population of about 45,000 people.  It boasts a school district of 11 schools.  There are eight elementary schools that house grades K - 5.  The single middle school houses grades 6 and 7.  It has a single junior high school that contains grades 8 and 9.  East Brunswick High School houses grades 10 through 12.  The school district is overseen by a superintendent and 3 assistant superintendents.  The whole district population is more than 8300 students.

East Brunswick High School

          East Brunswick High School is a large multi-wing building set on about 110 acres.  This school is home to more than 2000 students and 150 faculty and staff members.  Students have 28 varsity sports, several intramural sports, and more than 55 clubs and activities available to them.  The building is overseen by a principal and three assistant principals.  Also, a department chairperson and a department supervisor help to oversee the staff, students, and curriculum of the major departments at the high school.  For more information of East Brunswick High School, click here.  (Use the back button on your browser to return to this location.)

Science Department at East Brunswick High School

          The Science Department at East Brunswick High School is 21 staff members strong.  There are 8 biology teachers, 9 chemistry teachers, and 4 physics teachers.  Students have the option of taking one or more of the 8 electives offered by the science staff:  Anatomy and Physiology, Astronomy, Contemporary Issues of Science, Environmental Science I, Environmental Science II, Forensic Science, Marine Biology, and Meteorology.  It also hosts various science related clubs:  Science Team, Science Olympiad, Waksman Student Scholars Program, and SAVE.

          Four level of chemistry are offered at EBHS:  Advanced Placement, Honors, Academic, and Chem Com.  The Advanced Placement and the Honors classes meet for 7 periods per week.  Each class has two double lab periods per week.  The remaining classes, Academic and Chem Com meet for 6 periods per week.  Each class has one double lab period per week.

Me and My Classes

         Last year I taught one section of Academic Chemistry, one section of Honors Chemistry and two sections of Forensic Science during the first semester and three during the second semester.  This year, I will be teaching two sections of Honors Chemistry and three sections of Forensic Science each semester.  This is a total of 29 teaching periods per week.

          The chemistry classrooms, in general, have 1 teacher computer and printer station, 6 networked student computers and printer, a TV, a VCR, and a TVator to connect the teacher computer to the TV.  Most of the chemistry rooms are full chemistry lab rooms with lab stations designed for 24 students.

Why this project:

• I want to increase the students' proactive preparation for chemistry class and put some of the burden of learning and finding the answers on their shoulders.
• I want to allow other teachers in my department to have this information available to them and their students.  Other teachers may contribute to this site and ultimately a master chemistry site may be built.

• Create a web site to which students have access
• At the start, check the students’ accessibility to the internet and determine which students (if any) will need help with getting access to the net and the web site
• Get students’ email addresses on the Student Info Sheet - and give them my address
• Day 1 - show internet site on the TVator and show basic class information - show that they have access
• Explain that the expectations - get to the net and look at information, diagrams, and/or problems before coming to class
• Show, how, where and explain when homework will be posted
• Explain that basic notes will be posted after the lesson but before a test on the material (but maybe not before a quiz) - explain how they may use the notes and  - show where they will be located
• Give students my email and set up guidelines - sometimes they may be expected to email me answers to an assignment or after and assignment has been completed - Does everyone know how?

• On a weekly basis - keep a listing of the general lessons that will be covered during the week - include test and quiz dates - I want students to be able to plan their time and use it effectively
• Homework will be posted and updated as needed
• Sometimes with multiple assignments, long-term and short-term work, tests, quizzes, and all the other goings-on of the school, it gets confusing - keeping an electronic TO DO list will allow students to keep track of what they have done and what they need to do and when they need to have it done by - plus reminders of upcoming school events and testing and holidays
• Formal classroom information - includes: the grading system, listing of marking period assignments, format for a formal lab report, link to the school calendar, specific information dealing with the course - in conjunction with the other teachers of the course
• For selected chapters - and sections of chapters with complex diagrams:
• diagrams will be put on the web - that way the student does not have to draw it out or worry about getting it right - it can be printed off the web site and looked at from home
• problem samples can be worked out, showing exactly what is expected to be shown for full credit - also key errors that get made can be pointed out - and additional problems can be given with answers so the students can check their won work
• basic lesson plans - outline of the lessons - will also be out on the web - student will get a basic idea of what will be done in class and be able to be prepared for the daily events - big question after reading the pre-class material - they will know what they will have to ask questions about
• After the daily lesson, basic notes will be posted - so students will have access to information that was discussed in class - highlighting common misconceptions
• For various sections - other computer assignments may be given - both required and optional - that will include on-line labs or lab information, interactive tutorials, and obtaining information from other science sites
• An email link will be set-up so students may email me directly from the site with questions or concerns
• Guidelines will be set-up so the students know approximately when I will be checking the email - I do not want them to think that I sit around waiting for them to email me
• Some of the assignments may require the students to email me their answers - or other information
• An area will be waiting for any student information that is interesting, relevant, or somehow related to what we are learning and should be posted on the web
• Students will be encouraged to find science web sites with areas that are helpful to our class or to draw diagrams or do other things that would make the web site more helpful to the students

• Students will then be responsible to for preparing themselves for class and learning the material - they will not just be spoon fed the material and spit back what they have learned
• Students will have to be ready to go when they come into class because there will be a certain level of expected knowledge and we will start class from that point
• The student will have a more solid understanding of what will be expected, what will be covered in class, and what work will be required for the lesson
• Class time can be more effectively utilized by discussing difficult topics, clarifying misconceptions, and actually learning material instead of copying diagrams, examples, and vocabulary
• Students should also be able to more effectively plan their time and organize their work and balance all their responsibilities
• A student who is absent will not be totally lost and will have some information from the class they missed - they will also know what they have to do upon their return
• Other teachers in the department will be able to use this information and give more continuity to the department
• Allowing students the chance to have something on the class site gives the students a personal control over their education

Difficulties

• Have to make sure that students take this seriously and know that the homework must be done at home, prior to class, and in addition to any other written homework that I assign
• Do not want students to not pay attention in class because they know that notes will be posted before the test - make sure they are actively engaged in class - but not taking notes 100% of the time and missing the concept understanding
• Want to be able to make allowances for technical difficulty a student may have at home - but this should be not be a problem because the student may get to school early and go to the media center - and the buses get to school at least 20 minutes before the start of classes
• Need to work with the students that do not have access to the web or are not as web savvy as others

• Quizzes will be given to show the students that it is essential for them to complete any web work before they come to class as it will be used - quizzes should illustrate that the web assignment will be used as a starting point and class will not devoted to drawing and defining
• Students e-mailed assignment responses should reflect that students are using the web and obtaining the required information
• I will be having the students evaluate the use of the computers at various points during the year with regard to various assignments and at the end of the year with regard to the project as a whole
• The input the students have throughout the year will be a good indicator as to how beneficial the project is
• Also, if any other teacher uses part of this material - his/her evaluation will be beneficial to me to evaluate the project