Connecting the Dots: Concepts in Chemistry

For students entering Grades 8, 9, 10, from any Board (CBSE/ IB/ IGCSE/ ICSE, etc.)

We were inspired by some recent posts on Social Media about the excessive focus on methods/ short-cuts/ speed, as opposed to foundational understanding. There's plenty of research about typical conceptual gaps in students' understanding at at various age/ grade levels. Our blog post, Conceptual Learning: What, Why and How, provides a more detailed background. 

With this starting point, our mentors sat down to curate a list of such areas that students could do well to have a deep, foundational understanding of, that they can build on, over time. We have identified such topics across Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) and Math.

This module is around concepts in Chemistry. The content has been chosen based on a knowledge of common student misconceptions and errors- derived from research as well as the experience base of our mentors. For each topic, the student experience includes pre-work, live sessions with mentors, assignments/ assessments, and feedback. In addition, students can email their doubts and questions to the mentor at any point of time during the course.

Chemistry is also referred to as a central science because it connects our understanding of basic principles of physics to other natural sciences. The course is designed according to the pedagogic framework of Johnstone's triangle. According to this framework, we understand the chemical nature of matter around us through observation (macroscopic level). developing models based on fundamental principles of physics (sub-microscopic level) and understanding symbols to represent these ideas. The module introduces students to the key ideas in chemistry viz -particulate nature of matter, atoms and molecules, chemical changes, and energy in chemistry.

The course comprises 5 sessions of 1.5 hours each. 

The course is NOT a tuition service aimed at preparation for exams. These courses are also NOT a substitute for school work.

If you would like to get a feel for the conceptual approach we take in the course, we recommend taking the 'Concepts Quiz' at https://bit.ly/ConceptQuiz (kids) or https://bit.ly/ConcepTest (grownups). If you would like to discuss the quiz questions after taking it, you can write to online@genwise.in. The quiz has questions across Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics.