As a high school chemistry teacher I have been presented with the dilemma of how I can successfully introduce my students to new, difficult material when they have limited prior knowledge associated with certain chemistry topics. For this project, I will focus specifically on the concept of stoichiometry.

When teaching stoichiometry, students often become overwhelmed with the multiple steps involved in completing these problems. In addition, they struggle with conceptualizing the process as a whole, moving from the individual principles of the conservation of mass, to an appreciation of how those principles apply to chemical equations. Often these students become discouraged, and subsequently fall behind as these concepts are utilized and revisited throughout the chemistry curriculum.

It has been my experience that the difficulties inherent in stoichiometry for high school students derive most fundamentally from a lack of practice with applied mathematics. In other words, when learning about the concept of stoichiometry, mathematics is the limiting reagent.

This dilemma demands a brief consideration of the factors of why and how students learn in an effort to create an effective method by which to teach stoichiometry.

The first question that must be considered is: Why do people learn? Or, more generally stated, why do people choose to do what they do? The answer to this question can be found in the individual’s source of motivation for their actions. John Dewey (1938) stated that effective teaching must not only convey knowledge that makes further cognitive growth possible, but it must also be enjoyable.

Stemming from this concept, the idea of flow theory was conceived and championed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. He defined flow theory as an experience of intrinsic motivation in which the individual is deeply involved in an activity they find enjoyable. In other words, when experiencing flow, a person is fully concentrated on the task at hand. One prime example of an activity that creates this flow experience is that of playing games.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014). Applications of Flow in Human Development and Education. Claremont: Springer.

Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and Education. New York: Macmillan