Capturing Early Eager Learners with Chemistry Comics
jvasko By Colleen Kelley, Ph.D., and Hewitt Learning How can learning chemistry foster family fun? Well, learning chemistry is a lot like learning music. Can you remember learning a song together as a family? Or perhaps you have several family members who play musical instruments together. In any case, the process of learning music can be … Read more
Well, the first things you can expect is to laugh out loud, have fun, and enjoy the process of learning chemistry! We have witnessed this first-hand while working with various homeschool families and in 4th-grade classrooms. The children (and adults!) love it! OK, OK, OK, we also know you want to understand the results from … Read more
The comic books created as part of the M.C. Detective Agency series were carefully scaffolded to align with the learning objectives found in a 100-level college chemistry course. A comparison of the learning outcomes found in the comic books in the M.C. Detective Agency series with those found in the #1 best-selling college chemistry textbook … Read more
“The best time to start something was yesterday. The second-best time is now.” Unknown The comic books created as part of the M.C. Detective Agency series were carefully scaffolded to align with the learning objectives found in a 100-level college chemistry course. The juxtaposition of college-level chemistry learning outcomes with cute, funny, characters in a … Read more
After seeing inequities in science education throughout her 25-year teaching career, a UA chemistry instructor is taking a novel approach to solving the problem: She’s writing comic books to help kids better understand the fundamentals of chemistry and to reframe the field as one anyone can get into. About half of college students who start … Read more
As a first-year student at the University of Richmond in 1984, Colleen Kelley loved her chemistry course. But she got a C on her first exam. She walked back to her dorm in Lora Robins Court feeling crushed. “But to this day, I tell all my students, that C was the greatest gift I could … Read more
Colleen Kelley graduated in 1991 with a Ph.D. in chemistry at Penn State. After graduating, she pursued a career in academia that led her to her current teaching position at the University of Arizona. Teaching at the university level inspired her to pursue a new creative outlet through comic books that teach young students about … Read more
Bivian ContrerasMarch 25, 2022 TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — A chemistry instructor at the University of Arizona creates comics not only to make chemistry fun but to make it easier for students to learn. Colleen Kelley manages the instructional laboratories in the UArizona Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Her goal is to make chemistry education more … Read more
