Staff Profile

I am a chemistry teacher here at Como Park.  A little bit about me:

-I love to fish, so if you ever want to hear overly exaggerated fish tales, come find me.

-I think chemical reactions are the best part of science, and prepping fun labs for my chemistry classes is one of my favorite parts of teaching.

-I graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Chemistry, so if you want to know how awesome the University of Minnesota is, just ask me.

If you have classes with me you can find our class sites on schoology at https://schoology.spps.org/home and you can find grades on schoology as well.

Classes: Accelerated Chemistry, AP Chemistry, Integrated Science

Course Descriptions: 

-Accelerated Chemistry: This is a comprehensive yearlong course in chemistry. Because this course is the prelude to AP Chemistry, it is rigorous and sometimes intense. The course covers such topics as measurement, atomic structure, the periodic table, chemical bonds, molecular shapes, writing chemical formulae, balancing chemical equations, stoichiometry, solutions, and gas laws. Both quantitative and qualitative aspects of chemical behavior are studied in-depth. Laboratory work is an integral part of the course. Critical thinking and problem solving skills are addressed on a daily basis.

-AP Chemistry: The AP chemistry course is designed to provide students a college level chemistry course. The goal is that students would be able to enter into college with the ability to start in second year chemistry courses, and have credit for the general freshman chemistry course. This course is designed around the six Big Ideas from the College Board’s AP chemistry curriculum framework. This is done by aligning the topics covered in this course to the enduring understandings from the big ideas and to the seven science practices. Each topic is associated with learning objectives that combine the science practices with enduring understandings. Students will explore the rigorous chemistry content through coursework and through laboratory work. A minimum of 25% of class time will be spent working in the laboratory on investigative experiments, which are spread throughout the course. This course will meet five times a week for 50 minutes each day. In addition to this, students will be expected to complete one hour of reading/homework per night. This course is designed for students who have completed general or accelerated chemistry, have a recommendation from the teacher, and are ready for a challenging and exciting course.

-Integrated Science: In this class we will be exploring the world through the mindset of a scientist.  We will do this by studying the things that make up our planet and how these things interact with each other. We will also develop skills to help us better understand and explain the world around us by getting hands-on with experimental data. These skills include observing, investigating, interpreting, hypothesizing, questioning, summarizing, analyzing, and concluding.