Cohesive Chemistry ollie.canning

In this episode, Ollie talks to Richard Thornley. Richard has taught IB Chemistry for 25 years across 11 countries. With over 70k subscribers and 20 million views on YouTube, his name has become synonymous with IB Chemistry.

Richard talks us through:

0:00 Intro and the importance of learning from others

7:28 Failures in the classroom

12:03 Building a YouTube empire

26:10 Tips for the Internal Assessment and Extended Essay

35:34 Preparing students for exams

42:24 Giving back

44:42 Tips for new teachers

50:34 Quick-fire questions

In this episode, Ollie talks to Elisa Jimenez Grant. Elisa has worked in all aspects of the IB Chemistry ecosystem including roles as a Senior Examiner, IA Moderation Team leader and Co-Author of the most recent edition of the Oxford University Press textbook. In the episode, Elisa talks us through:

0:00 Her journey to becoming a teacher
4:19 Learning in the early years of teaching
12:53 Experience as a Senior Examiner
27:02 Experience as an IA Moderator
51:00 Approaches to structuring the IA
56:24 IA Programme Communities and Exchange
59:59 Final tips for new teachers
1:03:42 Quick-fire question

This week, Ollie talks to James Midgley aka Mr M 4 Chem. James is currently the Head of Student Well-being at the Australian International School in Singapore and has taught IB Chemistry for 15 years. He has become an internal assessment guru through his YouTube videos breaking down all aspects of the IA process. In the episode, James talks us through:


His journey from pharmaceutical lab manager to chemistry teacher.
Becoming an IA moderator.
Why the IA is important.
How his teaching has changed.
Breaking copyright.
Creating opportunities during COVID.
Easy wins in the IA.
The dangers of Vitamin C.
How to think like a moderator.
Encouraging data-based and simulations IA.
Why organic chemistry is like Lord of the Rings.
Runaway thermite.
The 'bird in the flue' incident.
MVPs in the IB Chemistry community.