For many new teachers, the deepest anxiety isn’t about classroom management or school policies. It’s the fear of ‘Do I know what I am teaching?’ For me, that dread was embodied by electrolysis.
If I’m honest, I just didn’t get it. I could recite the steps, but the underlying principles were a mystery. So there I was, trying to explain something I only half-understood to a sea of expectant students. I survived by being unashamedly vague but enthusiastic and my poor pupils were dragged along for the ride. When it was over, I was just relieved to forget about it for another year.
Subject knowledge v classroom management
Looking back, I wonder why I didn’t feel that subject knowledge was the most important part of my job. I had a classroom to manage, faces to remember and new policies to follow. My PGCE had placed a high emphasis on behaviour management and pedagogical techniques. Subject knowledge felt like an afterthought, so at the start of my career, I treated it as such.
Subject knowledge was not just a prerequisite, but my ongoing professional duty
After my negative electrolysis episode, I resented my university lecturers and the course, feeling they hadn’t prepared me for the sheer breadth of the science curriculum. It wasn’t until I moved schools and had to adapt to a new exam board that my perspective shifted. Of course, it was my responsibility. Teacher training courses cannot deliver a GCSE in 10 months while also developing our understanding of pedagogical techniques. Subject knowledge was not just a prerequisite, but my ongoing professional duty and I started at my weakest point. Electrolysis.
Becoming a better teacher
It was time for me to teach electrolysis again. But this time it was different. My focus on increasing my subject knowledge led to me actually understanding electrolysis and improving my explanation. I was more confident and my students understood the concept. I was a better teacher.
My commitment to building my own subject knowledge continued into many other areas of my teaching. For example, I had always found balancing complex chemical equations challenging. My strategy was simply to look up the answers. However, I realised this skill was a fundamental part of the curriculum. Determined, I sat down with past exam questions, a revision guide and EiC’s balancing equations article (rsc.li/49KdbOs), and taught myself the ring method. Ever since, I have used this method to teach my students effectively. I have also shared it with both new and experienced colleagues to support their own subject-knowledge development.
My commitment to building my own subject knowledge continued into many other areas of my teaching. For example, I had always found balancing complex chemical equations challenging. My strategy was simply to look up the answers. However, I realised this skill was a fundamental part of the curriculum. Determined, I sat down with past exam questions, a revision guide and an EiC article, and taught myself the ring method. Ever since, I have used this method to teach my students effectively. I have also shared it with both new and experienced colleagues to support their own subject-knowledge development.
Subject knowledge is the most important part of successful teaching, but it’s not just about reading revision guides, watching YouTube videos or doing exam questions. This often misses the deeper, more nuanced aspects of teaching, such as the insight that can emerge when a colleague asks, ‘How do you teach X?’ and hears a fresh, effective way to explain a complex idea to a 13- or 14-year-old.
Your knowledge is the foundation of your students’ achievements
Now in my eighth year of teaching, having covered the curriculum many times, I might be tempted to think my subject-knowledge journey is complete. However, this overlooks the vital difference between simply knowing the curriculum and continually enriching it. If I had stopped building my subject knowledge, I would never have learned about Thomas Midgley Jr and woven his cautionary tale into my lessons on Earth’s atmosphere. Nor would I have discovered the story of Karen Wetterhahn, whose tragic experience provides a powerful, real-world lesson on the critical importance of lab safety.
Mastering your subject isn’t a destination. It’s a continuous journey that enriches both you and your students. In the complex and ever-changing world of science, your knowledge is the foundation of your students’ achievements. They will trust your explanations, be challenged by your questions and share in the excitement of a subject you so fluently discuss. Your students won’t just appreciate that you know more, they will be inspired to find out more for themselves.
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