Teacher Feature: January 2024

Matthew Denny

Honors & A.P. Chemistry Teacher

West Springfield High School, Fairfax County Public Schools

Matthew was a member of the first STEM Teacher Leadership Academy cohort in 2023!

1. What led you to teaching chemistry, and was education your first career pathway?

I backed into teaching, but I am glad I found it and stuck with it. I originally wanted to be a doctor, then a musician. My wife was majoring in education, so I decided to try that. 23 years later, I am still at it. Not everyone is built for teaching, but I love Chemistry and love working with teenagers, so I will keep doing it as long as I can.

2. What are some ways in which you have been able to embed other STEM content areas into your classroom? 

Physics and Chemistry have a bit of crossover between them, so I try to give my students a preview of what they will encounter in Physics. Most of my students have also had Biology. I try to make as many connections to what they learned there as I can. I also try to do inquiry activities where possible. That allows students to experience science from a different perspective.

3. What has been your favorite lesson, activity, or project that you've shared with students in the past year? 

This is my first year teaching AP Chemistry, and I have loved the labs that we do in class. My favorite was determining the percentage of copper in a brass screw. Students had to dissolve the screw using a very powerful acid. They then had to use a colorimeter to determine the amount of copper based on how blue the solution was. Students got to do some high level science, use a new piece of lab equipment, and learn an entirely new way to make concentration measurements. It was a fantastic lab!

4. What is one resource (online or print) that has totally changed the way you teach? Or, what is something that you have found inspirational as you plan out projects or lessons for students?

Mine is a person, not a static resource. During the COVID year I was able to teach Pre-AP (Honors) Physics in Illinois. I worked with one of the best teachers in the world that year: Jill McLean at Champaign Centennial High. She is a brilliant engineer and veteran teacher, but I have never worked with someone who innovated and sought to improve like she does. She taught me to always ask "How can this be better?" Or, "Is there another activity that will teach this more clearly?" 

Thank you so much, Matthew!