Curriculum

Analogue – Digital Blend

The use of molecular model kits is embedded throughout the program. They provide a fun, tactile way for students to learn chemistry. The way a molecule feels, its flexibility or rigidity, how it looks, and how it interacts with other molecules in three dimensional space are essential parts of high level chemistry learning. These experiences cannot be acquired by looking at a screen or reading a book alone.

The video presentations also use hundreds of custom digital animations that showcase both classic and cutting edge scientific discoveries. I have rendered the slides with professional molecular modeling software and drawing tools that allow me to express exactly what I want to teach. This makes high level concepts simple, clear, and enjoyable for any kind of student.

Radical Learning Expectations

This program goes far beyond what is typically expected of early learners. Some of the first concepts students encounter, such as molecular chirality and hydrogen bonding, are essential for understanding the most common chemicals, yet they are almost entirely absent from K–12 education.

The reason is not that children cannot learn these ideas, or that they lack importance. There is simply no tradition of teaching them, and many educators are not aware of their significance. Teachers are generally required to follow government issued standards and are often discouraged or not permitted to move beyond them.

Advanced lessons explore areas of biochemistry that usually remain untouched until college. That depth is one of the main reasons so many families have chosen to join the program.

Preparation for High School and Advanced Placement Courses

I originally created Biochemistry Literacy because I felt unprepared for AP Chemistry and AP Biology in high school. Later, as a graduate student and college professor, I observed that many students, even very strong ones, were not ready for higher level coursework. They had memorized large amounts of information that would have been much easier to understand if it had been taught more clearly from the beginning.

Taking time in the early years to build true chemical literacy can eliminate much of the stress students experience later in their academic careers, when time is limited and grades feel all-important. The challenge for me was to determine how to teach high school and college level chemistry in a way that younger students could genuinely understand.

Visualizations and Storytelling

You really have to experience the Biochemistry Literacy curriculum to see how different it is, but one of its most distinctive features is the careful attention to visualizations and the development of scientific language. Students learn through beautiful visuals that grow from simple ideas to more complex ones. This gradual progression builds chemical literacy and unlocks concepts that might otherwise seem inaccessible.

In Biochem 2.0, especially, multiple disciplines are woven together, with recurring themes shedding light on increasingly complex aspects of molecular behavior. The “star molecules” introduced in the first lessons develop over time, much like characters in a story. From simple beginnings, students gradually uncover their properties and deeper nature. What seems straightforward in one lesson may be reconsidered later from a new perspective, revealing surprising connections and bringing the true nature of our chemical world into sharper focus.

Real Life Application

When I began this project, it was often dismissed as misguided because it did not align with traditional education. Some educators, without even hearing what I taught, claimed that the material had no application to students’ lives.

This response reflects a long cycle of limited exposure to biochemistry across generations. The lessons are in fact deeply connected to everyday experience. Within the first few hours, students learn how medicines work, how oxygen and carbon dioxide cycle through the body, and how molecular structure explains our sense of smell and food safety. There are few subjects more connected to real life than biochemistry. The future will depend on biochemists to solve some of the world’s greatest challenges.

Course Content

For a description of available units, see the Lessons pages. Currently, Biochem 2.0 and the Classic 24 Lessons are available.

Biochem 2.0 Unit 1 provides students with a rapid orientation to chemistry and related subjects, building both interest and confidence. It replaces Lessons 1, 2, 5, and most of 8 and 11 from the Classic program.

Students should then move into the Classic program, which offers a complete biochemistry course. Additional Biochem 2.0 units are planned and will gradually improve upon and eventually replace the original program over time.