Getting Started

Your guide to navigating Chemical Thinking

Welcome, Student!

This guide will help you get set up and understand how to use all features of the Chemical Thinking course.

Step 1: Create Your Profile

Before you begin, register your student profile to track your progress.

Quick Registration

Enter your details below to create your learning profile. All data is stored locally on the course server.

<label for="student-name">Full Name:</label>
<input type="text" id="student-name" name="name" required class="form-control">

<label for="student-email">Email:</label>
<input type="email" id="student-email" name="email" required class="form-control">

<label for="student-id">Student ID:</label>
<input type="text" id="student-id" name="student_id" required class="form-control">

Step 2: Understand the Course Structure

The Learning Flow

📖 Lecture → 🧪 Interactive Demo → 💪 Practice → ✅ Mastery → 📝 Homework

Navigation Map

Section	What You’ll Find	When to Use
Home	Course overview, quick links	Starting point
Lectures	Content organized by module	Learning new material
Practice	Interactive problems with AI feedback	Building mastery
Homework	Assigned problems to submit	Weekly assignments
Progress	Your mastery dashboard	Tracking advancement

Step 3: How to Study Each Lecture

Each lecture follows the Reality → Recognition → Tool pattern:

1. The Hook (2 min)

Start with a real chemical phenomenon. Look at it. What do you notice?

2. Recognition (5 min)

Which primitive are you seeing? Is something pointing (DIRECTION)? Changing (CHANGE)? Spreading out (SPREAD)?

3. The Tool (15 min)

Now learn the mathematical machinery that captures this pattern. We don’t memorize formulas—we understand why they work.

4. Interactive (10 min)

Play with sliders. Change parameters. See how the math responds to the chemistry.

5. Practice (20 min)

Attempt problems until you achieve mastery (3 correct in a row).

Step 4: Using the Practice System

Our adaptive practice system works like IXL:

Go to Practice Hub
Select a primitive (e.g., DIRECTION)
Read the problem — it’s always based on real chemistry
Submit your answer
Get instant feedback:
- ✅ Correct → Progress toward mastery
- ❌ Wrong → Explanation + worked example + similar problem
Achieve mastery: 3 correct answers in a row

Level	Meaning	Visual
No attempts	Haven’t started	⬜⬜⬜
In progress	Working on it	🟨⬜⬜
Almost there	2/3 correct	🟨🟨⬜
Mastered	3/3 correct	🟩🟩🟩

Don’t guess — Read carefully, think about the primitive
Use hints — They’re there to help, not penalize
Learn from mistakes — Read the worked examples
Take breaks — Mastery comes with rest

Step 5: Submitting Homework

Homework is assigned weekly and covers material from lectures.

How to Submit

Go to Homework
Select the current assignment
Complete all problems — Similar to practice, but graded
Submit before deadline
View feedback after grading

Homework vs Practice

Feature	Practice	Homework
Deadline	None	Weekly
Attempts	Unlimited	One submission
Grading	Mastery-based	Points-based
Feedback	Instant	After deadline
Purpose	Learning	Assessment

Step 6: Tracking Your Progress

Progress Dashboard

Visit My Progress to see:

Mastery map — Which primitives you’ve mastered
Homework scores — Your grades and feedback
Time spent — Learning analytics
Weak areas — Suggested topics to review

Primitive Mastery Grid

         Module 1      Module 2      Module 3
         ──────────    ──────────    ──────────
COLLECT  🟩🟩🟩
ARRANGE  🟩🟩🟩
DIRECT   🟨🟨⬜
PROXIM               🟨⬜⬜
SAME                 ⬜⬜⬜
CHANGE               ⬜⬜⬜
RATE                              ⬜⬜⬜
ACCUM                             ⬜⬜⬜
SPREAD                            ⬜⬜⬜

Technical Requirements

Browser

Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge (latest versions)
JavaScript enabled
Cookies enabled (for saving progress)

Network

Stable internet connection
Access to: https://api.thebeakers.com

For Offline Work

Download lecture PDFs from each lecture page.

Getting Help

Common Issues

Practice widget not loading?

Check your internet connection
Refresh the page
Clear browser cache
Try a different browser

Answers not submitting?

Make sure you’re logged in
Check the API status: Health Check
Contact the instructor

Progress not saving?

Ensure cookies are enabled
Don’t use incognito mode
Progress is saved per browser/device

Contact

Instructor Office Hours: [Schedule TBD]
Technical Issues: Report on GitHub Issues

Ready to Begin?

Start Learning

Go to Lecture 1: Orientation →

Jump to Practice

Practice Hub →

--- title: "Getting Started" subtitle: "Your guide to navigating Chemical Thinking" --- ## Welcome, Student! This guide will help you get set up and understand how to use all features of the Chemical Thinking course. --- ## Step 1: Create Your Profile Before you begin, register your student profile to track your progress. ::: {.callout-note} ## Quick Registration Enter your details below to create your learning profile. All data is stored locally on the course server. ::: <div id="registration-form"> <form id="student-form"> <div class="form-group"> <label for="student-name">Full Name:</label> <input type="text" id="student-name" name="name" required class="form-control"> </div> <div class="form-group"> <label for="student-email">Email:</label> <input type="email" id="student-email" name="email" required class="form-control"> </div> <div class="form-group"> <label for="student-id">Student ID:</label> <input type="text" id="student-id" name="student_id" required class="form-control"> </div> <button type="submit" class="btn btn-primary">Register</button> </form> <div id="registration-status"></div> </div> --- ## Step 2: Understand the Course Structure ### The Learning Flow ``` 📖 Lecture → 🧪 Interactive Demo → 💪 Practice → ✅ Mastery → 📝 Homework ``` ### Navigation Map | Section | What You'll Find | When to Use | |---------|------------------|-------------| | **Home** | Course overview, quick links | Starting point | | **Lectures** | Content organized by module | Learning new material | | **Practice** | Interactive problems with AI feedback | Building mastery | | **Homework** | Assigned problems to submit | Weekly assignments | | **Progress** | Your mastery dashboard | Tracking advancement | --- ## Step 3: How to Study Each Lecture Each lecture follows the **Reality → Recognition → Tool** pattern: ### 1. The Hook (2 min) Start with a real chemical phenomenon. Look at it. What do you notice? ### 2. Recognition (5 min) Which primitive are you seeing? Is something pointing (DIRECTION)? Changing (CHANGE)? Spreading out (SPREAD)? ### 3. The Tool (15 min) Now learn the mathematical machinery that captures this pattern. We don't memorize formulas—we understand why they work. ### 4. Interactive (10 min) Play with sliders. Change parameters. See how the math responds to the chemistry. ### 5. Practice (20 min) Attempt problems until you achieve mastery (3 correct in a row). --- ## Step 4: Using the Practice System Our adaptive practice system works like IXL: ::: {.panel-tabset} ### How It Works 1. **Go to [Practice Hub](practice/index.qmd)** 2. **Select a primitive** (e.g., DIRECTION) 3. **Read the problem** — it's always based on real chemistry 4. **Submit your answer** 5. **Get instant feedback:** - ✅ Correct → Progress toward mastery - ❌ Wrong → Explanation + worked example + similar problem 6. **Achieve mastery:** 3 correct answers in a row ### Mastery Levels | Level | Meaning | Visual | |-------|---------|--------| | No attempts | Haven't started | ⬜⬜⬜ | | In progress | Working on it | 🟨⬜⬜ | | Almost there | 2/3 correct | 🟨🟨⬜ | | Mastered | 3/3 correct | 🟩🟩🟩 | ### Tips for Success - **Don't guess** — Read carefully, think about the primitive - **Use hints** — They're there to help, not penalize - **Learn from mistakes** — Read the worked examples - **Take breaks** — Mastery comes with rest ::: --- ## Step 5: Submitting Homework Homework is assigned weekly and covers material from lectures. ### How to Submit 1. **Go to [Homework](homework/index.qmd)** 2. **Select the current assignment** 3. **Complete all problems** — Similar to practice, but graded 4. **Submit before deadline** 5. **View feedback** after grading ### Homework vs Practice | Feature | Practice | Homework | |---------|----------|----------| | Deadline | None | Weekly | | Attempts | Unlimited | One submission | | Grading | Mastery-based | Points-based | | Feedback | Instant | After deadline | | Purpose | Learning | Assessment | --- ## Step 6: Tracking Your Progress ### Progress Dashboard Visit [My Progress](progress.qmd) to see: - **Mastery map** — Which primitives you've mastered - **Homework scores** — Your grades and feedback - **Time spent** — Learning analytics - **Weak areas** — Suggested topics to review ### Primitive Mastery Grid ``` Module 1 Module 2 Module 3 ────────── ────────── ────────── COLLECT 🟩🟩🟩 ARRANGE 🟩🟩🟩 DIRECT 🟨🟨⬜ PROXIM 🟨⬜⬜ SAME ⬜⬜⬜ CHANGE ⬜⬜⬜ RATE ⬜⬜⬜ ACCUM ⬜⬜⬜ SPREAD ⬜⬜⬜ ``` --- ## Technical Requirements ### Browser - Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge (latest versions) - JavaScript enabled - Cookies enabled (for saving progress) ### Network - Stable internet connection - Access to: `https://api.thebeakers.com` ### For Offline Work Download lecture PDFs from each lecture page. --- ## Getting Help ### Common Issues ::: {.callout-warning collapse="true"} ## Practice widget not loading? 1. Check your internet connection 2. Refresh the page 3. Clear browser cache 4. Try a different browser ::: ::: {.callout-warning collapse="true"} ## Answers not submitting? 1. Make sure you're logged in 2. Check the API status: [Health Check](https://api.thebeakers.com/health) 3. Contact the instructor ::: ::: {.callout-warning collapse="true"} ## Progress not saving? 1. Ensure cookies are enabled 2. Don't use incognito mode 3. Progress is saved per browser/device ::: ### Contact - **Instructor Office Hours:** [Schedule TBD] - **Technical Issues:** Report on [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/khatvangi/chemical-thinking-math-skills/issues) --- ## Ready to Begin? ::: {.grid} ::: {.g-col-6} ### Start Learning [Go to Lecture 1: Orientation →](lectures/01-orientation.qmd){.btn .btn-primary} ::: ::: {.g-col-6} ### Jump to Practice [Practice Hub →](practice/index.qmd){.btn .btn-secondary} ::: :::