Mindset Over Molecules: A New Way to Learn Chemistry

Chemistry coaching is the connection between mind, body, and chemistry content.

Sounds weird, doesn’t it?

After observing diverse learners for over 15 years in secondary education, I’ve found that putting your full effort into something is what gets the job done. We need to be committed: committed to the chemistry content, committed to consistency, and committed to growth. We all start at the beginning to lay the foundation for our path forward—no matter which road we choose.

What seems to be most challenging for many learners is the lack of immediate understanding when learning something new—as soon as the words hit their ears and are processed by their (often overwhelmed) brains.

As teachers in the U.S. public education system, we are expected to push students through content using different methods of assessment while still teaching to specific standards and tests. How can this be? Every individual is unique. And although many students have overlapping learning styles—or can at least adapt to “typical” ways of learning—most are just trying to survive.

As a chemistry coach, I want my clients to grow and challenge themselves—just as I want my students to do. Chemistry can be challenging. However, it’s also a great opportunity to explore the skills necessary to flourish and nourish ourselves as people. Chemistry requires:

• Critical thinking

• Adaptability

• Managing information

• Research

• Application

• Consistency

• Routine

• Commitment

...just to name a few!

After working with many individuals, I’ve found it effective and empowering to encourage people to explore what they need, what they already have, and what they can do to succeed in a challenging situation. As I’ve said before, chemistry has a “rep” for being difficult, challenging, and abstract. Integrating coaching into learning makes it more approachable, engaging, and self-directed.

Traditional classrooms (think: class sizes) add another layer of difficulty in truly getting to know our students. In a one-on-one setting, there is less noise and distraction. It may seem obvious, but working with me as your chemistry coach can help reduce the stress of the classroom by allowing individuals to come to the table more prepared and ready to engage with the content—not just pass exams. Coaching chemistry fosters curiosity, confidence, and the courage to take academic risks. It also helps reduce procrastination and avoidance.

In a typical session, I intentionally reserve time to get to know my clients:

• What are their interests?

• What are their activities?

• How do they relate to school and peers?

• How do they see themselves as part of their family and/or community?

Their perception of themselves and how they relate to the world is essential to building a successful coaching relationship.

This is often when the real agenda emerges—perhaps revealing a mental block that can shift their perspective and open the doors to the learning and success they’ve been craving.

During high school, college, and even into young adulthood, we experience the impulsivity and reactivity of our developing brains. Most of the time, we literally can’t help it—it’s how our brains and bodies are wired during those years.

According to the American Psychology Association (APA), teens and young adults are one of the most overlooked groups in terms of understanding their development—and, consequently, in receiving the patience, time, and resources they need. Having a “teenager on your hands” is often viewed as a chaotic rite of passage for parents and caregivers—a hormone-driven phase where everything feels dramatic and overwhelming. But it’s much more layered than that.

Although this phase is certainly influenced by hormonal changes, the need for a mental outlet while learning is vital. This is where the magic of coaching comes to life.

Coaching offers a safe, nonjudgmental, and vulnerable space for individuals to express and explore their truest selves. Whatever they bring to the table on a given day is perfect and welcome, no matter the circumstance. All we ask is for them to show up and do the work—moving through discomfort to reach the other side.

The same is true for chemistry coaching. I want my clients to show up as themselves, whatever that looks like on any given day. Together, we define what a successful session looks like. My job is to guide the session based on their cues and what feels aligned for them in that moment. Giving them a sense of control is essential to helping them achieve the success they seek.

As adults, we expect this kind of courtesy and personalization when working with a coach or consultant. So why not extend the same to young adults? What better way to support academic growth than by pairing it with personal and mindset growth? The skills they gain will stay with them far beyond the classroom.

A student I worked with in 2021 found success in chemistry when we began to explore his mindset toward the class—and toward school in general. As I worked with him over Zoom (post-COVID), I paid attention to his attitudes, beliefs, routines, and anything else he felt comfortable sharing. He talked about the dynamics between his teachers, friends, and family. As I listened, I noticed particular words he used or shifts in his tone and body language. By asking something as simple as, “What made you shift in your seat when you said that?”, he was able to identify, for himself, the obstacles to his learning. Most of the time, it had nothing to do with the class or the material—it had everything to do with his mindset.

Witnessing that shift in perspective and the growth that followed was incredible. He found his rhythm for success in chemistry class, and that momentum carried into his other classes, social life, and extracurriculars. We continued working together the following year to support his transition through high school. His confidence grew—in his skills, his choices, and his future path. Chemistry became the spark that ignited a chain reaction of continuous growth and success for this young person.

Chemistry coaching is more than just sitting and learning about atoms, reactions, and free energy. It’s about cultivating growth, confidence, and a sense of self through personalized coaching and the Comfortable Chemistry between client and coach.

Here’s to making Comfortable Chemistry with those who seek it—I’ll be here, ready and waiting.