Making the abstract visible.
Atomic structure asks students to reason about things they cannot see. I sequence observations, visual models and explanations so each new idea has something to connect to.
IB DP CHEMISTRY · MYP SCIENCE
Make science
make sense.
I’m Ahmed, a chemistry and science educator. I help students see the logic behind the science, and find the confidence to think for themselves.
Based in Zhengzhou, China · Experience across China & Egypt
NOTES FROM THE CLASSROOM01 / LIGHT
1HHYDROGEN
What can light
tell us about an atom?
tell us about an atom?
400500600700 nm
OBSERVE → QUESTION → EXPLAIN
THE TEACHING CHALLENGEMake the invisible
understandable.
understandable.
A pharmacist’s precision.
An educator’s curiosity.
An educator’s curiosity.
Before teaching, I worked in pharmaceutical R&D and analytical labs. I bring that precision to practical work and data, alongside purposeful inquiry and a classroom where students feel they belong.
↘01 / TEACHING IN PRACTICE
The thinking behind
the teaching.
Three recurring priorities in the resources
and learning experiences I design.
Language opens the science.
Learning science in an additional language means learning the concept and the words together. I use targeted Chinese support, visual vocabulary and sentence frames while building the English students need.
Build the question first.
Good practical work begins before the apparatus comes out. I help students move from curiosity to a focused question, identify variables, and practise the thinking a summative assessment will ask of them.
RESOURCES I’VE BUILT
From my classroom,
not a template.
Original materials designed for my own students. The orbital simulation is live on this page; the others and full unit plans are available on request.
Formula Workshop
A standalone practice tool for writing and naming ionic compounds. Four levels move from guided, step-by-step formula building to simplifying ratios, naming, and building formulas independently. Students work in driver and navigator pairs that swap every question, get hints when an answer is wrong, and download a results file to submit on ManageBac.
From Shells to Orbitals
A lesson sequence prepared for a formal observation. In a bridge lesson, students test the belief that “shell 3 holds 8” against data for zinc, bromine and krypton before the true shell capacities are introduced. The main lesson combines an orbital simulation, hinge questions with a silent vote before each reveal, sentence frames, and a bilingual vocabulary sheet that tackles the orbit and orbital confusion for Chinese speakers.
Integrated Science, Years 4 and 5
A two-year course of eight concept-based interdisciplinary units that connect Chemistry, Biology and Physics, each with a statement of inquiry, key concept and MYP Sciences criteria in plain language for EAL learners. One unit links acids and bases with genetics through DNA as a nucleic acid and UV radiation as a cause of mutation.
A SMALL EXAMPLE · TRY IT YOURSELF
An atom leaves
a signature.
Choose an electron transition. Connect
an invisible energy change to visible light.
HYDROGEN EMISSION · BALMER SERIES
Predict first: which transition will release the most energy?
THE LIGHT WE OBSERVE
656nm
Red light
The electron falls from n = 3 to n = 2. The atom releases energy as a photon of red light.
电子从 n = 3 跃迁到 n = 2，原子释放一个光子，发出红光。
A larger energy drop produces a shorter wavelength.
400 nm500 nm600 nm700 nm
Created for this portfolio to illustrate my teaching approach. Approximate wavelengths; colours are illustrative. This is an energy-level model, not a picture of an electron’s path through space.
02 / WHAT GUIDES MY CLASSROOM
High expectations.
Human connection.
Students need intellectual challenge and a sense of belonging. I plan for both: a clear path into difficult ideas, with space to ask, collaborate, reflect and grow.
See a teaching exampleSequence the thinking.
Build vocabulary and prior knowledge, develop understanding, then move toward analysis and independent application. Use assessment to decide the next step.
Keep the science rigorous.
Use models honestly, distinguish evidence from inference, and connect practical work to careful measurement, safe technique and evidence-based conclusions.
Give students a voice.
Offer meaningful choices, make room for collaboration and reflection, and build class agreements with students. Be firm, kind and consistent.
Use technology with purpose.
Use interactive models, visual tools and AI-assisted planning where they make learning clearer. Keep scientific accuracy and teacher judgement at the centre.
03 / EXPERIENCE & DEVELOPMENT
Science. Curriculum.
The whole student.
2025 – PRESENT
SIAS International School
DP Chemistry HL & SL · MYP Chemistry & General Science
Zhengzhou, China
Teaching DP1 Chemistry (HL and SL), MYP4/5 Chemistry, and MYP1 and MYP3 General Science to classes with many Chinese EAL learners. Mapping the MYP4–5 and DP1 Chemistry curriculum and building lesson-ready DP1 materials. Member of the AI and Technology Committee and, in 2025–26, the Student Uplifting Committee, which developed the schoolwide Student Ambassador Program.
2020 – 2025
Green Land–Pré Vert
International Schools
MYP Science (General Science, Chemistry, Biology) · MYP Student Wellbeing Leader
Egypt
Led student wellbeing for the MYP and served on the MYP Discipline and Development teams. Class advisor, Community and Personal Project supervisor, and mentor to new science faculty.
EARLIER
Industry and IGCSE
Pharmaceutical R&D and analytical roles · IGCSE Chemistry
Worked in pharmaceutical research and analytical roles before moving into teaching. Taught IGCSE Chemistry for two years.
WHERE I’M HEADING
Deepening my work in DP Chemistry while growing into science, curriculum or pastoral leadership.
OPEN TO 2027–28 CONVERSATIONS
Let’s talk
science & schools.
For DP Chemistry and MYP Science roles, including positions that combine teaching with curriculum or pastoral leadership.