Educational Publishing: an Alternate B.Ed.

Career Path

Patrick Crewdson

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Overview• Benefits

• My Background

• Educational Publishing

• Create a Great Question Activity

• Working as an independent contractor tax/financial implications

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Benefits of Being an Educational Writer• Great way to stay active in the teaching profession while trying to

get on to supply lists

• Money: you won’t become a millionaire but it does pay some bills

• It looks great on your resume

• Access to Resources

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My Background• Sept 2012 – Contacted to check on-line material for new Canadian

textbook (Chemistry – The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change)

• Oct 2012 – Contract expanded to include authoring new content

• Feb 2013 – New Contract for the development of on-line content

• June 2013 – New Contract to maintain on-line student portal

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On-line Content• Changing This

Into……

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The Background That Publishers Want• Content is key to becoming a SME

• SME = Subject Matter Expert

• Minimum requirement is BA/BSc in subject area

• BEd is an asset• Knowing the psychology of education• Practical experience

• Strong English or French language skills

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Publishers to Contact in Canada• Oxford University Press Canada

• McGraw-Hill Ryerson

• Pearson

• Scholastic Canada

• Nelson

• Wiley

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Who to Contact

• At Publishers: “Senior Product Manager” or “Senior Editor”

• Department Chairs

• Professors from your undergraduate degree

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Writing Good Multiple Choice Questions

• Try to predict the most common errors (ie. inversion of a formula or incorrect decimal position) and give it as an option• This type of mistake leads to better student learning than just a random

incorrect answer

• Avoid the use of “b and d, but no c” type answers

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Writing Great Questions is Hard

The above reaction was found to proceed in 68% yield to produce 38.0 g of Compound C which was analyzed and found to have a % composition of 30.1% C, 3.16% H, and 66.7% Cl and a molecular formula which was twice the mass of the empirical formula. If compound B contains no chlorine and has a Molar Mass of 106.2 g/mol, how many grams of B were present before the reaction commenced? BONUS: What is the identity of A? (Show all your work and include proper units) [15 marks].

3 A + B C

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Answer Key(6 marks) Mole Ratio Whole Ratiomc = 30.1 % x 100 g = 30.1 g nc = 30.1 g /12.01 g/mol = 2.51 mol C 2.51/1.88 = 1.34 x3 = 4mH = 3.16 % x 100 g = 3.16 g nH = 3.16/1.01 g/mol = 3.13 mol H 3.13/1.88 = 1.66 x3 = 5nCl = 66.7 % x 100 g = 66.7 g nCl = 66.7/35.45 g/mol = 1.88 1.88/1.88 = 1 x3 = 3

The empirical formula is C4H5Cl3. If the molecular formula is twice the empirical then the molecular formula must be C8H10Cl6. (2 marks)MM C8H10Cl6 = 318.9 g/mol nC8H10Cl6 = 38.0 g / 318.9 g/mol = 0.119 mol C8H10Cl6 (2 marks)

% yield = (actual yield/theoretical yield) x 100%theoretical yield = actual yield / (% yield / 100%) = 0.119 mol / (68% / 100%) = 0.175 mol (2 marks)

OR

% yield = (actual yield/theoretical yield) x 100%theoretical yield = actual yield / (% yield / 100%) 38.0 g / (68% / 100%) = 55.9 g

n C8H10Cl6 = 55.9 g / 318.9 g/mol = 0.175 molnA = 3 mol A/ 2 mol C x 0.175 mol C = 0.263 mol A (2 marks)MMA = 70.91 g/mol mB = n x MM = 0.263 mol x 70.91 g/mol = 18.6 g A (1 mark)

BONUS: Since we know that compound B doesn’t contain any chlorine, compound A must, by inspection we can see that the molar mass for A corresponds to Cl2. With this value we can see that our chemical equation would be:3 Cl2 + B -> C8H10Cl6 In order to balance this equation B must be C8H10 (2 marks)

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Group Activity – Write 1 Great Question

• Take a moment and think about a unit you taught or are thinking of teaching

• Think of all the content involved in the unit

• Write a question which will challenge a student to use everything they’ve learned in the unit to solve it

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Group Activity – Write 1 Great Question• Form into groups of 3-4

• Review each others questions and discuss what makes each question great

• Optional: Nominate 1 or more to present their great question to the class

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Questions?• Next part of presentation is optional for people who want to know

more about running their own business

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Working as an Independent Contractor

• Negotiate your own pay

• Set your own hours

• Tax Deductions

• Must track everything yourself

• No guaranteed hours

• Must pay employer portion of CPP

• Not EI eligible unless you pay both portions

Benefits Drawbacks

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Tax Write-offs to Consider• Home office space• Heating• Electricity• Mortgage interest• Property Tax• Insurance

• Asset Depreciation• Computers• Office Furniture

• Supplies

• Software

• Textbooks

• Conferences

• Professional fees

• Use of Vehicle

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Tax Write-offs• Document EVERYTHING

• Keep all documents well-organized

• Keep them for 7 years after date of filing

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Questions?

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Enjoy your Weekend!