Brainstorm!

In one of the classes for which I substituted the other day, the students had an interesting activity as part of their assignment. It's called an ABC Brainstorm Activity. The students have a list of the letters from A to Z, and for each letter, they have to come up with one word or phrase relating to their topic (the respiratory system, in this case) that starts with that letter. For every letter they get, points are awarded. After thinking of as many words as possible on their own, they were allowed to use other resources (their textbooks, the Internet, etc.) to complete their lists.

I thought this sounded like fun, so I decided to do something similar: an ABC Brainstorm for my own area(s) of study. So I started with Chemistry, then moved on to Education. Here are my lists:

Chemistry ABC Brainstorm
A: Avogadro's number
B: Bohr model of the atom
C: Carbon
D: Diffraction Grating
E: Erlenmeyer flask
F: Fluorine
G: Group theory
H: Half-life
I: Infrared spectroscopy
J: Joule
K: Kelvin
L: Lattice structure
M: Methane
N: Noble gases
O: Osmotic pressure
P: pH
Q: Quantitative analysis
R: Radical
S: Stereoisomers
T: Test tube
U: Universal Gas Law
V: Van der Waals forces
W: Water
X: Xylene
Y: Ytterbium
Z: Zwitterion

Education ABC Brainstorm
A: Attention Deficit Disorder
B: Behaviorism
C: Certification
D: Diversity
E: Exceptionalities
F: Free & Appropriate Public Education
G: Grading papers
H: Home schooling
I: Individualized Education Program
J: Job security
K: Kindergarten
L: Least Restrictive Environment
M: Multiple Intelligences
N: No Child Left Behind
O: Open enrollment
P: Parental involvement
Q: Questioning frequency
R: Reinforcement
S: Standardized Testing
T: Teachers
U: UEA
V: Vouchers
W: WebQuest
X: Title IX
Y: Year-round school
Z: Zero tolerance policies

The first list came pretty quickly to me, and it covers a wide and deep range of subjects in chemistry. The second list came much more slowly, required me to look up a few things, and includes a lot of what can only be called buzzwords. It's a lot more superficial. It seems my knowledge of things educational is still lacking compared to my knowledge of things chemical.

That's why I'm in school, I suppose.

And now, the challenge. Fellow readers, take a look at your own profession, field of study, or even hobby, and do this same ABC Brainstorm exercise. It's a fun way to flex the ol' mental muscles. And it may even help you remember some of the things you thought you'd forgotten.

I look forward to reading all of your answers soon!