Teaching ‘periodic table’ through songs

Professor C. Sebastian Antony Selvan offers free coaching in Chemistry; and through his teaching methods, he ensures a lively classroom

C. Sebastian Antony Selvan’s house in Chromepet doubles as a free tuition centre. Here one can hear the periodic table recited in a musical fashion. Starting with “Hydrogen, Helium, Lithium...” it joins a chorus that reads “Long live John Newlands and his law of octaves.”

Names of scientists Johann Dobereiner, John Newlands and Dmitri Mendeleev who contributed to the making of the periodic table are also heard.

To memorise the periodic table, professor Selvan composed a song in Tamil and English in 1989 that he adopts to make the topic interesting and fun. Professor Selvan, who is a Chemistry faculty with R. V. Government Arts College in Chengalpattu, uses this approach to teach the subject to his students in class and at home where he gives free coaching.

“This creative approach helps students memorise the elements while appreciating the contributions of these scientific figures,” says the professor.

He is also well-known for organising pattimandrams (debates) on various topics in Chemistry. He once conducted a pattimandram on Hydrogen, where students discussed the properties and significance of the element.

For other difficult topics in Chemistry like atoms and equilibrium, Selvan uses stories to explain concepts.

“My goal is to help students understand the subject in a way that doesn’t overwhelm them,” he says.