Draft:Cale Hover

• Comment: In accordance with Wikipedia's Conflict of interest guideline, I disclose that I have a conflict of interest regarding the subject of this article. SuperSLIPPYsigma123 (talk) 23:51, 24 March 2026 (UTC)

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Cale Hover
Education	B.S. Biology, The Ohio State University M.Ed., The Ohio State University
Occupations	Educator, curriculum developer, game designer
Employer	Eastwood High School
Known for	ElectronJump, HoverCraft PhysChem, custom science curriculum
Spouse	Jessica Hover
Children	3
Website	electronjump.app

Cale Hover is an American chemistry and physics educator, curriculum developer, and the creator of the free educational game ElectronJump. He teaches dual-enrollment science courses at Eastwood High School in Pemberville, Ohio, and has over 20 years of experience in high school and college-level science education. Hover is known for his comprehensive, individually designed course materials, his use of open educational resources, and his integration of interactive digital platforms to support student learning. He is also the creator of the HoverCraft PhysChem YouTube channel, which provides free chemistry and physics instruction to students worldwide.

Education

Hover holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Master of Education, both from The Ohio State University. He has completed more than 60 hours of post-master's coursework spanning physics, chemistry, STEM education, and technology education. His career carried him through excellence, being recognized by the school board and the University of Findlay as College Credit Plus Teacher of the Year, as well as earning the Master Teacher Designation from the Ohio Department of Education.

Career

Teaching

Hover has taught high school and college-level science for over 20 years. He currently holds a position at Eastwood High School in Pemberville, Ohio, where he teaches dual-enrollment courses, including Basic Chemistry, General Chemistry I, and General Physics I, allowing students to earn college credit while still enrolled in high school.

“ Beyond the classroom, I’ve always been passionate about making science more accessible and engaging. That led me to launch HōverCraft Physics & Chemistry, a YouTube channel providing instructional videos for learners around the world. It also fueled my work as a faculty technology representative, where I trained educators and students in effective uses of digital tools and interactive learning platforms. ”

-C.Hover

HoverCraft PhysChem

Hover operates the HoverCraft PhysChem YouTube channel, which provides free instructional videos covering chemistry and physics topics aimed at high school and introductory college students. The channel serves as a supplemental resource for learners seeking additional support beyond the classroom.

Curriculum and teaching approach

A central feature of Hover's pedagogy is his commitment to building course materials from the ground up, tailored to the specific needs of his students rather than relying solely on commercially published resources. His courses draw on a combination of individually designed documents, peer-reviewed open educational resources, and interactive digital platforms.

Custom course materials

Hover individually designs the worksheets, problem sets, unit packets, and laboratory documents used in his courses. Rather than adopting off-the-shelf materials, he develops and refines these resources alongside his teaching, allowing them to reflect the specific scope, sequence, and conceptual emphasis of his classes. This approach gives students cohesive, purposeful materials that align directly with course instruction rather than generic textbook exercises.

Laboratory work

Hover places significant emphasis on hands-on laboratory experience as a means of building genuine scientific understanding. His courses include in-depth, carefully structured lab activities designed to complement and reinforce conceptual instruction. These labs are developed in-house, with student guides and procedures written to guide learners through inquiry rather than simply following rote steps, supporting the development of scientific reasoning and data analysis skills alongside content knowledge.

Use of OpenStax

Hover incorporates OpenStax textbooks as a primary academic reference in his courses. OpenStax is a nonprofit open educational resource initiative of Rice University that provides free, peer-reviewed textbooks for college and advanced high school courses. The OpenStax Chemistry 2e textbook covers the full scope of a two-semester general chemistry sequence and is freely available online under a Creative Commons license. By using OpenStax as a course text, Hover provides students with a credible, college-level reference at no cost, consistent with his broader commitment to accessible education.

Positive Physics

For assessments and skills practice, Hover uses Positive Physics, an online learning platform designed for high school and introductory college science students. The platform was originally developed by high school physics instructor Jack Replinger and expanded to include chemistry content. Positive Physics offers over 3,000 scaffolded problems, auto-graded assessments, and instructional videos, with each student receiving randomized problem values to promote individual accountability. Hover uses the platform alongside his own custom units, combining the structured problem-solving practice of Positive Physics with his individually designed course materials to offer students multiple pathways to mastery.

ElectronJump

Development

Hover developed ElectronJump in response to what he identified as a persistent challenge in introductory chemistry education: students are typically required to memorize rules governing the electronic structure of atoms without developing genuine conceptual understanding. His goal was to create an inquiry-based alternative that would allow students to discover these principles through interactive play rather than rote memorization.

The game was developed alongside his full-time teaching duties and is offered free of charge to students. Supporting resources and advanced classroom features are available for educators through the game's website.

“ Most recently, I created ElectronJump, a free online educational game that transforms one of the most challenging chemistry topics — electronic structure — into an interactive learning experience. Students step into the role of Millikan the Electron and explore orbital diagrams, quantum numbers, and electron configurations. The goal: to move beyond memorization and give students a deeper, inquiry-based understanding of chemistry’s fundamental principles. ”

-C. Hover

Gameplay and content

ElectronJump is a browser-based puzzle-platformer video game in which the player takes on the role of Millikan the Electron, progressing through levels designed to build understanding of atomic structure. The game covers the following concepts:

• Orbital diagrams
• Electron configurations
• Quantum numbers
• Orbital energy and shape
• Periodic table structure
• Aufbau principle
• Pauli exclusion principle
• Hund's rules

The game is freely accessible at electronjump.app and is optimized for use on student Chromebooks and standard computers.

Personal life

Hover is married to Jessica Hover, and together they have three children: Allison, Joey, and Jack. Outside of teaching, he enjoys cooking, exercising, gaming, and reading. He is a supporter of the Columbus Crew, the Detroit Lions, and the United States men's national soccer team, and regularly attends live sports and concerts with his family.'

External links

• ElectronJump official site
• HoverCraft PhysChem on YouTube
• OpenStax Chemistry 2e
• Positive Physics

Category:American educators Category:Chemistry educators Category:Physics educators Category:Ohio State University alumni Category:Educational game designers Category:Open educational resources Category:Living people