Advice at Mid-term

Ok, I have been a slacker on my blog....
After reading many of your blogs, I have come to learn that many of you are really struggling. Some of you are doing great and adjusting well...making good grades, working, making friends etc.

For others, this is not the case. For what its worth...I told you so (LOL, don't I sound like your mother!). Seriously, college isn't for everyone. College is hard. You have to give 110% to your studies. You may or may not be able to handle college and working. YOU (and only you) have to decide what is important to you and get a game plan. Can you still work and make B's or better to keep HOPE? Maybe...maybe not. Should you drop out and go into the Navy or the Army...maybe, maybe not (they will pay for your school after 4 years of enlistment...and they have many jobs for you after college as an officer; they even pay for medical school).

YOU my friends, are NOT a dissapointment in any way. You are a normal college student, a normal freshman trying to figure out your place in this world. It is an adjustment to say the least. Do not be discouraged. Do your best and if you find that what you are doing isn't for you..change your major, drop a class, regroup....join the military, get a regular job, take a break and tour Europe. Pray. Find yourself. Once you do that, you may find youself more committed to the end prize.

How to get a good letter of recommendation...

I am often asked to write letters of recommendation for students. In fact, I am asked ALL THE TIME. I get at least 10-20 requests a semester. That is 1-2 per week. They tend to come in spurts as all the deadlines for pharmacy school, medical school, graduate school, scholarships etc. tend to cluster around the same dates.

I have some students in more than one class. I have some students in my research group. These are the students whose letters are easy to write because I see them daily, see their work daily, I really know what they are capable of. But, today I was working on a letter for a student that I only had for one semester. This student is applying to medical school and has a great shot at it. I am writing the letter for an entire committee of faculty (4) as some schools require this type of letter (one letter, instead of 4 separate letters). A number of things stood out to me about her...these things make it EASY for me to write a letter for her even though I don't know her well. This got me thinking about how a student can go about getting a good letter.

I will summarize the pointers for getting a good letter below.
1.) Ask the right people. Ask people who know you well. If there aren't people who know you well, then you might need to work on your interpersonal skills and get to know the faculty a little better!!!
2.) Give the person writing the letter PLENTY of notice. Like at least 2 weeks, preferably more. I have been really busy lately and it has taken me a while to do my recent letters.
3.) Give the person writing the letter a copy of your latest resume and some of the application materials you turned in (such as a personal statement). These items help them learn even more about you so that they can write a letter that says more than "Bob made an A in my class. He came to class on time and did all his homework." Can we say BORING?????
4.) Be noticeable in your departments and majors. Know the faculty, participate in clubs, go to functions. Spend time chatting with your advisor if they have time to talk. Do undergraduate research. Take more classes than are required to get your degree. Try to do the homework problems before asking the instructor to help you finish the problem. Show initiative. Come to office hours. Keep appointments if you make them.
5.) DON'T be a whiner that is late to class or late turning in your homework. Don't be the one that begs to have the test moved every time. If you make a bad grade on a test, do what you can to improve...don't pester the teacher about every half point that they took off of your test. Don't argue with them. It makes you look like a pain in the a$$.
6.) Give clear instructions about what is to be sent to the school (letter and form, form only etc.) and make sure that the address is correct. If the letter can be submitted electronically, provide the correct web address.
7.) Follow up. Give the teacher a week or so and email or call them to remind them to do the letter. We all get busy and things fall off of our to do lists. Its not intentional.

Hope this helps!

Getting Bad News...DON'T GIVE UP

Ok, so this week was test week. Now, you probably see what I was talking about in class. You cannot procrastinate. All these exams come at the same time. You cannot learn college level work in one day. You need to see your professors in their office hours.

Think about what we talked about the other day. What kind of learner are you? Have you found study methods that work for you? If not, try something else. Go to the tutor center, give yourself more time to study. Study in a group, work problems. Talk about what you are learning.

I hope everyone did well on their exams. I am sooooo happy for everyone that studied and did your best on every exam this week!!! But, if you didn't...please think really hard about what you can do to make improvments. You are not a lost cause at anything. You may just have to work harder than you did in high school. This is the real world.

"One must learn by doing the thing, for though you think you know it, you have no certainty until you try." Aristotle

Hanna Hanna Bo Banna!

Do you all remamber that song from when you were a kid? You put the person's name, then sang that rhyming song?

I haven't blogged in a while, been really busy (classes, meetings, having a nice break on Labor Day)...but we sit now waiting to hear if school will be canceled or if we will have an evacuation etc., due to Hanna. Yea, life on the southeast coast. Just so you know, AASU only closes if there is a voluntary evacuation of the islands...so you need to keep going to class until you hear otherwise!

Speaking of women, I am personally stoked that Sarah Palin is the VP nominee. I just think she is great. I love that a woman, outsider, reformer, conservative, mother etc. is in the running. As a working mom myself, it just makes me happy. It can be done, don't let the naysayers fool you. I hope everyone tunes into her speech tonight and gives her a chance.

Next blog will be about what we are talking about in class.... "What kind of learner are you?" Stay tuned!

Day, n. A period of twenty-four hours, mostly misspent. ~Ambrose Bierce

Ahh....time management. It is hard to get motivated, hard to stay motivated and hard to schedule the tings you need to do over the things you'd rather be doing.

I used to be better at managing my time. I used to get more done. That was of course before adding a second child to my life. Now, I "waste" many a hours playing with both my children. Not a waste to me....just what I choose to focus my free time on.

I struggle at work though, keeping motivated. I have to make lists of what I need to do. I have to keep a calendar. I have to schedule time to work on class materials or write grant proposals. If I don't, I'll spend the day checking email and chatting with colleagues.

But, for students, time is a constant reminder of another deadline, another exam, another paper due. It is hard to keep it all straight. First, you have to have a calendar. Electronic is fine, but a paper calendar works just fine. You cannot get things done in time if you don't know when they are due. Second, you cannot procrastinate. I have heard it many times..."If I study too early, I'll forget the information...I have to study the night before." I don't believe it and I don't buy it as an excuse. If you are "studying" the night before, you aren't learning material at all, you are memorizing...memorizing terms and the way problems are done. That is fine, if the professor never asks you to apply what you "learned" to a new concept or problem. Many a student has gotten by just by memorizing. But, if you really want an "A" in a class, you will learn the material,(not just memorize it), at a slow and steady pace that builds confidence over panic.

The distinction is real and the results are real. Try slow and steady studying for just one semester. I think you will be converted to this method!

Watches are so named as a reminder - if you don't watch carefully what you do with your time, it will slip away from you. ~Drew Sirtors

Sunshine on My Shoulders....makes me happy!

Ahhh yes, living on the coast. It sure is grand. That is until some tropical system comes by and wipes you out or floods you. Granted we need the rain, but I think that it has been raining for 2 weeks! Geez. Great time to be in class or in lab, instead of hanging at the beach :-)

I have now met with all of my classes at least once this semester. I have a great group! My seniors are becoming independent in the lab and learning how to become good public speakers! My freshmen, well, they are learning the ropes...some are having a smoother transition than others. But, overall I think that they will soon beging to embrace their new found freedom and responsibility.

So, as you are doing your homework by candle light tonight, listening to the wind and the rain...don't fret about the weather, you cannot control it. Focus on things you can control--like YOUR HABITS and YOUR GRADES. Its the beginning of the semester and what you make of it is up to you!

"Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight." Benjamin Franklin

"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out." Robert Collier

College Speak

A fellow faculty member alerted me to something yesterday…it was the use of certain college lingo that first semester freshmen students may not understand. There is a lot out there for a first semester student to grasp all at once. Financial Aid, Housing, Book Stores, new roommates, meal plans…oh…it can be stressful.

Ahh, but this funny moment was a new one. Apparently a student missed class on Tuesday. Want to know why? The student’s schedule read that the class was held on TH. For those of you that have been around college campuses forever, you know that classes usually meet a couple of days a week and those days are designated by the registrar’s office in the course catalog as MWF (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) or maybe MW (Monday, Wednesday) or TH or TR (Tuesday, Thursday)….

Well, the student missed class because she thought that TH meant THursday….as in the class only met once a week! Ok, so that seems funny…but to a first semester student that is just learning the ropes, it was an honest error.

As faculty and staff we should always remember to try to put ourselves in our student’s shoes. They have lots to learn and it is our job to help them! Some need a little more hand holding than others. But, hopefully, when they cross that stage in 4 years and claim their degree, they will be someone that everyone (faculty, staff, family…) will be super proud of!!

Oh, and students…you can usually print a schedule where the class times are shown in graphical, blocked-out format…. to indicate exactly the times that classes are held. HTH!

Quant Queen???

Ok, maybe you are wondering what the heck a Quant Queen is and why this blog is so titled.

Well, Quant is short for Quantitative Chemical Analysis...a class that I teach and actually (much to my student's dismay) like! Students seem to dread this class, even though in reality is isn't all that hard--ints like teh 3rd semester of general chemistry with some statistics thrown in for good measure (hee hee :-)

So, when thinking up a title for this blog, that was one of the first things I thought of, although other faculty suggested other possible titles. The Queen comes from my desire to be in charge...what can I say about that. It just seems fitting!

Until tomorrow, I'll leave you with my favorite chemistry/science You Tube videos....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m55kgyApYrY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KW3IQu3gsI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWE6uPPmgb4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IlHgbOWj4o

Master of the Syllabus

From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syllabus

"A syllabus is an outline and summary of topics to be covered in a course. It is often either set out by an exam board, or prepared by the professor who teaches the course, and is usually given to each student during the first class session. A syllabus usually contains specific information about the course, such as information on how, where and when to contact the lecturer and teaching assistants; an outline of what will be covered in the course; a schedule of test dates and the due dates for assignments; the grading policy for the course; specific classroom rules; etc.Within many courses concluding in an exam, syllabi are used to ensure consistency between schools and that all teachers know what must be taught and what is not required. Exams can only test based on information included in the syllabus."

The contract; The policies; The expectations. The syllabus.

For a typical college freshman, this item called the syllabus is a new creature. In high school, you never received any piece of paper that detailed everything that you would be doing that year. You never received anything that listed your assignments or dates of exams months before hand. Maybe you knew the grading scale (90 or 93 and above for an A), but that was it!

Now, in college, you get this stack of stapled paper with a TON of info. Spend time with it. Get to know it. WRITE DOWN, in a calendar, all the due dates and the exam dates. Walk around the campus and find out where your professor’s office is. Take note of the office hours. Get to know how the professor feels about exams, grading, extra credit, papers, late work and attendance. I can guarantee that the professor wants you to attend class, turn work in on time, and do your homework…professors typically detest the lazy and whiny student. I can guarantee that your professor wants you to do this with minimal whining about how much information there is or how many assignments you have. He/she does not feel that the assignments are busy work, on the contrary, they are necessary for Mastery of Material.

There is an aside point to be made here…..MASTERY of MATERIAL. Some college freshmen are surprised to know that in college, C is the grade given for average work. Average in college is NOT a B. You have to be above average to get a B. You have to do EXCELLENT/OUTSTANDING work to get an A. It is mathematically impossible for everyone to be above average…(except in Lake Wobegon, http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/). Some people find it a major blow to their self-image to find out that they are “average.” A wise man once said….”getting a C in a college course, such as chemistry, IS an accomplishment. You may be average among your college peer group, but you are still ABOVE average…most people never even take chemistry, never get into college…let alone make a passing grade in it!!” Remember, most faculty lecture to the “A” student…not because they are elitist meanies, but because they want you to rise to the occasion and put forth a significant amount of effort; they want to get you out of your comfort zone and push you to learn something new. That something new, is detailed in the syllabus.

First days

Ok, first off…why am I doing a work blog at 8:00 am on a Sunday? Well, everyone else is asleep and I didn’t get a change to make any entries on Thursday or Friday because of ... Meetings! Oh, yea…and I finished up my syllabi for the 3 classes that I am teaching starting tomorrow. Syllabi are a lot of work to put together, but are of utmost importance. I will dedicate tomorrow’s post to them.

Today I want to talk about First Days. For many of you, tomorrow marks the first day of the rest of your life; the first official day of your “adult” life. Scary concept! First days are special to me each year, I have a number of them over the years. Of course there was the First Day that I dropped my DD off at daycare, preschool, pre-K, kindergarten, first grade….FIFTH grade this year. I am not one of those breakdown and start bawling moms…but, I do get teary eyed. I get even more teary eyed as I drive off my DD’s private school campus and see all the moms and dads of seniors out front of the school holding banners and cheering for their senior. In my case I also have a year old…and so I get the joy of being teary eyed all over again.

There have been First Days at new jobs, First Days as a new parent, First Days in graduate school, First Days as a married woman (we just celebrated 15 years last week!!), and my own First Day of college. Every year, I experience First Days at the beginning of each new semester.

Let me tell you from experience how important the first day of college is. Like many of you are contemplating….I skipped mine. Oh yea….mom and dad dropped me off in the dorm, said their good byes, I met my roommate and floor mates…and promptly 2 days later, I got on a plane and headed for St. Louis Missouri to go to some Fort whose name I cannot remember, to visit my then boyfriend who was graduating from boot camp. I was still 17 at the time and of course, I was in LOVE. I never told my parents, only my roommate knew I was going and I had only known her for 2 days. I missed the first 3 days of class…thinking, that it would not matter in the long run as I was near the top of my class in high school. High school was easy so college must be easy as well.

I got back on Sunday for classes Monday. Not only did I miss a number of great First Week parties that my friends were gushing about, over the next 2 weeks, I realized that I was falling behind quickly. I still remember my schedule –Honors Chemistry I, Calculus 2, History to 1877 and Psychology. I figured that History and Psychology were going to be a breeze (and they were, other than the 15 or so large paper back books we were supposed to read for History…like one a week, I think I stopped after 2 and still made a B+). Honors Chemistry and Calculus 2, well, they were kicking my butt. Especially that Calculus. I never stressed about a class so much. It is also the only class where I actually called the professor at home (he gave us the number) to find out my grade. I made my first C ever. Let’s just say my high school GPA of 3.5 dropped to just barely over a 3.0 (B+ in Chem, A in Psych, C in Cal 2 and B+ in history). I was in SHOCK.

However, this is typical. Freshmen have to adjust to their new life, their new responsibilities and their new found freedom. Most freshmen do see drops in their grades. It is normal, even if it is a blow to your ego. I learned from that experience and rarely missed any class at all after that first semester (except I did miss the max allowed the following semester when I was an idiot and took Chem 2 lab on a SATURDAY!).
My point in this is that First Days are important. They mark special milestones in your life. But, they also help you get a good start on what you are doing. They help you know what the rules and expectations are. They are something that you shouldn’t skip. I hope your First First Day at college is special and memorable. Good LUCK!!!

Oh, and for the record, I was so “in love” that we broke up before the end of the semester. College was my life and he wasn’t a part of that. Good thing, he ended up going to Iraq War 1 and returning with a number of demons (in addition to other demons in his life before he went), becoming an alcoholic and eventually taking his own life under tragic circumstances. :-(

All you faculty do is teach--right?

As I sit here getting ready to go to like 10 meetings today, I was struck with this question. Students have asked me this many times. I also think state legislatures and sometimes just normal random people off the street think that college professors have the best and cushiest job. All they have to do is show up and teach for 9-15 or so hours a week and go home. For that they get paid the big $$.

Yea, that is so far from the truth. College professors spend a lot of time in meetings and most of them spend a lot of time outside of class with students in their offices and their labs. More in another post about office hours and research…this blog is about MEETINGS!!

We meet about courses and curriculum, we meet about budgets, we meet about scholarships for students, we plan for the future, we meet to talk about colleagues and their progress toward tenure and promotion, we meet to talk about grants and research. There are times I wonder if we are even allowed to go to the bathroom with out having a meeting to discuss it ;-)

In all seriousness, meetings can be boring, but really they are important to the life of a college and a department. College professors really are there to do what they can to make sure that their students learn AND have great out of class experiences. Faculty want students to be successful and want them to be able to get jobs, get into medical school, get into graduate school, become teachers etc. These lofty goals and ideals can never be put into place and come to fruition on the backs and ideas of just one person. It takes a village..(OMG, I hate that saying!!).

So, dear students, there is a point to all of this. When you come by my office unannounced, I will probably have time to talk to you. But, sometimes I may not. It is not because I do not want to help you. It may be because I have a meeting in 5 minutes. It may be because I have to compose minutes for a meeting or make a presentation later in the day. So, if I say I am busy, don't feel rejected. You can make an appointment to come back at a time when I can give you my full attention.

Oh yea...and that part about getting paid the big bucks for a rather cushy job...we'll talk about that later. :-)

What I did with my summer vacation!

Well, now that I am back at work, there are days that I just wish I was still on summer vacation. LOL I love my job, but summer is the best time to be a faculty member!

I did teach one summer class and I also did a little research project with a new instrument I was able to get via a grant from the NSF. It is called an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer and it is really cool. I am working with someone in art and in history to study some old coins and art work. I had a great student named Katie that worked all summer to get us familiar with the instrument and its plusses and minuses.

But, once my summer semester was over, I took a few weeks off with my hubby and kids to go to the beach and hang out. But, now, my baby is back in daycare as of yesterday (boo hoo....I hope he doesn't get sick like he did last semester :-() and my older daughter starts the 5th grade on Thursday. It is our last year of elementary school.

Now that I am back I have tons of meetings to go to and syllabi for 3 classes to work out. I hope that everyone enjoys my classes this semester as much as I will enjoy teaching them.

Now that I am back I have tons of meetings to go to and syllabi for 3 classes to work out. I hope that everyone enjoys my classes this semester as much as I will enjoy teaching them.

Welcome!

Hello! I hope to keep up with this blog over the next academic year. I will post comments and topics for discussion with my students. After that, we will see where this blog takes me.

As a member of some other message boards (mostly related to parenting), I often get asked questions about hot scientific issues and concerns. When I am asked about those, I will also try to post my answers or comments as well.

I teach both analytical and environmental chemistry and I have taught biochemistry in the past. I am teaching 2 freshmen learning community courses this semester and I am excited to work closely with first year students!