Greetings everyone... I am hoping some of you will have a go before Monday at making some comments here. Maybe I should try offering a little structure...
* Was this course any good, or should I do something else?
* Even if it was halfway decent, what should I do to improve it?
* What advice would you give to students contemplating Honours in Chemistry about the Polymer Coursework mini-unit?
* Did you learn anything that has actually been useful to you in the time since?
* I would be keen to have specific feedback about specific exam questions if you have any memories adhering strongly from exam time.
I am not really sure how or where to leave a comment but here goes...
ReplyDelete*The course was interesting but honours coursework in general has a very steep rise in complexity and difficulty from undergrad units and articles on polymers aren't the easiest things to understand. Also the articles chosen by students can be so diverse and far outside of the other student's current knowledge base.
I personally found the sharing of articles difficult and somewhat painful. Maybe because I take a long time to really grasp something and honestly I didn't put much time into it.
*I a not sure about how to improve it, I honestly think it is ok and my difficulty was caused by a lack of effort on my own part. (Sorry, I was young, unmotivated and lack focus)
*I have actually given advice on this to someone recently. 1. Choose articles that are fairly easy to understand and 2. Take your time and sleep during the exam. You get 24 hrs and it really isn't THAT hard. The reason I say to sleep during the exam is that most of the 24 hrs is spend reading and trying to understand information which is VERY hard to do if you are sleep deprived, freaked out and have caffeine jitters.
* Did I learn anything that has actually been useful? About myself, yes. About polymers, honestly it was the last time I had anything to do with polymers so I am going to say no not yet at least.
Hope this helps...
Greetings all,
ReplyDeleteWhat follows are my thoughts on Polymers 400, or whatever arbitrary label the Student Centre attach to this unit.
The most obvious feature of this unit, compared to undergraduate units, is the structure. It is totally different from any undergraduate chemistry unit- a combination of research, presentations and a gruelling final exam. I quite liked this difference and found that these new challenges made this a stimulating and in some ways rewarding unit.
What follows is a list of what I liked about this unit (in no particular order):
i) Accessing polymer journal databases regularly. This kept me up-to-date with my adopted polymer field and familiarised me with using the database.
ii) Reading journal articles. These are usually written in a style which can, initially, be difficult to comprehend. Examining several articles in detail improved my comprehension of scientific literature and made it easier for me to read similar articles quickly.
iii) Improving general knowledge. Proper preparation for the presentations required an open textbook and several Google searches. I learned a lot about different analytical techniques as well as bits of polymer-related jargon.
iiii) Presenting the article to an audience. This was good practise for the final Honours presentation.
v) Discussing the article with others. I enjoyed discussing the articles with fellow students and academics. Being able to discuss queries, unusual results as well as suspect science was enjoyable and educational.
vi) Thinking critically (rather than blindly accepting possibly suspect scientific procedure).
As mentioned above, I found this unit beneficial in several ways. What I liked most, however, was that there was emphasis on HOW to think rather than WHAT to think, a big difference to many undergraduate units.
The only part of this unit I disliked was the exam. It was long and exhausting. And I can't help but wonder if there is a better way of assessing students rather than revisiting previously presented journal articles. Perhaps testing their ability to analyse articles the lecturer has selected? Who knows? I don't.
Overall, I would say the aforementioned benefits outweigh the only gripe I had with this unit and that I am a better scientist for having completed it.
To the Anonymous writer who posted July 18, 2010 9:44 PM,
ReplyDeleteWell said! I to share your thoughts on this and believe I am better off having done this unit. Currently, my own research requires techniques that I can honestly say Polymers 400 allowed me to grasp and I can now 'tick this' as a solid learning curve!
Polymers 400, recommended indeed. Again well said to the Anonymous being.
I found the Polymer module for CHEM400 to be a stimulating one. It helped me to search for and read scientific journal articles, and made it easier to find appropriate material for my Honours thesis (not polymer related).
ReplyDeleteI did like the idea of reading an article, and then try to explain it to others afterwards as a short presentation. It was useful in helping me to retain information and do a little teaching of my own.
I did find the learning curve for the polymer course to be fairly steep, and not for the faint-hearted. The 24-hour exam was a difficult one at the end of the coursework, and it might be a bit of a turnoff for others considering doing the module.
Overall, I found the module to be an excellent one for my Honours course. An alternative to the 24 hour exam might be a better drawcard for others though.
The polymers coursework was an experience. Very difficult and at times very interesting. Polymers are well outside my area and I never felt fully comfortable studying them, so the exam was daunting to begin with, but most of it clicked by the end and there was undoubtedly a sense of accomplishment.
ReplyDeleteI've long since forgotten most of the science but I think the most important thing it taught me was to approach the literature with caution - just because it's been published doesn't mean it's perfect!