CHM1046
How to Excel in Chemistry
Dr. Cathy Middlecamp
Department of Chemistry
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Excerpts from Original Article
Get an ATTITUDE!
Students are quick to point out that the attitudes of their instructors matter. One student put it this way:
Study Buddies
Don't go it alone!
More and more, chemistry courses are emphasizing cooperative learning. Instructors are structuring their courses to promote teamwork and group decision making. Use the same strategies when you study.
Here's what students have said about studying together:
"Reach out to others and meet new people. You can not only make many friends but you also now have a group of study buddies."
"Group activities also are helpful because two or more minds work better than one."
"I benefited a lot from group activities done during lab, lecture, and discussion. Even though you may be confident about your response, it helps a lot to get feedback and other ideas from your peers."
With thanks to chemistry students Jessica Kuehn, Sarah Mautz and Lisa Abrams who provided these suggestions in their essays, "What makes a course student-friendly" written in the fall semester of 1996.
10 Helpful Hints
To be successful in chemistry courses, you will need top notch learning skills. Not only will you use these skills in your course, but also you will employ them throughout your professional career. Your ability to zero in on what is important and to quickly master it will be a lifetime asset. Here are some tips:
SLEEP!
There's no mystery to it: if you don't get enough sleep, your chemistry will suffer on two accounts:
Furthermore, have you ever noticed that you are more likely to come down with a cold when you are behind on your sleep? For many people, this is the case. Illness and chemistry courses don't mix. Do whatever you can (such as SLEEP) to keep healthy and well.
SLEEP! Forget cramming all night. Forget staying up all night to finish a laboratory experiment. Rather, plan ahead. Organize your time so that your work gets done early. Repeat: Get enough SLEEP.
Memorization is NOT a dirty word
Do you mix up terms like sulfide and sulfite? Symbols like Mn and Mg? Is it hard for you to remember how many milligrams are in a gram? Can you keep straight the charges on a proton, neutron and electron?
If you have trouble with any of these, relax. It is quite normal to forget. However, given that forgetting is a natural part of learning, you need to build in some strategies to remember the information that you need to suceed in your chemistry course.
Students and faculty alike may speak ill of memorization, saying that they believe one should understand, not memorize chemistry. Understanding is important. However, so is memorization. Here's why:
Enjoy yourself
Enjoy chemistry? That's right. At the very least, you can probably find some part of chemistry to enjoy.
Consider the alternative: a course with no fun and nothing to brighten your day, ... or a course where you commit all that time and energy and you get little or nothing in return. A good strategy, therefore, is to find something that you like about chemistry (or else to switch to a different field or major).
It may be a particular topic you will enjoy. It may be an "ah ha!" that will make you smile. It may be the chemical reaction demonstrated in lecture that caught you by surprise. It may be the friendships that you form working with others in the laboratory. It may be the sense of accomplishment you feel. If all else fails, it may even be the fact that you are one day closer to the end of the semester.
The point is, there must be something. Find it! You are likely to do your best when there is something enjoyable involved.
Students are quick to point out that the attitudes of their instructors matter. One student put it this way:
- "I tend to work harder and achieve more in a class where the professors, the teaching assistants and the other students have a positive attitude and are enthusiastic about learning. "
- "Positive people produce positive results."
- "Take in a positive attitude with you because if you believe in yourself and work hard, anything is possible ... even Chemistry."
Study Buddies
Don't go it alone!
More and more, chemistry courses are emphasizing cooperative learning. Instructors are structuring their courses to promote teamwork and group decision making. Use the same strategies when you study.
Here's what students have said about studying together:
"Reach out to others and meet new people. You can not only make many friends but you also now have a group of study buddies."
"Group activities also are helpful because two or more minds work better than one."
"I benefited a lot from group activities done during lab, lecture, and discussion. Even though you may be confident about your response, it helps a lot to get feedback and other ideas from your peers."
With thanks to chemistry students Jessica Kuehn, Sarah Mautz and Lisa Abrams who provided these suggestions in their essays, "What makes a course student-friendly" written in the fall semester of 1996.
10 Helpful Hints
To be successful in chemistry courses, you will need top notch learning skills. Not only will you use these skills in your course, but also you will employ them throughout your professional career. Your ability to zero in on what is important and to quickly master it will be a lifetime asset. Here are some tips:
- Don't be too quick to dismiss your mistakes as "stupid". The pros keep track of their mistakes and learn from them.
- Immerse yourself in the material, studying at least five days out of seven.
- Study with a group of friends wherever possible. Pool your resources and talents.
- Increase your ability to think in three dimensions, even when information is presented in two dimensions. Use this especially for molecular shapes.
- Upgrade your computer skills. Check out electronic mail, the World Wide Web and library databases.
- Topnotch writing skills aren't just for English majors. Keep working to improve yours.
- Look for connections between topics, between courses, and between laboratory and classroom work.
- Look for role models and possibly a mentor. Many have gone before you who can help and show you the tricks of the trade.
- Make any special needs known, such as physical limitations or family obligations.
- Ask for help, and do this earlier rather than later. Smart students ask for help.
SLEEP!
There's no mystery to it: if you don't get enough sleep, your chemistry will suffer on two accounts:
- Your brain will not work as well.
- You are more likely to get sick.
Furthermore, have you ever noticed that you are more likely to come down with a cold when you are behind on your sleep? For many people, this is the case. Illness and chemistry courses don't mix. Do whatever you can (such as SLEEP) to keep healthy and well.
SLEEP! Forget cramming all night. Forget staying up all night to finish a laboratory experiment. Rather, plan ahead. Organize your time so that your work gets done early. Repeat: Get enough SLEEP.
Memorization is NOT a dirty word
Do you mix up terms like sulfide and sulfite? Symbols like Mn and Mg? Is it hard for you to remember how many milligrams are in a gram? Can you keep straight the charges on a proton, neutron and electron?
If you have trouble with any of these, relax. It is quite normal to forget. However, given that forgetting is a natural part of learning, you need to build in some strategies to remember the information that you need to suceed in your chemistry course.
Students and faculty alike may speak ill of memorization, saying that they believe one should understand, not memorize chemistry. Understanding is important. However, so is memorization. Here's why:
- Efficiency
Once you memorize something, the information is instantly available to you. You don't have to waste time searching for it each time you need it. Think how hard it would be if you had to look up every phone number you dialed, without having some key ones memorized. Similarly, you don't want to be looking up the different numbers of carbon atoms in methane, ethane, propane and butane every time you use these. - Freedom to think
Once you have memorized something, you are free to use your brain space for something else. Think how tangled your thoughts would be if you tried to compute something without knowing the basic math facts. You'd never be free to sit back and think about what the problem is about. Similarly, you can't think about chemical equations and what they mean if all your brain space is taken up by trying to decipher the chemical symbols, subscripts and coefficients that they contain. - Smooth sailing
Once you memorize something, you don't have to mentally fumble around trying to remember it. Think how much more smoothly a conversation goes when you know a person's name and aren't trying to remember it while you are talking to the person. Similarly, your ability to talk to your instructor and peers goes more smoothly if you don't fumble when you speak the language of chemistry.
Enjoy yourself
Enjoy chemistry? That's right. At the very least, you can probably find some part of chemistry to enjoy.
Consider the alternative: a course with no fun and nothing to brighten your day, ... or a course where you commit all that time and energy and you get little or nothing in return. A good strategy, therefore, is to find something that you like about chemistry (or else to switch to a different field or major).
It may be a particular topic you will enjoy. It may be an "ah ha!" that will make you smile. It may be the chemical reaction demonstrated in lecture that caught you by surprise. It may be the friendships that you form working with others in the laboratory. It may be the sense of accomplishment you feel. If all else fails, it may even be the fact that you are one day closer to the end of the semester.
The point is, there must be something. Find it! You are likely to do your best when there is something enjoyable involved.