:: Running from the Thought Police ::

:: Wednesday, December 10, 2003 ::

Chem 234 Wish List

As posted on the CHEM 234 discussion boards under NOTES (with one slight edit - bet you can't find it - and one major one).

Things I Wish would be changed in CHEM 234:

1. Make the course reinforce CHEM 231.

Seriously, this is bad. We're going over Aldol stuff NOW when we did the lab on it TWO MONTHS ago and the lab lecture on it even earlier. Ditto for the Nitration lab. Instead of clarifying what's going on in 231 by providing hands-on reinforcement in lab, we are introduced to topics 3 weeks to a month ahead of when they're introduced at an understandable level in 231. We are then forced to write up our lab reports in relative ignorance (even with attending the not very illuminating lab lectures) and then have everything made clear to us in 231 the day we turn the labs in (if at all before they're due). The end result is mass frustration and confusion instead of the (I assume) intended enlightenment. In order to fix this, no only should the unknown and aldol labs be switched, but the rest of the course be restructured so that labs follow, not precede. The presence or absence of students taking only CHEM 234 without 231 should have no bearing on
this important improvement to the structure of 234. As we're all, as bio or chem majors, paying extra tuition to pay for our lab expenses, I expect 200+ level labs to be better, not worse, than 100-level introductory labs.

2. Make the exams test knowledge.

Instead of testing what I've learned in lab, the exams tested how well I memorized the answer keys to previous lab exams. This is by no means a fair way to measure students' gained knowledge of chemistry, nor is it ideal. 105/106 manage without exams, why not 234?

3. Make the grade page useful.

There is way too much crap on the grade page. We're not graded on the notebooks, why are they there? Half the prelab quizzes aren't on the page, and those that are appear eight times - all with no grades recorded for them. I much prefer not having to hunt for my grades, and having the possible point totals on the grade page match that listed in
the syllabus would go a long way towards making our lives as students easier.

4. Post the exam and lab grades promptly.

The chem department prides itself on how fast it returns student's exams so that they may learn from the particular test of their academic progress and apply themselves appropriately. When compared to 231 (where 5 days is considered a long turn-around) you people make sloths look fast.

5. Make report requirements explicit in syllabus.

Don't tell us to reference a certain page in the textbook - what the textbook wants is different from what you want (we don't get to see the MSDSs for one). Also, clearly state what you want for referencing the textbook (as most have not done so in a laboratory setting before) and establish a standard of what literature data must be included in each lab.

6. Get rid of the textbook.

There are many labs in which the book is not used altogether. In fact, out of 820 pages, I doubt we used more than 30 of them. With publishers inflating textbook prices over 100%, we as students can ill afford to pay for hardly-used textbooks. Instead of making us by the book, instead make your own procedural manual (just like 105/106) and have it
published and available in the campus bookstores. It's more cost-effective and doesn't make the students pay for stuff we don't use. Just don't fall into the habit of MCB 251 and start using terrible grammar and not updating the entire manual and syllabus every semester.

7. Better organize the Syllabus PDF

There are a bunch of blank pages in the PDF. They can be safely deleted. Also, update the checkout procedures to reflect that bunsen burners and the affiliated equipment are no longer used in lab. This, of course, assumes that a printed lab procedure manual is not made.

8. Don't expect students to attend a lab during 231 lecture

We can't miss the lecture for the accessory lab. I'm sure most professional and graduate schools would rather we missed this currently pointless lab (see #1) than the rather important lecture. Besides, if we can't attend 231 lecture, how are we to understand what is going on in 234?

9. Read the discussion board postings.

As the TAs are usually less than helpful in answering our questions outside of lab, having a professor drop into the discussion board and answer questions, even if only once every other day, would make a lot of students' lives easier. As it currently stands, it's often a case of the blind leading the blind and can be hit-or-miss at best.

10. Make sure professor knows what's going on.

Having the professor not know what is in the drawers does not inspire confidence in the competency of the CHEM 234 staff and faculty as a whole.

11. Remove excess equipment from the drawers.

Why did we have drying tubes, test tubes with sidearms, and 25x200 mm test tubes? They were never used in lab and served only to clutter up the drawers, increasing the chance of broken glasswares.

I doubt any of these changes will actually occur, but at least I said them.

:: The Squire 5:44 AM :: email this post :: ::
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