STUDYING ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

Here are some things to think about in relation to the Organic Chemistry courses but they will very likely apply to other courses too. 

One of the biggest issues facing a modern student is how to successfully make the transition from a High School mode to a University mode. 

What are the differences ?  Here is the most important one.... YOU, THE STUDENT are in control of your learning at University.  It is up to you to be motivated and learn the most from your lectures etc.  Your Instructors are guides and mentors, they will help the process, but they will not do it all for you nor will they chase you down if you get behind or don't do well.

Some of the transition starts in first year, but the second year is often where the major differences appear. Courses expect an average student to work on that course for an average of 10 hrs per week (every week).  We expect you to already have solid grip of the materials from the prerequisites, if you don't it's your responsibility to do what it takes to make it so.  We will also expect to do some of the work on your own, outside of classes and there maybe topics that are in the resources that you need to work on that will not be covered in lectures. Some material is only covered in the laboratory or only via tutorials.

• Treat the course as a whole : lectures, laboratory and tutorials are all part of the whole, not separate entities. They connect and interrelate: look for those connections.
  
• Read the appropriate etext book materials prior to class and then again after class: a general week to week reading guide is provided by email and/or D2L and/or in class announcements.
  
• You own notes should be your PRIMARY study tool for examinations (research suggests hand written notes are a better learning tool).
• Take notes in lecture (a ring binder / loose pages is better / more flexible for this than a fixed notebook).
• Be aware that study methods that worked for you in the past might need to evolve.
• Review your lecture notes as soon as possible after class (most effective in the first 24 hours).
  
• Supplement / complete your lecture notes as needed from the etext or other resources.
  
• Study with pencil and paper.... you will need them the work things out as you go.
• Work problems, especially those posed in lecture or suggested readings.
• Work problems from the etext book and other resources.
• Get and use a model kit to help you visualise some of the key concepts.
  

A key fact often overlooked by students when they say "the questions in the exam are nothing like those in the book" is based on the fact that when they look at the ones in the book, they know which chapter the question relates to and probably have just spent some time looking at the material covered by the questions. This means that the most important step of recognising what the question is about is already done. In an exam this "flag" is gone, and you have to make that first step for yourself. If you cannot do that, the questions start to seem impossible.

The following resources will help in this mission (should you choose to accept it)

• the self-assessment materials run via MOODLE
  
• the in-class / out-of-class problems and "clicker" problems
  
• problems from the etext, D2L, lecture notes and other resources.
  
• old examinations and solutions are  provided via PDF files (you will need ACROBAT for these - a free download).
• a model kit