WHAT ABOUT DISCUSSION SECTIONS?WHAT WILL YOU KNOW AT THE END OF TEN WEEKS?WHAT WILL YOU GAIN FROM THIS COURSE?WHAT is CLAPS?WHAT ARE YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES?Chemistry 153 A – Winter 2006 Dr. Bates Discussions start today. CLAPS and office hours start next Monday. Handouts today are 1. This sheet, 2. Course Information & Syllabus, Read this handout, the preface to the problem booklet, and the 4-page Course Information & Syllabus completely. At your first discussion meeting, you will be asked to sign a statement that you have read them. A lecture schedule is in the Course Information & Syllabus and on the first page of the course compendium. WHAT IS THE CHEMISTRY 153A COURSE COMPENDIUM? The compendium serves as an outline of lecture material and as your class notebook. It is not a substitute for lecture attendance. Much of it will not be meaningful to you without the lecture and the notes you will add. You are strongly advised to write your notes in the compendium rather than to keep separate lecture notes. The purpose of the compendium is: 1. To minimize note taking and drawing of structures & figures 2. To allow you to be intellectually involved during class and concentrate on understanding the lecture 3. To allow you to keep all your lecture material organized in one place WHAT ABOUT DISCUSSION SECTIONS? You must attend the discussion in which you are enrolled. You will have 4 graded quizzes that you must take in your own discussion section. You may also go to additional discussions if you find it helpful and if there is space. The 1st quiz is Tuesday, Jan. 17 through Monday, Jan. 23 on Amino Acid names and structures. Start learning them now. WHAT ABOUT EXAMS? There will be a midterm Monday, February 6 from 5 to 6:50 p.m. There will be no makeup exams or special arrangement for conflicts with the exam schedule. If you miss the midterm due to verified illness your score will be normalized. WHAT WILL YOU KNOW AT THE END OF TEN WEEKS? 1. General composition, structure and function of 3 classes of biological macromolecules: Protein, Polysaccharides, and Lipids. 2. How the environments and microenvironments of these molecules affect their structure and function. 4. The basic principals of enzyme catalysis: kinetics, mechanisms and regulation. 5. The central pathways of energy metabolism, & an integrated picture of general metabolism and regulation. WHAT CHALLENGES WILL THIS COURSE PRESENT TO YOU? 1. Difficult and complex concepts and principles 2. A demand for analytical thinking in applying the principles you learn in class to problems 3. Memorization of basic information that will prepare you for items 1 and 2 above WHAT WILL YOU GAIN FROM THIS COURSE? 1. A basic fund of knowledge on which to build further learning in your future courses, and eventually perhaps your future original research or medical practice. 2. An enhanced ability to think analytically, critically and creatively about biological and medical issues. overChemistry 153 A – Winter 2006 Dr. Bates over WHAT is CLAPS? One of the most important aspects of education in the sciences is to foster analytical thinking and problem solving. Unfortunately this is too often under-emphasized within our university system where classes are very large, the amount of course material to be covered is daunting and class time is limited. You need guidance and practice in developing scientific thinking and problem solving skills. This can best be accomplished by providing you with challenging problems to solve in a supportive, structured setting. A small group of 3 to 5 students working together, with limited guidance from the instructor or a teaching assistant, will develop problem solving ability much more readily than students who engage in solitary study or who simply have the complete solution of a problem given to them by the instructor. Moreover, students who participate in group-discussions of complicated concepts or work together to solve complex and challenging problems stimulate thought processes and ideas in each other. CLAPS sessions are designed to provide an opportunity to work together is this way. Several hours of “Collaborative Learning and Problem Solving Sessions” (CLAPS) will be available each week. The instructor or a teaching assistant will supervise each session. Attendance is optional and you may come and go as you wish. You will assemble into small groups and we will provide you with topics to discuss and challenging problems to tackle as a team. You may work individually if you like, but the group work is highly recommended. We will circulate among you throughout each session to give confirmation or guidance as needed. Each group can work at its own pace. We do not give the complete answer to a problem until you have arrived at a solution; we provide guidance only as needed until you have a solution. In this setting, you will provoke ideas in each other and come up with a joint solution. In many instances, students will be able to explain course material to each other. This process benefits both the listeners and the speaker. The listeners gain a new understanding, and the speaker increases his own understanding through the process of trying to explain something clearly. The CLAPS section of the problem booklet contains a series of challenging problems that have been created especially for CLAPS Sessions. WHAT ARE YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES? 1. Read the first eight pages of the Compendium. You will be responsible for the material on these pages even though we will not go over all of it in lecture. Please ask any questions that you have about this material. 2. Come to lecture and discussion regularly and on time. You are strongly urged to also attend CLAPS. There is a direct positive correlation between CLAPS attendance and performance on exams for this course. 3. Review lecture material every day. Each lecture builds on the preceding material. If you haven’t absorbed and understood the last lecture’s material, you will have trouble following the next lecture. Even a timely 10 to 20 minute review of each day’s material will help -- but more is better ☺. 4. When something is not clear, ask questions. 5. Make use of all the help available to you. Come to discussions, CLAPS, and office hours. Avail yourself of the free tutoring services on campus. If you need a private tutor, me ask for recommendations. 6. Do not let yourself fall behind.
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