What’s New

     Hi! My name is Shaz and I’m one of the Undergraduate Learning Assistants for Chemistry here at GW. Undergraduate Learning Assistants here play a very active role both inside and outside the classroom during recitation, office hours, and review sessions. For clarification, I’ve written an explanation for each below:

     A recitation is led by both the professor and the ULA. Students are broken into small groups and given a packet of problems to work on as a team which hits on material learned that week. During office hours, students have the opportunity to drop in and ask specific questions they may have regarding the course material, structure, etc. Review sessions are similar in theory to recitation, but are led solely by the ULA. The ULA must prepare problems for the students to work on together pertaining to the material covered that week. 

     Although these different settings share the common theme that the ULA is there to be a resource and support for the students, the specific role the ULA takes in each differs. This blogpost will be specifically exploring the role of a Chemistry ULA in a review session. Every ULA has freedom to run their review sessions how they want; this is just what works best for me and the students!

     Review sessions function as guided recitations designed by the ULA. No new material is taught during the review session, but it serves as a review to supplement the material taught that week. The ULA is responsible for preparing practice problems for students to work on collaboratively. Students are split into groups of 3 maximum, and this serves as a tool for students to use in order to figure out the steps to solve the problem. 

     Students are given a few minutes, with the exact time depending on the problem type/length. During this time, the ULA walks around keeping students on track and encouraging students to share ideas with each other to work collaboratively. After the time given to work on the problem has passed, the ULA can choose to go over the problem collectively as a group if it seems like students are having trouble, or can choose to have the students move onto the next problem.

     When going over the problems collectively, the ULA should try and have the students walk them through the steps instead of having the ULA lecture in front of the room. This facilitates active participation and allows the students and ULA to figure out where students have the most trouble. A tip to encourage participation is to use student names when walking around the room to keep students engaged!

Hello there! Whoever you are and wherever you are from, welcome back to our blog!  

     At this point, you may know a lot about the ULA program at GW and why all of us, coming from all walks of life, chose to become one. This post does not intend to greet you with even more information about the program. Instead, it is my personal story – a very unlikely but typical journey of a Chemistry ULA, a Biomedical Engineering junior, and an ex-Economics major. It is more like food for thought or a cup of jasmine tea at the end of the day. I don’t dare to think it will inspire you in any ways, but hopefully it can keep you reflective on your own journey, just like a late night cup of jasmine tea with a slice of lemon and a teaspoon of honey (or a Grande Iced Caramel Macchiato with a White Mocha shot - I got you, tea is not very everyone).

      I’m writing this blog after a cozy dinner with my family. In this uncertain time, I would love staying in my room, covered in a warm blanket with my Samoyed dog Pipi by my side. It is raining heavily outside and this so much reminds me of the first day I was in America. It was so unusual for such a day in late August, especially in somewhere like Washington, D.C. My first day at GW was just like what I had expected (of course except the weather) – nice place, good foods, and great people. It definitely did not feel like home. Instead, I felt the urge to blend in with this place, to find out what it had to offer, and to accept challenges living in a foreign place and speaking another language. The first three semesters flew by with a busy schedule, and sometimes I got caught up with the questions, “What am I doing here? What do I want to do for the rest of my life?” I came to GW as an Economics major, which I used to pursue back in Vietnam, my home country. I understand it was a wild decision, dropping out of a prestigious college after two years and having a fresh start at GW. However, things seemed to not change much. I performed well but did not find joy in the classes of this major. As a distraction, I chose to attend some STEM courses. It was partially because of GW’s University Requirements, where it was required for Economics students to take at least one science course with laboratory. While most of my friends chose “Chemistry for non-science majors”, I picked University Physics. Yes, you saw it right. It was the physics class for engineering and Physics majors. Why, you may ask? It was actually an accident. I, in fact, wanted to try out General Physics but somehow mistook its course number with University Physics. On the first day of class, I was startled when my professor mentioned Calculus as a prerequisite for this course. I did take it though, but it was the very first level of the single variable calculus, not the second one. I was frustrated to be honest. Would I be able to ace this class or fail vulnerably? Would the history repeat itself when I used to have unimaginably terrible grades in high school Physics? The second class told me it would not be. The physics classroom at GW was special, to me at least. The physics department here applied the “Scale-up” model, where students were expected to work in groups, with the help of their professors and one or two Learning Assistants for virtually the entire class time. This meant the students were more independent in the learning process and encouraged to actively help and get helped. I was so thankful for Jose – my Learning Assistant at that time. Without him, I could not have been able to stand my group and perform well. Getting “bombarded” with questions like “why things have to be that way” or “how this theory is different from the other” helped me deepen my understanding about the subject. I was a shy person. I did not usually speak out and did not even dare to talk directly to my professor, so the presence of a Learning Assistant somehow calmed me down. When Jose saw me remain quiet, he called me out, asking questions. When my group was involved in a heated discussion, he would be the referee. His office hour was also the time my group would all go with questions about the class materials or the lab. While I understood professors’ office hours were a great resource, it was just so much easier  and more comfortable for us to reach out to Jose. He was one of us. He was a student too. That might be the reason why his explanation to a complicated problem sounded more approachable and went a long way in terms of understanding. Thanks to Professor Qiu, and Jose, my time in the class would always be something I would mention when being asked about classes at GW.

     Having had a great experience in University Physics encouraged me to try other science courses. Next, I chose Chemistry. This time there should have been no accident as there was no “University Chemistry,” but the class was very different from what I had expected. At the time, the General Chemistry classroom mostly resembled other social science classes. There was no scale-up like Physics. Students had no homework and there was no Learning Assistant. I was lucky enough to have Dr. McClary as my professor. For some, she might be hard and detail-oriented in class with high expectations for exams, but she was extremely friendly and always helpful in office hours. Thanks to her, I came to know that the ULA program was not available in the Chemistry Department back then. Despite some drawbacks in its classroom structure, I genuinely loved Chemistry. I could not explain why, but there was something about it that kept drawing me in for more. However, this could not change the fact that there was much less interaction in the classroom compared to University Physics. More than once during the course I felt lost. I wished I had had someone embedded in the classroom as an extra resource. More importantly, after the course, I wanted to become that person - someone like Jose. I wanted to become a Learning Assistant - not Physics, but a Chemistry LA. Thanks to those Chemistry and Physics, I again felt in love with sciences. I was intrigued about the practical applications of Maths, Physics, Chemistry, or Biology in daily life, which I never cared enough to study in a Vietnamese High School. GW did make me rethink my career choice. The more I debated with myself, the more I realized how much I loved applied sciences. As a result, I decided to transfer to the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) to pursue a career in Biomedical Engineering. Caring for underprivileged children and healing unfortunate communities became my utmost goal for the future. I wanted to contribute my humble heart and my limited knowledge to change how we were approaching health care and to assist the holistic progress of modern-day medicine. To the best of my knowledge, engineering had a great potential in doing just that. The next two semesters in SEAS were some of the best times in my life. I had a chance to be exposed to more science-based courses, learning about daily applications of elusive engineering and science principles. I felt accomplished thanks to the help and support of people around, and I genuinely wanted to pay it back. Maybe it was just me but I always thought life found a way to make things happen at the right time and the right place. By becoming a peer tutor at GW’s Academic Commons – one of several supporting academic services dedicated to the students at GW – for fall 2019, I had precious interactions with lots of students and faculties. By the end of the semester, I was invited to apply to become a Learning Assistant for both Physics and Chemistry. It was a hard decision for me, having to pick between my two favorite subjects – one giving back my love for science and one I truly loved. I chose Chemistry.  For physics, I knew that it would always be great just like what I had experienced. The reason I chose Chemistry was because Spring 2020 witnessed some of the biggest changes in Chemistry classrooms, and I wanted to be part of this transition. Chemistry classes increasingly focused on student’s independent learning. There was homework assigned via ALEKS, and a weekly recitation session was also added to the schedule. Most importantly, the ULA program was restarted at the Chemistry Department. Chemistry ULAs were embedded in classrooms and closely monitored the student’s progress to best assist them with a separate review session and drop-in hour. I was happy as Chemistry students then had more opportunities to receive help to be successful in the class.

     Time flies, as they always say. I have been a Chem ULA for a little over 3 months. I enjoy being in the classroom again, watching students gradually falling in love with Chemistry. I truly cherish the time I spent with the students. It is not only the words of appreciation but also the stories and the lessons I have learned from them. They taught me how to be patient and how to always look at things under multiple lenses. More than once, I saw myself in some of my students – lost, confused, and frustrated. I was thankful that at those times I was able to lend a hand, to let them know that suffering was a part of life it was totally “ok” to struggle at times. More than ever, I wanted to make sure they could tackle every challenge with courage and endearment. There were personal stories being told. It might be the story of a first-generation student struggling to find his place in GW. It could also be a story about a broken family of an athlete who tried to bury her emotions under those bright smiles. Sometimes, it was just simply a conversation about the future – life, goals, career. I have realized we each carry with us a story we do not want to tell, in fear that none will understand. It may slowly destroy and consume us from the inside until we are down on our knees. It is at those moments that we most need love and compassion. Being a Chemistry ULA has been a great experience. It taught me to embrace life with acceptance and compassion. We are more alike than different, and I am happy to be able to pay it forward, to the ones that are just scared and uncertain like I used to be. I have found my life aligned with my goal and passion in a very unlikely way.

     I feel forever thankful to the ULA program and to the people at GW. They changed how I looked at the world and virtually all my reality about a happy and respectful life. I have now committed fully to medicine and to improve the lives of the unfortunate. I hope to pay back, to the best of my ability, more than what I have received. To you, my readers, I hope you have also found your goal in life. You do not have to change the world to be a respectable man. You are respectable when you can “infect” your happiness to the people around you. Make your first baby step to become the one you want to be, and who knows if being a ULA can give you encouragement and motivation to walk the paths less-travelled. Consider becoming one and write me your story.

 I hope all the best to you and your family in this difficult time. Please stay safe and healthy.

For a cozy rainy night in Texas

- Khanh Nguyen

     Hello again! Today, I would like to take the time to talk about my experience with another aspect of being a chemistry ULA - the office hours. 

     I think that our office hours are probably the best part of the job. Office hours, although they’re part of our official duty, are the least structured and likely the least intimidating part of the role, both for ULAs and students. Just like for other professors, office hours are a good place to stop by if students have any questions about a specific problem or concept and want one-on-one attention. When a student comes in with a question, I’ll usually get through the concept within about 10-15 minutes, but then we’ll go on a random tangent and just talk. Because there’s no real structure to office hours, we’re pretty much open for anything. 

     There’s an interesting read by The Harvard Gazette that actually talks about the benefit of going to office hours. It’s a good read and I’ve posted the link below, but the gist of the article is that attending office hours not only increases understanding of concepts in a less-formal setting, but the students who come to office hours on a regular basis are generally the ones who perform better in the class. Going to these sessions also allows for us to talk about plans for future course progressions, so attending these sessions are inherently beneficial to the student.

     In a sense, I think office hours really demonstrate what it means to be an ULA: we’re always present if students have any doubts, but we’re also students ourselves who can talk about random things - like the Parasite movie or about that one time Kanye came to GW.

Until next time.

- Philip Parel

Link to the Article: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/12/professors-examine-the-realities-of-office-hours/

 

     Hello! My name is Philip Parel and I was an Undergraduate Learning Assistant (ULA) for CHEM 1112: General Chemistry 2 in Spring 2020! Prior to coming to GW, I had not been exposed to the concept of learning assistants and I was not sure what to expect when I was first presented with this opportunity. So, for the students interested in becoming a future ULA, I just want to take the time to talk about some of my experiences as an ULA in the context of a Chemistry classroom.

     My first few days as an ULA were a bit intimidating. I wasn’t sure what to expect from my host instructor, I wasn’t sure how I should proceed about helping my peers in the host classroom, and I wasn’t sure where I was going to sit - was I supposed to integrate myself with the students, or sit apart as I was not a student in the class? But, luckily, my host instructor was very polite and comforting and, during our first few meetings, we laid out each of our expectations, how I could contribute to the classroom lectures, and how I would go about helping the students. As an ULA, my role was to integrate myself as much as I could into the classroom - sit with the students, talk about our expectations from the class, and even talk about events outside of school. I think one of the most common misconceptions is that ULAs are like TAs, which is not true. If anything, ULAs are much more like a friend who’s already taken your class and who you go to for help. We don’t help grade tests, we don’t help make tests, and we don’t have access to grades. We do, however, have office hours, review sessions, and participate in the lecture in order to help students. 

     In this blog, I also want to expand a bit on my role in the classroom. I think one of the biggest misconceptions I held was that, as an ULA, I’d be sitting near the professor and helping him with the lecture. However, this is not the case! ULAs try their best to sit in the middle of the classroom and we listen to the lecture, just as other students. When in-class examples appear, it’s our job to locate any students who appear to be struggling or who call for our help, and to sit with these students and help them understand the problem. This is an important distinction, as our goal is not simply for students to get the answer to the problem. We often ask students conceptual questions related to the problem at hand in order to guide the student to arrive at his/her own answer. Each student often sits in a group, so we also try to encourage discussion within the group so that, collectively, the students can all contribute to each other’s knowledge and arrive at the correct answer and correct process together. This approach not only deepens individual thinking, but also allows students to get exposed to the thought processes of other students, thereby allowing for a collective deepening of knowledge and problem-solving skills. 

     Of course, mistakes are made along the way - I sometimes didn’t know the answer to a problem and I sometimes guided students along the wrong problem-solving path. But, this is a learning experience for ULAs as much as it is for students. As an ULA, I learned to own up to my mistakes and to be able to sit down with students when I didn’t know how to solve a problem in order to solve the problem together with the students. For this reason, I would definitely recommend the ULA program to any students interested in becoming future learning assistants.

Until next time.

- Philip Parel

 

Hey guys! I’m Shanzida, a current sophomore at GW and an avid user of the ULA program here on Foggy Bottom. Having the LA program implemented at school has been a great addition for more opportunities to get a better grasp on topics, specifically in Chemistry. I am here to give you an inside look at a typical week of classes and extracurriculars, while also being able to fit in a review session for an upcoming exam. Chemistry recitations take place on a specific day of the week (according to your schedule) where you'll find the professor and the ULA (Undergraduate Learning Assistant) guiding the class time through to work in small groups on topics learned within that week. Recitation is a time to apply the information you've learned in the lecture. The ULA's role is to help with your thought processes and reasoning to get a proper solution. 

While this is a chance to fully engage in the material, review sessions are also held as more practice. In this setting, I work with two other classmates in a group and collaboratively work through problems. The ULA keeps monitor of us and listens to how we come together to solve different chemistry problems. We are all each given a mini white board + marker. If our group is struggling, we simply raise our hands and the ULA sits by us and helps us figure out where we can fix what we may have missed in a problem, or if the material is difficult to understand. The atmosphere of a review session is structured, but still free flowing. Don’t hesitate to ask questions - the ULAs are there for us!

In this setting, the ULAs mustn't just volley us the answer. Whenever ALEKS is due or a quiz or exam is coming up, it is important that we as students can independently walk through a problem and solve it efficiently.  My favorite part of the ULA program is that it truly is at the student’s disposal. We are given times and places to meet up. It is up to you to take this valuable resource and put it into your schoolwork. The STEMWorks room in Gelman is a friendly safe space for all students. Tirelessly walking from Elliot to Ross Hall, forgetting to eat lunch before your class on the seven floors of Milken can most definitely put your energy level at 0% by the end of the day. I, as a student, can say fighting through till the end of the day and getting to my review session made it all worthwhile. And yes, you WILL get through thermodynamics, I promise 🙂