Chemistry Lab, section AEvery Tuesday afternoon, this is where you can find me. The lab is divided into 6 sections, each with about 3 rows of counters, and approx. 16 students per section, roughly 100 students in total. My role is to stay attentive, for at any moment I might need to capture for the client/student announcements made over the PA system, instructions given by the TA (Teaching Assistant), or questions posed by other students. I've usually finished editing the morning's classes by the time I arrive at the lab. I tell you, three hours of virtually no typing pass by very slowly indeed. Ah, well, I'm being paid--and there are only two more Chem labs to go!
I arrived a half hour early today so I could inconspicuously take a photo; that's why the chairs are still overturned on the counters. The large cabinet-like object against the wall is a fume hood; there are 4 fume hoods per section. Last week's lab required students to work with strong chemicals in the fume hoods, so as not to knock us all out or subject us to unintentional skin peels. I'm always a bit concerned: not so much for me, but for my laptop. Usually at some point during the lab one can hear glass shattering--someone dropping a flask, burette, or graduated cylinder. So far my student's group has had no such accidents (let's hope they continue on that positive streak), but I can't help fearing that my non-scientific presence is somehow working against them, for they've had less than stellar results at least three times.
How do I convey Greek symbols when typing for these science courses? Unfortunately, I never took any language course in Classics, so the first time a new symbol turns up, I guess at the English spelling of the Greek name, according to the prof's pronunciation. I indicate it's a symbol in brackets. Then once I'm home, I consult a site that lists the Greek alphabet. Using MSWord's "Insert/Symbol" menu and "AutoCorrect" features, I arrange it so that when I type the word delta, I'll get ∆; epsilon gives me ε, sigma is ∑ (uppercase) or σ (lowercase), tau is τ. Just a little prep is all it takes. Actually, I program shortcuts for many other words like stoichiometry, thermodynamic, and potentiometer. Anything to save keystrokes when I'm trying to keep up with people who speak 200 wpm. :)
I just deleted my entire comment! And it was long!!! Dammit!!!!
ReplyDeleteTo summarise, my students would fail if I had your job. My friend Dianna is an interpreter at U of W, holds some position of authority, don't know what it is, probsbly because I didn't really losten when she told me.
President's choice makes good veggie burgers, Yves also creates good things soy. Kelsey's restaurant has a great veggie burger, especially if you order it like a swiss mushroom burger. Gotta watch the sodium content of everything though.
Okay, not as fun as I originally wrote, but there all the same.
I realized tonight that if I were to teach the whole course that I'm TA'ing in (and taught tonight), my students would all fail too. I do not have the 'gift of gab' when in front of the class (and it's only a class of 19 - heyyy, just like my high-school grad class!). I'm much more a one-on-one kind of person.
ReplyDeleteJulie, you mean you didn't take teh greek and latin courses in high-school?!?! They were the best!!
Siobhan, I feel your pain - I've had a couple of posts or comments go bad on me. Now, I do a pre-emptive copy-to-clipboard if I've written a lot. At least sometimes...
Looks like someone must have had a chemical spill of some sort and it ran down the drawers/cabinets at one spot there in that picture.
ReplyDeleteWhat is that arrangement of pipes for...the ones that are kind of at the center of the lab desk there? Liquid Water pipes?
Siobhan, I wonder if she's the same Dianna, ASL interpreter, I met at RRC. Was she up north for a bit? Thanks for the veggie tips. I'll look for the others, but I'm going to skip Kelsey's for now; I haven't been back there since I got food poisoning Sep long wknd (bad spinach dip). Sorry your first post was zapped.
ReplyDeleteDaniel, no, I took Chem instead; other than serving as my 5th 300-level course for UM entrance, it was a complete waste of time. Wait, at least I learned H2O, O2, & CO2. I should have looked into Gr & L by correspondence. From what I observe, today's students (at least at university) generally don't listen to what their instructors say; there are *always* students talking. It drives me crazy. Theorists say it's cuz they're the wired generation. I'd like to unwire at least a dozen.
Perry, there are all sorts of spills and spots everywhere. Before I set my Mac down, I wipe the counter with the sleeve of my (borrowed) lab coat. I think the pipes are for water. "CW" (cold water?) was on one of the taps I stared at for an hour. The students have only used the sinks on the ends of the counters so far.