Online Degrees and CLEP and DSST Exam Prep Discussion
KCTCS Avoid PHY171 - Printable Version

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KCTCS Avoid PHY171 - UptonSinclair - 12-02-2013

The biggest issue I had with the class is the style of the labs. The textbook is written by Paul Hewitt, but the labs are co-written with Dean Baird. Hewitt is amazing but Baird subscribes to inquiry based learning philosophy that is far better suited to more advanced students. In a distance education course with students who are novices in the particular discipline, explicit guidance is far more effective than a minimal guidance approach. I am sure things would have been far easier had I completed high school science classes less than two decades ago.


KCTCS Avoid PHY171 - cookderosa - 12-03-2013

UptonSinclair Wrote:I just finished this course with an A. The content is challenging, but the professor provides helpful feedback and he is fair with his grading. I didn't deserve an A, but I believe he graded my last couple of assignments liberallyl because I was on the edge between an A and B.

I love this Smile The hardest grades I ever earned were in sciences, and even though I earned high grades, I don't think it reflected my understanding (which, to be clear, is a good thing). Congrats on a job well done!


KCTCS Avoid PHY171 - cookderosa - 12-03-2013

Jonathan Whatley Wrote:The in-person labs at Harvard Extension are that way. Safety glasses or goggles on from the lab room door as you enter to the lab room door as you leave, no exceptions (unless you've had an emergency and you're using the eye wash station). Have to scratch your face under the glasses? Request permission to go out to the hall.



Actually, Experiment 1 in HES Gen Chem is Measuring the Density of Coke® [pdf]. They keep the experiment part easy intentionally to focus on lab safety and procedures:



It ramps up quickly. A few experiments in they have us designing our own procedures in our pre-lab assignments, given stated goals, limited tools and sometimes limited information.



I'm impressed.

Don't be, let's just say that I used the same stack of MSDS sheets more than once ;p Shhhhhhh
Re: Coke at Harvard, I'm sure without even looking that you were not allowed to DRINK IT! LOL I think it goes without saying that if there is one class where you want to keep things OUT of your mouth, it's probably chemistry. Smile