2. The Introductory Laboratory Williams College 1903

3. CHE 133 Course Objectives: How Teaching Assistants Help to Meet Them

4. Last Year’s TA’s

5. This Meeting • Who are our clients? • Why? • What do they expect from us? • What do we expect from them? • How do we assess progress? • Grades & Grading & Notebooks • What help is available to students? • What is available to TAs? • How to develop critical thinking?

6. Who are our clients? 6 lab/sect X 24 stu/lab X 6 sect = 864 Students • 37% are Freshmen • recently graduated from high school • taking CHE 131 (or 129) simultaneously • range of chemical knowledge / mathematical skills • some with very limited prior lab experience • first College lab course • 63% are “other” • upper classmen / returning students • mixed backgrounds and objectives

7. Lab Picture

8. The Clientele 37% 75 on waiting list

9. What Chemistry Course are They Taking? 9 % 40 % 8 % 1 % 19 % 22 %

10. Why are they taking the course? • Required by their major or career (99%) • CHE 133 is pre-requisite to another course • To satisfy general education requirement (0%) • They Lve Chemistry (?%) • General Interest (?%) By end of semester, we would like this number to increase. The above are not mutually exclusive!

11. Which Majors Require the course?

12. The Clientele By Major

13. What do They Expect from Us? One minute that a student wastes is 1 minute of wasted effort. • Clear Learning Objectives • Clear Assessment Standards • Grades • Accurate • Consistent • Fair • To expend minimum effort/time • 1 credit hour • Efficient Management • Theirs – Time Management • Ours – No Unnecessary Idle Time • You must help! One minute that a TA wastes is 24 minutes of wasted effort. TAs Grading Standards TAs Faculty One minute that a faculty member wastes is 144 minutes of wasted effort. Only 10 exercises

14. What do We Expect from Them? • Development of: • Critical Thinking and Reasoning • Problem Solving • Powers of Observation • Reliable Reporting • Proper Concern for Safety • Laboratory Skills • Techniques • Understanding of Chemical Concepts • Effective Time Management Ye shall not dispense water into oil of vitriol

15. How Do We Assess their Progress? Lab reports are collected at end of lab & returned next lab

16. Grades on Exercises • Pre-lab Problems (5) • Collected at beginning of lab • Adherence to Safety Requirements (5) • Wore Safety Goggles, etc. • Proper use of Lab Notebook (5) • Primary Record • Neatness of Data sheets (5) • No cross-outs, erasures, etc. • Data • Conclusions • Results • [Accuracy/Precision (50)]  Grading Standard (35) Unknowns

17. Lab Notebooks X  • Each student has a proper notebook • Hard bound/pre-numbered pages • Notebook is actually used • No paper scraps/writing on hands • Notebook is the primary record of activity • Notebook before data sheet • Entries in notebook are in accordance with prescribed practices • Ink, no erasures, no white-out Checking notebooks at end of lab period is not sufficient!

18. What are Grades? Status report to the student. 2) Motivation for the student. Competition 3) Guidance for the student, I.e. what topics need further work. 4) Status report to instructorsof follow-on courses. Organic lab, Biology Lab, Research Lab 5) Status report to innumerable other stakeholders. Basis for letters of recommendation

19. How Do we Collect Grades?

20. How Do They Peform? ( x – 853 )2 N = 140 e - 2 * 532 R2 = 0.99 Do we mark “on a curve”? CHE 133 - Fall '08

21. What Help is Available to the Students? Lecture Notes Flow Charts Concept Maps Web Supplements Lecture Videos Help Sessions Faculty Office Hours

22. What is Available to TAs? Everything that the students have PLUS TA Training Sessions * Weekly Notes from Dr. Akhtar Grading Instructions for Exercises Answer Keys to Pre-lab Problems TA Handbook * You are expected to come to these prepared!

23. How do we Help to Develop Critical Thinking? Lectures & Demonstrations? memory cognition convey essential information supplement texts match visual & oral/aural learning styles Discussion? engages participants’ cognitive processes Answering Questions? giving correct answer - like lecture guiding questioner to correct answer Asking Questions! what does the questioner not understand

24. We welcome your comments & suggestions with enthusiasm

26. Course Web Sites • Main page: • http://www.ic.sunysb.edu/Class/che133/ • TA Handbook: • http://mysbfiles.stonybrook.edu/~rschneider/TAHf11.pdf

27. What Determines What We Do & How We Do It SAFETY TEXTS ENVIRON. WHAT WE DO STUDENTS ENROLLMENT 250 mL X 864 = 187 L SUPPL & EQUIP PERSONNEL = 3.3 Kegs TIME

28. Lab is Separate What Will We Do? 1.Check-in / Safety 2.Laboratory measurement Spectroscopy Chromatography‡ Volumetric analysis‡ Gravimetric analysis‡ Gasometric analysis Inorganic synthesis Qualitative Analysis‡ Organic synthesis 12.Check-out 10 Exercises

29. Some Recurrent Problem Practices • Workspace Cleanliness • Have students: • return special equipment to its storage area • clean their workspaces before they leave • Handling Reagents • Students must never: • take more than the recommended amount of a reagent • if prepared, they know how much they need • return unused reagent to stock containers • take reagent containers to their desks • Safety • Students (&TAs) must always wear Safety Goggles • Have students put clothing/backpacks in racks‡ • Pick up broken glass/spilled reagents immediately • Monitor proper clothing (no open shoes) If they don’t, you will be asked to do it