University of Washington
CHEM 237: Organic Chemistry
A key curricular learning experience I had involved an organic chemistry class which was a prerequisite in my major. This was one of the intro classes and had a reputation for crushing GPA’s and making students debate if they are able to handle Pre-Health workload. I struggled a lot at the beginning of the class and did VERY poorly on the first exam. I decided to actively seek out help and went to my professor’s office hours and he changed everything about how I thought about learning and science. It was an intimidating experience initially. A small group and I went to office hours frequently and reviewed lectures with the professor. He showed us so many different methods to study and we chose whatever worked for us, allowing us to dive deeper with the while connecting interests with the material. In the end, he made organic chemistry less scary. All the horrific things that I heard about the class was behind me.
I hadn’t been doing very well in any of my science classes up to this point and was losing confidence in my abilities. I felt lost and stranded in the mix of the crowd and beginning to contemplate a career change if I was not competitive enough. I also felt that as a first-generation college student, I felt loss in education and my undergraduate career. It was difficult for me to admit that I needed help because up until this point, I had done everything on my own. It was strange asking for help as it would be a concept outside my comfort zone.
Through this experience, I was able to develop a learning style that accommodated for me. I found that I learned best by drawing out concepts in diagrams and utilizing the concept of repetition to memorize concepts. I became a more well balanced student by utilizing a planner to plan out my day more and have dedicated breaks and study times. I also formed study groups with friends and classmates who took classes with me. That allowed me to have a consistent group to study with and we developed expectations for productive study sessions.
This class allowed me to reflect on my study habits and analyze what worked and what didn't through trial and error. I learned through this that it is fine to fail and make mistakes. It is how you handle that mistake or failure. Which will contribute to the resilience that I have as I navigate through the rest of undergrad and eventually graduate school. This is something that I can take and bring it to the future as I approach problems or experiences that are difficult. Something that I am actively working on is the ability to seek help when I am struggling. It is difficult and I am aware and constantly working on. This experience has undoubtedly contribute to my future successes professionally and personally.
Responsibility for Personal Behavior: Through this, I learned that you are your own best advocate. No one is going to advocate for yourself and if you do not take the initiative, you will have to live with it. I learned that it is so important to always be mindful of yourself and to always keep yourself in check as you go through stressful times.
Systems Thinking: I learned that my study habits from high school would not work in college. Just trying to sit down and memorize everything was a waste of time. By actively recalling information and drawing out diagrams and flowcharts, I was able to break up dense material that we learned in class into different categories and allowed me to draw out flowcharts and such. Through this, I have learned so much about how I retained material and provides a reflection to constantly innovate if something does not work for you.
Verbal Communication: I think that being able to communicate that you are lost and need help is important in finding success within a big university like the University of Washington. Also it is important when in study sessions as you are trying to communicate ideas or concepts with other people. This allows you to understand the material by teaching it to another person.
Inclusion: This concept is also important as you are forming study groups as you do not want to exclude anyone if they are trying to join your group. Various people bring many things to the table and supporting a diverse and inclusive environment will allow you to exchange ideas and collaborate on topics.
Listening: This is an important concept as listening plays a huge role in collaboration and understanding the material. This will allow you to accurately receive and interpret messages in the communication process. Listening is key to all effective communication.
I hadn’t been doing very well in any of my science classes up to this point and was losing confidence in my abilities. I felt lost and stranded in the mix of the crowd and beginning to contemplate a career change if I was not competitive enough. I also felt that as a first-generation college student, I felt loss in education and my undergraduate career. It was difficult for me to admit that I needed help because up until this point, I had done everything on my own. It was strange asking for help as it would be a concept outside my comfort zone.
Through this experience, I was able to develop a learning style that accommodated for me. I found that I learned best by drawing out concepts in diagrams and utilizing the concept of repetition to memorize concepts. I became a more well balanced student by utilizing a planner to plan out my day more and have dedicated breaks and study times. I also formed study groups with friends and classmates who took classes with me. That allowed me to have a consistent group to study with and we developed expectations for productive study sessions.
This class allowed me to reflect on my study habits and analyze what worked and what didn't through trial and error. I learned through this that it is fine to fail and make mistakes. It is how you handle that mistake or failure. Which will contribute to the resilience that I have as I navigate through the rest of undergrad and eventually graduate school. This is something that I can take and bring it to the future as I approach problems or experiences that are difficult. Something that I am actively working on is the ability to seek help when I am struggling. It is difficult and I am aware and constantly working on. This experience has undoubtedly contribute to my future successes professionally and personally.
Responsibility for Personal Behavior: Through this, I learned that you are your own best advocate. No one is going to advocate for yourself and if you do not take the initiative, you will have to live with it. I learned that it is so important to always be mindful of yourself and to always keep yourself in check as you go through stressful times.
Systems Thinking: I learned that my study habits from high school would not work in college. Just trying to sit down and memorize everything was a waste of time. By actively recalling information and drawing out diagrams and flowcharts, I was able to break up dense material that we learned in class into different categories and allowed me to draw out flowcharts and such. Through this, I have learned so much about how I retained material and provides a reflection to constantly innovate if something does not work for you.
Verbal Communication: I think that being able to communicate that you are lost and need help is important in finding success within a big university like the University of Washington. Also it is important when in study sessions as you are trying to communicate ideas or concepts with other people. This allows you to understand the material by teaching it to another person.
Inclusion: This concept is also important as you are forming study groups as you do not want to exclude anyone if they are trying to join your group. Various people bring many things to the table and supporting a diverse and inclusive environment will allow you to exchange ideas and collaborate on topics.
Listening: This is an important concept as listening plays a huge role in collaboration and understanding the material. This will allow you to accurately receive and interpret messages in the communication process. Listening is key to all effective communication.