** This is a repeat of a learning module from phys 211 that some of you may have seen already. It is good review. Let me spend the equivalent of a 50 minutes lecture on "learning to learn". Even if you know this stuff, it is good to review. Even the best athletes have coaches!
Phys 212 may require a lot of work from you!
You may have to change the way you learn and the way you work to reach the goals that you have set for yourself. Even if you are well versed in "how to learn", you should remember that even the best athletes have coaches. There is always room for improvement!
Success in my course is not defined by your course grades. Success is measured by how much you gain and how much you grew as a person through the course. Yes it sounds cheesy but it is always worth repeating. We all have different stories and all come from different backgrounds but the path ahead is ours to make.
Some students come in Phys 212 with perfect scores and leave with perfect scores. Nothing wrong with that!
For other students, this course can be a real challenge. Some students were trying to avoid dire consequences such as losing financial aids or not being admitted in their major of choice. For some of them the hard work pays off and that makes a great success story.
Others may not get the grade they need for entering a specific major and may have to chose something else. If later you remember this course fondly (I know with physics in the title!) and if you remember trying hard and learning things, then it was a success.
The only real failure is the failure to try.
Now, having said that, I would like everyone to get an A. While unlikely, this is technically possible, the grade scale is fixed and subsequent exams are not made harder if the average on the first one is high!
As an instructor, I see three things that I can do to transform your hard work into success on the exams.
Offer help again and again. I am available and willing to help anyone. Make use of me and other resources. I completely understand that life happens, you do not need to apologize or to hide. If you are trying hard and working, I already consider you a successful student.
Teach you how to learn in general and how to learn physics 212 in particular. There are ways to make the most out of your study time. I believe it is important for me to teach you how to learn something effectively and not just give you quick answers or marvelously clear explanations. In the next few pages, I will summarize techniques on how to study smarter not harder . I will come back to these strategies again and again. These lessons are as important (and may have more of an impact on your grade) than the actual physics lessons.
Provide a well designed course to guide your learning experience. The learning is not happening in the textbook or in this course webpage, the learning is happening in your head and it is not done by me, it is done by you. My course is designed to get you to acquire the knowledge, do the connections in your brain and to practice the skills to the point of unconscious mastery (like driving a car or a bike).