If Only I Could Think of a Title That Would Accurately Represent My Dismay...
For all those unlucky readers that never saw my old blog, this post is part of a tradition of academic... academic... something academic. After attending each of my new classes once, I write my first impressions: what I think of the material, the lecturer(s), how hard I will have to work, if I like it or not, etc. It's really for my own good, and little good at that, considering I don't even provide a follow-up post halfway through the semester (maybe I should). But before I get to that, a few considerations.
Normally I would be excited about this post, excited in a good way. But I am not. I am excited in a bad way. I am excited in this bad way because I am not all that keen on returning to my studies. This is very unsettling. For the benefit of those that do not know me, I love school. Well, I used to, at least. School is what I would call "my element." I usually get excited about returning about the beginning of July, but this year I didn't, not one bit. I absolutely dreaded my return. I can't exactly pinpoint why I didn't want to come back, but I think it was a mixture of pressure (self-applied) and the feeling of impending doom. This is my last year of undergrad. It counts for a lot. It's full of my toughest courses to date. When I'm done, I will have to decide what to do all over again. It's "growing up," and, frankly, I am in no mood to do that.
So, hopefully, by the end of this academic year, I will have a Bachelor of Science with Specialization in Immunology and Infection. It is my goal to get a 4.0 GPA in at least one of the next two semesters, which all of my fellow mathemagicians know is mathemagically impossible unless I get an A in each of my classes (University of Alberta Grading System). So here are my jaded first impressions.
MMI 426: Medical Parasitology (follow link and scroll down for description)
I enrolled in this course because I took a rather surprising liking to my compulsory parasitism course (ZOOL 352). Plus, this one has a laboratory component where we get to isolate parasites from tissue (and excretory) samples, and look at live, cultured specimens. This was my first class of the year, and I was doubly nervous because it is my first 400-level course. It also has a small class-size, which means that (ugh) discussions are more likely to crop up. Although, due to the high information load, there may not be discussions.
The lecture turned out to be alright, however, it consisted mainly of a syllabus overview and my lecturer complaining about all the construction zones she had to drive through to get to the University. Perhaps the first little black mark on its record was the fact that, despite it being the first day of classes, I still had my lab that afternoon. So, feeling very unprepared, I scanned the lab manual (which is, in its entirety, over 200 pages long), and set off to the lab. It also didn't turn out as bad as it could have, but it still wasn't fun. We had mini-lecture on malaria (cool-ish), but were given about a zillion other handouts, and the remainder of the lab consisited of looking at twenty-odd malarial specimens under light microscopes and drawing scientific diagrams for each. We also had to calibrate our microscopes, which proved more difficult that it should have.
I don't mind the main lecturer. She's got a long, unpronounceable name and a cool hint of an eastern European accent. The lab supervisor is very soft-spoken, and she has a tendency to say "okay?" after any announcements she makes or instructions she gives. It's annoying. We have other lecturers and other lab supervisors, but we did not meet them today.
I worry that this course is going to be exceedingly time-consuming and difficult. There is a lot of memorization, and there is a lab quiz each week (and a presentation worth pretty much nothing at the end of the semester). The lab also has its own midterm and final, which is expected but not appreciated.
CELL 300: Advanced Cell Biology I
My degree is highly organized and designed to leave me specialized in immunology and infection. Go figure. As such, instead of being able to choose my options from the giant list of all the science courses, I get to pick from a pre-selected, limited list. This course was one of the few I would even consider taking. It has a counterpart in the next semester (CELL 301), and you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be taking it.
My last brush with eukaryotic cell biology was some time ago... the first semester of my second year. Since then I have been bombarded with larger-scale physiology and lots and lots of bacteriology. So, I can't say that I am in a cell biology groove that will make things easier. But, it doesn't seem TOO too bad. A lot of it looks like stuff I learned in my most recent biochemistry course (BIOCH 320) - protein synthesis, cell structure components, etc. And the first of two lecturers is very organized, and gives excellent sets of notes and supplementary materials. He's also set up a lot of review-type sessions, and there are only two, non-cumulative, equally-weighted exams. The class is rather large, too, so hopefully a good curve will result.
I fear that this course might take a back seat to the others, though. There are optional readings, and it's not something like IMIN 324 or IMIN 371 that are compulsory, and ultimately a little more important.
IMIN 324: Basic Virology
Mmmmm.... a whole course devoted to viruses. Tantalizing. Seriously. As much as I love bacteria (and I LOVE bacteria), I find viruses are pretty interesting, too. And despite having a mediocre lecturer for the virology section of my introductory immunology course (IMIN 200), I have an urge to learn more.
This class will have the most number of different lecturers out of all my classes. That's okay with me. I think. It'll be refreshing, at least. The course coordinator is named Dr. Smiley. Ironically, he's not that smiley. It's a situation akin to my first genetics professor, Dr. Good, who turned out to be among the worst teachers I've ever had.
I'm not exceedingly worried about the material. We had a bit of a preview lecture today and it seemed manageable. I think having an interest in the material will also help.
IMIN 371: Intermediate Immunology
I have a confession: I actually like immunology a lot less that I thought I would when I decided on this program. I still find it interesting, maybe just not that interesting. I'm moderately worried about this course, considering the tremendous effort it took to learn the basics of immunology in my introductory course. At least this time around I have a textbook to rely on, and more tutorial sessions. I can just imagine how convoluted things are going to get. See, our immune systems are VERY complex. I can just see myself two months from now getting all caught up in which cytokines do what, and which immunoglobulins are involved in different types of responses and stuff. Okay, maybe I am a little more than moderately worried.
MICRB 311: Microbial Physiology
Aha. Back to my beautiful and wonderful bacteria. I don't really know what to expect form this course. From what I have been told, it has recently been entirely reconstructed to include updated material and new topics, as well as a new system of evaluation. It also has two new professors. I took another microbiology course last semester, but it was basically a gene regulation course in the context of bacterial behaviour, so I don't know how much overlap I'm going to get. This new course likely also places a lot more emphasis on the biochemical aspects of bacterial functions, which means biochemical pathways are involved, which makes me want to die.
I really like the lecturers, though. One is my professor from my introductory microbiology course, and she reminds me of a really kind and cool aunt (not any of my aunts, just AN aunt). The other is new to the University, and he's from Argentina/Belgium/Switzerland. He's really funny.
This course has two equally weighted exams, just as in CELL 300, but, somehow, I don't think it's going to be to my advantage in this course. I think it's going to be tough, but highly interesting.
Normally I would be excited about this post, excited in a good way. But I am not. I am excited in a bad way. I am excited in this bad way because I am not all that keen on returning to my studies. This is very unsettling. For the benefit of those that do not know me, I love school. Well, I used to, at least. School is what I would call "my element." I usually get excited about returning about the beginning of July, but this year I didn't, not one bit. I absolutely dreaded my return. I can't exactly pinpoint why I didn't want to come back, but I think it was a mixture of pressure (self-applied) and the feeling of impending doom. This is my last year of undergrad. It counts for a lot. It's full of my toughest courses to date. When I'm done, I will have to decide what to do all over again. It's "growing up," and, frankly, I am in no mood to do that.
So, hopefully, by the end of this academic year, I will have a Bachelor of Science with Specialization in Immunology and Infection. It is my goal to get a 4.0 GPA in at least one of the next two semesters, which all of my fellow mathemagicians know is mathemagically impossible unless I get an A in each of my classes (University of Alberta Grading System). So here are my jaded first impressions.
MMI 426: Medical Parasitology (follow link and scroll down for description)
I enrolled in this course because I took a rather surprising liking to my compulsory parasitism course (ZOOL 352). Plus, this one has a laboratory component where we get to isolate parasites from tissue (and excretory) samples, and look at live, cultured specimens. This was my first class of the year, and I was doubly nervous because it is my first 400-level course. It also has a small class-size, which means that (ugh) discussions are more likely to crop up. Although, due to the high information load, there may not be discussions.
The lecture turned out to be alright, however, it consisted mainly of a syllabus overview and my lecturer complaining about all the construction zones she had to drive through to get to the University. Perhaps the first little black mark on its record was the fact that, despite it being the first day of classes, I still had my lab that afternoon. So, feeling very unprepared, I scanned the lab manual (which is, in its entirety, over 200 pages long), and set off to the lab. It also didn't turn out as bad as it could have, but it still wasn't fun. We had mini-lecture on malaria (cool-ish), but were given about a zillion other handouts, and the remainder of the lab consisited of looking at twenty-odd malarial specimens under light microscopes and drawing scientific diagrams for each. We also had to calibrate our microscopes, which proved more difficult that it should have.
I don't mind the main lecturer. She's got a long, unpronounceable name and a cool hint of an eastern European accent. The lab supervisor is very soft-spoken, and she has a tendency to say "okay?" after any announcements she makes or instructions she gives. It's annoying. We have other lecturers and other lab supervisors, but we did not meet them today.
I worry that this course is going to be exceedingly time-consuming and difficult. There is a lot of memorization, and there is a lab quiz each week (and a presentation worth pretty much nothing at the end of the semester). The lab also has its own midterm and final, which is expected but not appreciated.
CELL 300: Advanced Cell Biology I
My degree is highly organized and designed to leave me specialized in immunology and infection. Go figure. As such, instead of being able to choose my options from the giant list of all the science courses, I get to pick from a pre-selected, limited list. This course was one of the few I would even consider taking. It has a counterpart in the next semester (CELL 301), and you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be taking it.
My last brush with eukaryotic cell biology was some time ago... the first semester of my second year. Since then I have been bombarded with larger-scale physiology and lots and lots of bacteriology. So, I can't say that I am in a cell biology groove that will make things easier. But, it doesn't seem TOO too bad. A lot of it looks like stuff I learned in my most recent biochemistry course (BIOCH 320) - protein synthesis, cell structure components, etc. And the first of two lecturers is very organized, and gives excellent sets of notes and supplementary materials. He's also set up a lot of review-type sessions, and there are only two, non-cumulative, equally-weighted exams. The class is rather large, too, so hopefully a good curve will result.
I fear that this course might take a back seat to the others, though. There are optional readings, and it's not something like IMIN 324 or IMIN 371 that are compulsory, and ultimately a little more important.
IMIN 324: Basic Virology
Mmmmm.... a whole course devoted to viruses. Tantalizing. Seriously. As much as I love bacteria (and I LOVE bacteria), I find viruses are pretty interesting, too. And despite having a mediocre lecturer for the virology section of my introductory immunology course (IMIN 200), I have an urge to learn more.
This class will have the most number of different lecturers out of all my classes. That's okay with me. I think. It'll be refreshing, at least. The course coordinator is named Dr. Smiley. Ironically, he's not that smiley. It's a situation akin to my first genetics professor, Dr. Good, who turned out to be among the worst teachers I've ever had.
I'm not exceedingly worried about the material. We had a bit of a preview lecture today and it seemed manageable. I think having an interest in the material will also help.
IMIN 371: Intermediate Immunology
I have a confession: I actually like immunology a lot less that I thought I would when I decided on this program. I still find it interesting, maybe just not that interesting. I'm moderately worried about this course, considering the tremendous effort it took to learn the basics of immunology in my introductory course. At least this time around I have a textbook to rely on, and more tutorial sessions. I can just imagine how convoluted things are going to get. See, our immune systems are VERY complex. I can just see myself two months from now getting all caught up in which cytokines do what, and which immunoglobulins are involved in different types of responses and stuff. Okay, maybe I am a little more than moderately worried.
MICRB 311: Microbial Physiology
Aha. Back to my beautiful and wonderful bacteria. I don't really know what to expect form this course. From what I have been told, it has recently been entirely reconstructed to include updated material and new topics, as well as a new system of evaluation. It also has two new professors. I took another microbiology course last semester, but it was basically a gene regulation course in the context of bacterial behaviour, so I don't know how much overlap I'm going to get. This new course likely also places a lot more emphasis on the biochemical aspects of bacterial functions, which means biochemical pathways are involved, which makes me want to die.
I really like the lecturers, though. One is my professor from my introductory microbiology course, and she reminds me of a really kind and cool aunt (not any of my aunts, just AN aunt). The other is new to the University, and he's from Argentina/Belgium/Switzerland. He's really funny.
This course has two equally weighted exams, just as in CELL 300, but, somehow, I don't think it's going to be to my advantage in this course. I think it's going to be tough, but highly interesting.
***
So, that's it. After only two days I am extremely tired, I have a lot of work to do, and I am accordingly very grumpy and frustrated, and I never really want to go back. Perhaps it would be difficult to get that impression from what I have just said about all these courses, but it's truly how I feel. Plus, I am not really all that excited about being around all those people again. There is some new breed of douchebag roaming campus now. Very off-putting. And my schedule kind of sucks (I have no breaks, but I am done by 12:30 on four of five days), and I fear that being done so early in the day will actually tempt me to waste more time than I should. When you're done early you think, "I have all the time in the world. I can afford to take just a little break..." But then that little break turns into a big break, and those big breaks add up. And then you're screwed.
But, it's all will power, I guess. I hope. Yeah, will power.....
But, it's all will power, I guess. I hope. Yeah, will power.....
Labels: cell biology, immunology, microbiology, parasitology, school
6 Comments:
I too feel that school was "my element". It sucked when I graduated. Growing up is not all it's cracked up to be. However, your degree sounds extremely interesting - think of all the amazing things you'll be able to do once you graduate. I have a BA in Anthropology...I work in an office as a secretary type. Go figure.
Thats too bad about your limited class selection. I am segmented myself with this Chemistry and physics situation. My classes don't even sound different the higher you go, (Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Advanced Inorganic Chemistry, Advanced Organic Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Advanced Analytical Chemistry, Analytical Physics, Instrumental Physics, Advanced Analytical Physics and so on), I mean, I don't even know where I am! 3000, 4000, 5000 level? Who knows, it all sounds the same!
Bacteria are wonderful, aren't they?
You're probably getting tired with school because it's time for it to be over! After a while you can't stare a professor in the face, no matter how funny.
But then you remember the books, the hallways, the libraries, and like Karen says, you begin never to want to leave.
Real world sucks ass. And sometimes so does the academic world. And I live in both.
And I am equally tired of both.
You lucky dog, enjoy this time for all it gets you!
Hello there. A question about the University of Alberta Grading System.
Do "Grade points reflect judgements of student achievement performance in a class. The instructors mark in terms of raw scores, rank the papers in order of merit, and assign an appropriate grade to each paper" mean that the teachers are only allowed to give out a certain amount of A's or can they give A's to every student if that were to happen?
I'm interested because the rightwing coalition here in Sweden are praising their new reform of schools as "a mix between the best of the Canadian and US (I know, that's hilarious, the words best and US school in the same sentence?) school programs". You see the elections are coming up here in Sweden on sunday and I want all my bases covered.
(Care to give me a lesson in English grammar while you're at it?)
Loved the LEGO pics by the way.
Yes, in some classes, that is the way it goes. Professors rank all the raw scores and (hopefully) get a normalized curve, then assign a certain percentage of A+s, As, A-s, etc. Somehow they normalize said curves with a pre-set average grade. For example, in a first year course (whose size can be upwards of 400 students), the preset average grade is a B- (I think). So, after the ranking of raw scores, they say, "Okay, this average raw score is going to translate to a B-. The university says that [something-odd] percent of people should get a B-, so we'll make an interval about this average." They also incorporate the fact that there will be "natural" cut-offs in the curve, and will assign a percentage of a class a certain grade accordingly (you will often hear the professors say that the make the cut-offs at "natural breaks in the curve"). Additionally, the pre-set averages for second- and subsequent- year courses are higher, for example, a B for second-year and a B+ for third year.... something like that (don't quote me on these grades).
This usually works in the advantage of most people. In this situation, if the raw class average is quite low, it doesn't take an exceedingly high raw score to get an A. But it can also work against you. I took an Anatomy class (of 400 people) where the class average was quite high, so my high-80s raw score translated to a B+ on the normalized curve.
(I hope I am making sense)
However, I have had classes (of around 200 people or less, some less than one hundred) where there is simply a preset raw score cut-off. In order to get an A, you need 87% as your raw score, for example. So, theoretically, assigning 90% of the class an A is possible, provided 90% of the class has a raw score of 87% or higher.
So, I suppose the section that you have quoted is generally true, with the exception of some professors electing to make pre-set raw score cut-offs, ignoring the pre-set averages.
Again, I hope that made sense. I think it all works out in the end, though, no matter which way the grading is conducted. Yes, sometimes you think you're being cut short, but you know it's because that's the way the curve works. Other times you know you are lucky and got a grade higher than you ought to have, and you know it's because that's the way the curve works.
Oh, and GRAMMAR SHMAMMAR. I don't even think yours was that bad. Not that I am an authority on it or anything. I just think that it's fine by me as long as I know what you're trying to say. Except if it's something academic or PULISHED-published... then I get a little picky.
More info if you're interested.
That link is to more grading info, not grammar shmammar info.
Thanks Krista. That was one hell of an answer. That makes me not want to vote for them then... I don't get it why a professor or teacher cannot give A's to everyone who deserves them. Maybe that's just me thinking that because we have a system where you get graded for your talent regardless. But it's a difference of opinion. At least you can point to the fact that Canada is one of the best educated countries in the western world so your point is valid.
Thanks again for the long answer. :)
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