Course Strategies

Before Class

  1. Briefly review notes from past material.
  2. Look ahead and see what is about to be covered.

During Class

  1. Take good notes.
  2. Ask good questions.
  3. Rationalize lecture concepts.

After Class

  1. Thoroughly review and rewrite notes.
  2. Knock down any open assignments. Canvas Exams are encouraged to be completed within 48 hours of being assigned.
  3. Attempt Homework questions on topics that have been covered in lecture and canvas exams.
  4. Review past assignments. Keep knowledge fresh by periodically reviewing and practicing past material.

Other Tips

  1. Do not wait until the last minute to do things.
  2. Determine challenges and shortcomings early. Seek help (office hours, SI, help sessions, etc.)
  3. Learning is an active, perpetual process. Engage with course material regularly.
  4. Review regularly. Do not cram.
  5. Follow directions.

Understanding Assignments

Assignments are prepared and given to promote learning.

Canvas Exams

These exams are given often, generally after each lecture (or two), and are hyper focused on the concepts covered in that class. These exams generally consist of a few questions that should be able to be completed in a relatively short amount of time. They are crafted to promote immediate retention of the material in a low-stakes approach (unlimited attempts within 10 days to complete). One should feel comfortable attempting these exams early and often.

Recitation

This one hour per week component of the class is designed to help you with content in the Canvas Exams in a peer discussion active learning environment. During recitation you will cover the topics that are currently open Canvas Exams, providing you with a scheduled opportunity to get help. To make full use of this opportunity, make sure to attempt the Canvas Exam being covered during recitation before going to your recitation meeting. In addition to questions that you bring to class, the teaching assistants will use available time to cover additional similar practice problems to what is available in the Canvas Exams. At the end of each recitation section, you will have a quiz to give you the opportunity to assess your learning on the concepts covered. It is important to attempt the Canvas Exams being covered prior to going to recitation (even if they are not due yet), to ensure the most productive learning experience.

Homework

Homework is designed to promote collaboration and community learning. They are comprehensive, by chapter, and tend to contain more challenging questions than those found in Canvas Exams. It is beneficial to attempt the chapter Canvas Exams prior to your homework. When struggling with a homework question, you are encouraged to seek assistance from lecture TAs, recitation TAs, and your instructor with homework. All work is required to be shown, promoting active learning and methodical thinking using pencil and paper.

In-Class Exam

Canvas Exams and homework are meant to (over-)prepare you for this in-person, ‘on-your-own’, closed-book, traditional exam. This exam includes everything that has been covered in class at the time the exam is given. By the time the comprehensive exam is administered, one will have had the opportunity to sufficiently practice class concepts in a low-stakes environment. Disciplined approaches to practicing, studying, and reviewing lead to higher success on this exam.

Final Exam

The Final Exam comprehensively covers the entire course and is the last assessment given. This is also an in-person, closed-book, face-to-face, traditional exam.

Summary

Each assignment is designed to be steppingstones for your learning. Canvas Exams should prepare you for the more challenging homework assignments. These assessments combined, if properly taken advantage of in a holistic approach to studying and learning, should more than prepare you for the higher-stakes Comprehensive and Final Exams.