Week of 4/17 (Final Week)

Tom Reynolds
Physics 175
MWF Dr. Mueller

This week no one came.  Not one person had any questions for the final. Weird.

This semester has really been all over the place.  For the first half of the semester, I was getting quite a lot of students.  I felt really good about what I was doing.  I was getting through to them and I think they were really understanding it.

As for myself, I'm at the point where I can solve these problems with ease.  I can look at the integrals and sometimes the problems themselves and solve them just by inspection. This is good because this semester has been a lot of people coming with a myriad of topics and all wanting me to help them immediately.  I was able to look at the problem, figure out what it was asking, solve it and then formulate a way to explain it all in a few seconds.   At this point I feel I could take on an even larger role than I have now (not that I'd be allowed to).  This semester was not only useful to the students but also useful to me.

Things that could be improved: I feel my time in lecture was not useful.  Dr. Mueller asked clicker questions and I walked around the class to help during that time but I did not get any questions.  I also do not need any more lessons on this material, although watching demos is still fun. Maybe my time would have been better served in the recitations? It could be worth a try in the future.

Final week and reflection

My last week of office hours were actually pretty empty - one person came in. However at Hillman library on Friday night when the homework was due, 9 students found me while I was studying to help them with the last homework problem. This was over the course of like an hour and a half, and I practically got nothing done that night since I spent all my time with the physics kids.

The question was actually incredibly difficult, I couldn't even figure it out. It was the final homework question of the semester and had to do with destructive and constructive interference and I thought we had the proper formula but it required a huge algebraic equation that no one could solve. I asked two other TAs but no one knew how to do it. Still bothers me when I think about it, I don't like getting stumped



Anyway, this concludes my semester being a UTA for physics. I enjoyed it thoroughly (a lot more than I thought I would, and I had already anticipated it being a good time!). Do wish more kids came to my office hours so I could be of more use, a lot of weeks felt like time wasted at empty office hours. Overall found it to be a very valuable experience, I plan to UTA for more classes in the future.

Logging off,

Leon

Week 4/17

This week no one came to my office hour.

Week of April 17

This was my last office hours of the semester!! Although I thought I would have a good number of students show up this week, I ended up having only about 3, which I think is one of the least I've had this semester. I'm guessing its either the students feel super psyched and ready for the finals and the weeks' homework was easy or students haven't started studying for exams yet and so have got no questions. Being the kind of student I am, I'm leaning towards the latter.
Anyway, the students who showed up brought questions from the week's homework and I was able to assist with most of those questions. I've also got questions from anxious students about how to study for the final both in and out of office hours and I was able to advise them on what I thought were important to focus on and on what helped me succeed.

Week of April 17

A few students came to office hours this week with questions about the upcoming final exam. Most of the questions were related to the new material on diffraction and interference, but I still got a few clarification questions about magnetism and circuits.

Week of the 17th

Last week I did not have anyone at my office hours. It was the week before the final, so I expected people to come. Based of what Dr. Liu gave as examples in the class, I think the final will be difficult. I think that he will put questions on the final that integrate a lot of concepts from all of the different chapters in the course. Thus, students must have a good understanding of the all of the chapters to solve problems. In addition, because it will be multiple choice so students will not receive partial credit. I think the best way to study is to do problems from the homework, because those are the concepts that Dr. Liu thinks is important. In addition, a lot of these problems tie together concepts from different parts of the course which will prepare students for the final.

Week of April 17th

I did not have any visitors to office hours this week, even though it was right before the final exam.
Being a UTA was a great experience however, and I am thankful for the opportunity.

Week 14

This week one student came to my office hours. We reviewed for the final exam and worked through some problems from the midterms. It has been a great semester, good luck on finals to everyone.

Week of April 17th

No one a office hours this week nothing to comment on.

Week of April 17th

One student attended my Tuesday office hours for clarification on a multiple choice problem from Exam 3 on rotational kinematics.  After working out the solution step-by-step, the student understood where they made the error in their calculation and how to correct it for future problems of a similar nature.  At my Friday office hour, two students attended for help on the last set of Expert TA homework problems.  We worked through several on intensity and power of sound, and they seemed to grasp the concepts and calculations well.  We also began one on the Doppler effect, and they seemed to have a good conceptual understanding of the problem, despite the calculations being tricky. 

Overall, this has been a very enjoyable experience for me.  I have learned a lot, and it seems like the students have as well.

4/17-4/21

No students came to my office hours on Monday. Today (Thursday) I had one student come to my final hour. I enjoyed helping her with her homework and felt I enhanced her understanding.

week of 4/20

this is last week of this semester. I am surprised that I got 0 student this week. well, probably they are fine with material. haha.. wish them luck on final, and have a good long summer break!

Week of 4/17

No one came to office hours this week.

Week of 4/17

Office hours were once again very quiet. There were a few students who came in with questions about material from previous units that they had not understood the first time. Hopefully everyone is feeling prepared for the final exam.

Week 13

No students came to my office hours this week.

Week of April 10th

I had only one student show up to office hours this week. I believe this was because this week's homework was the last of the semester for Dr. Broccio's Physics 1 and the students have up until the end of next week to complete their homework. As such, I believe I will be expecting more students to show up the week of April 17th. However, the one student who showed up had only one question from the homework and neither myself nor the Ta with me could figure it out. However, due to the familiarity of this specific question (I remember tackling something similar when I took this class a year ago), I was able to find a similar question in the textbook and through that was able to solve this question. I met with the student and explained the concept behind the question outside my normal office hours.

Week of April 3rd

I had about 5 students show up for office hours this week. They came with questions from their homework. This week's homework was on Temperature and Heat so it was fairly easier to explain than the previous week's homework. Once the concepts were explained, it became easier for students to solve the questions. I and other TAs were also able to clarify difficult concepts to students.

Week of 4/10

Tom Reynolds
Dr. Mueller
Physics 175 MWF 8:00

One student came to my office hours this week.  He came in the last 10 minutes of the session and unfortunately I had a class right after so I had to move quickly.  He just wanted me to check his homework. When I check homework, I tend to focus on the logic, which I can check by reading the homework.  I'll check the math too if I feel I need to, but often I find that they know how to do the math and it's the physics holding back the student.  This particular time everything looked good.  

Week of 4/10

This week no came to my office hour but I do hope that people will use the last week to come and ask questions.

Week of 4/10

I helped one student with some more difficult questions about magnetism, but they were mostly solved after being able to clearly elucidate the problem.

Week of April 10

I had no students attend my office hours this week.

Week of April 10

It was a pretty slow week at office hours, only one student came with homework questions. People are starting to prepare for the final, so I tried to give them tips on the best ways to study. I shared a website for practice multiple choice questions with some students. The website helped me a lot last semester, so I am hoping it helps other students.

Week of April 10th

I once again had no visitors to office hours. As next week is the last week before finals, I hope that any students with last minute questions will come in to ask them.

Week of April 10th

Nobody at office hours this week, nothing to comment on.

Week of April 10th

I did not have any students come to my office hours this week. The homework this week was fairly straightforward. There were some new questions dealing with double-slit experiments, but these problems were simple applications of the double-slit equation discussed in the textbook, so it is not too surprising no one needed help with the homework.

I do expect some students to come next week before the final exam.

Joe Musiol
MWF 12:00-12:50PM

Week of April 10

Nothing to comment on this week, no students in my office hours.

Week of April 10th

At my Tuesday office hours this week, one student attended for help with homework problems they were stuck on.  We solved out two of the problems step-by-step in the time the student was there but did not reach an answer on the final problem of the homework, which was definitely the most challenging.  However, the student really seemed to understand the process and reasoning behind the other two problems after some clarification.  At my Friday office hour, one student attended for help in understanding the observed frequency equation for the Doppler Effect.  The student was mostly confused on how to solve the equation algebraically, but after working through it step-by-step, the student seemed to better grasp how to solve for specific variables in the equation. 

4/10-4/14

I helped the same student on Monday and Thursday with different Lon Capa problems.  We were able to get through a lot of problems on Thursday and completely finish one of the homework sets he needed assistance on. I just guided him and he was able to figure out the solutions on his own.

Week of April 10th

No one came to office hours this week.

Week of 4/10

Office hours were once again very quiet, which wasn't surprising. There was a test Monday and new material is just starting to be introduced. I'm expecting that things will pick up again before finals.

week of 4/13

there is no student came to my session.

week of 4/3

Tom Reynolds
Physics 175
Dr. Mueller MWF 8

Nobody came last week, which is odd.  This semester I've had a lot of students so it's weird that it slowed down so much.  I've actually seen very little of the students from the class.  It's always people from other sections but now even they have stopped.  People don't really ask questions is lecture either.  I guess everyone is just ready for summer.

Week of April 3rd

No one at office hours this week.

Apr 3-7

Nothing out of the ordinary, just 2-3 people came in for help here and there. On Saturday however, I hosted a review session at the Cathedral for last minute questions and practice problems. I had prepared a worksheet of problems I felt were relevant (about 15 questions) and expected 20 some people to show up out of 250. To my surprise, attendance was much closer to 50 - was a little nerve wracking leading a session for that many students. However, it went relatively smoothly and I think it helped the students with what they saw on the exam two days later.

March 27-31

Surprisingly unhectic week of UTA office hours. Big exam coming up next week yet I only had one person come in (same from last week) to get help. He needed help on two homework problems. Other than that, nobody else needed help. Hopefully people will show up to the review session I am heading this week. More details on that to come

Week of April 3

No Students came to office hours this past week

Week of April 3rd

One person came to office hours this week. They just needed some guidance on the AC circuits homework. They were mostly able to do it without help.

Week of April 3

There was an exam on Tuesday, so no students came to my office hours this week. However, I did help some of my friends with physics questions via text message, mostly questions about the right hand rule and induced magnetic fields. I expect more students to come with questions in the next few weeks, with final exams approaching.

Week of April 3

I helped one student with a fluid problem that required the continuity equation and Bernoulli's equation.

Journal 4/3

This week I did not have anyone at my office hours. The third test seemed easier than the first but harder than the second test. The material was definitely tough, and I know the last question on the test was a curve ball. When I took physics 2, the last test material was the hardest for me. This material is some of the hardest to visualize. Especially the material on the different slit experiments. These topics are very difficult to conceptualize. The equations are also somewhat complicated to use, because there are a number of different variables. I am hoping that students will not leave the material to the last minute. It will take a lot of practice and reading to have a good grasp on this material. 

Week of 4/3

This week no students came to my office hours.

Week 12

No students came to my office hours this week.

Week of April 3rd

At my Tuesday office hours this week, one student attended for help in solving a video checkpoint question.  The issue was easily corrected, as it was just a matter of recognizing which equation to use.  After explaining the distinction, the student seemed to understand the appropriate times to use each equation.  At my Friday office hours, three students attended for help with the early problems in the ExpertTA homework set.  After working through the problems and explaining the reasoning behind each step, the students all seemed to better understand how to solve problems of a similar nature, as well as how to read the questions carefully in order to make sure the correct values are used in the equations.

Week of April 3rd

I did not have any students come to my office this week.

This is not a surprise since each of my office hours were after their third midterm exam, and the homework this week covered basic problems concerning the mirror and magnification equations.

Joe Musiol
Broccio MWF 12:00-12:50

Week of April 3rd

I once again had no visitors during office hours this week. I hope that students will come for help if they need it as it gets closer to finals.

4/3-4/7

On Monday I helped one student from physics 0174 with Lon Capa problems. Then on Thursday, I assisted 3 students with their expert TA homework that involved a lot of thermodynamic, heat transfer, and bernoulli's equation concepts that I needed to review in order to assist them. I mainly helped with the Q heat questions and the other TA assisted with a few other questions.

Week of 4/6

Once again, office hours were very quiet. From what I've heard from talking to students, the current material and homework are reasonably straightforward and they're feeling pretty confident.

week of 4/6

I got no student until today. The reason will probably be that they just finish their test and want to relax for a bit. totally understood. only 2 students came, ask for homework, they tried their best to do their homework. and I think they got it. good luck!

Week 11

No students came to my office hours this week.

Week of 3/27

Tom Reynolds
Dr. Mueller
Physics 2 MWF 8

This week I had a steady flow of students.  Some of them were physics one students and some were physics two.  The amount of students has definitely come down since early in the semester.  This now is a very manageable amount.  When one or two students come in at a time, I can easily answer all their questions in as great detail as possible.
One of my students this week posed a simple question that proved to be an interesting challenge.  He was working with Maxwell's equations and asked why does a changing magnetic field induce an electric field.  It's a challenge because a complete answer goes a bit above the scope of the class.  I thought it was kind of fun trying to put it in terms he would understand while still giving a satisfying explanation.  It was like a test to see if I really understand it.

Week of 3/27

I helped with some questions, but it has largely been quiet since extra credit has not been offered.

Week of 3/27

This week three students came to my office hours. They are from the other physics 1 class and they are having their exam on Monday. So we went over some review questions.

Week of 3/27

I didn't have anyone at my office hours this week. I did help someone outside of office hours. The students have their test on Tuesday. I think this is going to be a hard one if they do not practice a lot beforehand. Dr. Liu told them study lenses and mirrors and do a lot of problems with that. While these are not extremely difficult concepts drawing ray diagrams under time pressure will be difficult. The rest of the chapters are complicated with regards to the equations, but there are a lot of trick questions that are possible. Understanding what light is and how it changes as it moves through different mediums only has a couple of equations, but students have to understand how to use equations. 

Week of 3/27

Once again, there were no students at my office hours this week on Tuesday or Friday. Hopefully students will start coming to prepare for the final exam in the coming weeks.

Week of March 27

No students in office hours again this week. Nothing to comment on

Week of March 27

Nobody came to my office hours this week. I talked to some people in the class, and they said that the homework assignment was very easy this week, and it seems like people are understanding the current topics.

Week of March 27th

Nobody at office Hours this week, nothing to comment on. The students had a test last week and just started some new info so I can see why they might not come in.