Week of 2/19/18

No one came to office hours this week.

Week of 2/19

This past week I had three students come in to office hours on Friday. We discussed the topics of work and energy, specifically the conservation of mechanical energy when there are nonconservative forces acting on the system. The students seemed to really understand the topic after working through the homework question about a roller coaster and its energy and velocity at different points of the ride. It helped them understand the topic from a macro perspective. We also discussed the topic of work and its relation to the change in kinetic energy, solving problems for velocity of different objects.

Week of 2/19/18

The first lecture session of the past week consisted of a few in-class demonstrations regarding dielectrics, energy stored in a capacitor, and resistivity.  The overall lecture material for the week was an introduction to circuits.  Topics covered included Emf, Kirchhoff's Rules, and a brief introduction to RC circuits.  No students attended my office hours this past week.

Week of 2/19/18

I had a large amount of students attend my office hours and I was able to work through the problems for the exam next week that made sense to them. I feel more confident in the answers I give than previous weeks and I tend to make not many mistakes, which makes it better for the students. Ever since Nero has given office hours bonus points, I have been seeing more kids but it has been bearable. I hope I see more kids soon when the material seems to be getting more difficult (like phasors and differential equations). I am excited for the weeks ahead.

Week of 2/19

No one came to office hours this week!

week of 2/19

This week I had two students come to my office hours on Tuesday. I was able to answer all of their questions relatively easily. The clicker questions in lecture were very easy this week so there were not many questions during that time. The class started resistors this week which I do not think is too difficult of a topic so I am not expecting the students to have significant issues as compared with other topics such as Gauss' law where many people struggled.

week of 2/20

noone came

Week of 2/19

Dr. Clark discussed Power dissipation in resistors which I believe everyone understood as shown by clicker results. No one came to my office hours this week, but I helped some of my friends with physics 2. Oe of them has an issue with finding the current in multi-loop circuits. He understood it well when I compared it with fluid mechanics.

Week of 2/19

This week the class began dealing with problems in circuit analysis. I very much enjoyed this topic in my physics II class, but I had trouble with some of the more conceptual questions. Next week, I have office hours immediately before the students have their second exam, so I will work on their study guide and try to orient my office hours to be more of a review session.

Week of 2/19

This was the first week that I did not have anyone show up for my office hours.  This is most likely due to the fact that the first midterm is over and spring break is right around the corner.

Week of 2/12

Week went like usual. One person came in. Working on having him able to go through problems on his own instead of going step by step. He has gotten a lot better at figuring out how to set up problems to get the right answer. Other than that not much to report on.

Week of 2/12

Hello everyone,

The week was good.

Students are continuing to ask questions in class and coming to office hours consistently.

I hope those students who aren't asking for help are doing well in the class.

Week of 2/11

This Monday a student came to my office hours for some help on the lecture material.

Week of 2/12/18

This week I had no students come during office hours. I expect a few students might come next week since the class just started magnetism. 

Week of 2/12/18

This past week, students had their first exam of the semester.  The other lecture for the week covered the topic of dielectrics as well as an introduction to current, resistance, and Ohm's Law. I had no students who attended my office hours this past week.

week of 2/12

This week we ended magnetism and electro-magnetic induction in class and there was a lively discussion between students and the professor the material. No students came to office hours this week. I'm hoping to see more students in the next coming week as this topic is quite challenging.

Week of 2/12

The first exam was held this week, so I only had a few proactive students at my office hours asking about material on the next homework that hasn't been taught yet.

Week of 2/12

This week Dr. Nero began offering extra credit for students that came to my office hours and spoke with me for ten minutes. I think this is a good idea to encourage students to use their resources, but it can feel awkward sometimes knowing that they may only be there for the extra credit. I try to at least have a nice, helpful conversation with the students that come in so they aren't just checking their phones to see when ten minutes has passed.

week of 2/12

no one came!

Week of 2/12

No one came to office hours this week. I believe this is due to the use of online homework help like Chegg. In Class, the professor talked about resistors.

Week of 2/12

During office hours, I was able to help students with homework problems relating to the current unit. I also helped with concept checks during lecture this week. 

Week of 2/12

No one came to office hours this week but I was able to help a physics 2 student outside of class with understanding basic concepts regarding current and magnetic forces.

Week of 2/12

This week we spent a good amount of time talking about Newton's second law and the types of friction present in different scenarios. The most confusing topic of the week for students was differentiating between static and kinetic frictional forces. I had two students come to office hours with homework questions regarding this topic. I was able to help clear up their understanding by working through scenarios in which each frictional force needed to be considered. Hope to remain busy in office hours throughout the coming weeks. Happy Friday!

week of 2/12

Test exams were received and I was pleased with the results there was a very high average. Hopefully, this will continue throughout the semester. I only had 1 student come to office hours this week. I helped her with a friction related homework problem and by the end of the session she felt more comfortable. Her confusion stemmed from using newtons second law. Looking forward to having more students next week.

Sam

Week of 2/12

This week we discussed Newton's Second Law and began talking about uniform circular motion. The students also received their exams back this week and overall, did very well. I did see some students in office hours who had questions about their exams, and I was able to clear their doubts. There were also some homework problems that students had questions on. I helped them through the problems and gave them some more conceptual frameworks to think about when solving problems of this nature. During lecture, I helped students with their clicker questions and explained concepts that seemed confusing. There is another exam quickly approaching, so I expect to see more students with questions in office hours and during lecture.

Week of 2/12

The students got their exam scores back this week. The average was around a 63 for the free response which is not surprising. The multiple choice scores were not given back because he wants them to have the opportunity to fix their work by trying them again on lon capa. Office hours were slow as usual this week but I did answer a fair amount of questions in class this week. Specifically about power and current which seemed to be difficult for a few students.

Weeks of 2/5 and 2/12

2/5
Two students came who were at the review session. We did a couple problems discussing EPE and electric potential.

2/12
No one came

Week of 2/5

The students had their first exam last Monday and the average was an 80%! Pretty good for the first college physics test for many students. I had one student come in last week who was confused about a couple homework problems involving tension but I think many students were recovering from the Exam 1 hangover. Hope to see some more students next week!

Week 2/5

It was a quieter week presumably from the lack of exams. Had my regular still come by and finished his homework in record time. He has made great strides. Other than that there wasn't much else to report. Pretty quiet.

Week of 2/5

This week Dr. Nero began offering extra credit VR labs held in the UTA room. I think it is best to take a more passive role in assisting students as they do the labs, or else that would defeat the purpose of the VR lab. The students seem to respond well to the labs and feel comfortable asking questions about the more confusing parts of the lab.

Week of 2/10

This week 2 students came to my office hours for help with homework and review for exam 1.

Week of 2/5

Students had their first exam on Monday. Looking forward to see how they scored. Did not have any students come to office hours this week except for one who came before the exam to clean up some confusion. Hoping to have more students in my office hours the following week.

week of 2/5

In class the students are exploring how charges behave on a spherical conductor and problems related to that. They find it confusing how electric potential behaves and why it is 0 at infinity seems to confuse many as well. Though no one came to office hours, i was able to answer some questions students had during class time.

Week of 2/5

I had my last office hours prior to the first test for my Phys 0175 class this week.  A record number of seven students showed up to keep me busy.  I answered a wide array of questions concerning all the material that has been covered so far.  In addition, I showed some common types of questions and tricks for electrostatics.

Week of 2/5/15

Hello all,

First physics 1 exam was this past Monday for the students. I hope everyone did well on it.

A couple of students came to office hours this past Friday but no one came on Wednesday and Thursday (probably because we just finished the exam).

-Mahmoud

Week of 2/5

This week no one came to office hours on Monday or Friday. I take it no one came because their exam was on Friday, but hopefully they  come to clear up any confusion that they had on their exams!

Week of 2/5/18

This past week in lecture consisted of an introduction to capacitance and multiple derivations of  expressions related to capacitors.  In addition, there were many conceptual book and clicker questions presented in class to help teach the information.  Unfortunately, no students attended my office hours this past week.  However, since the first exam is early this week, some students may come for help with last-minute exam preparation.

Week of 2/5

Nothing special this week. Only one from Phys 2 came to my office hours regarding a concept in Electric Potential. Many students seem to have a problem with this concept as it is not very intuitive. Concepts taught in class refreshed my memory with PHYS 2 especially with Capacitors, Potential, and potential energy.

Week of 2/5

This week the students had their first exam. My office hours were not busy as I had expected. I did however have one student come in on Tuesday for the first hour. I was able to help her review for the exam by going over the major topics and working out a couple of practice problems. From what I've heard the exam was not to bad, with the multiple choice being easier than the free response which does not surprise me. I am still contemplating moving one of my office hours in order to try and make myself available to more students.

week of 2/5

I got "a student"!!!!! he asked me some question about electrical potential and electrical potential energy! I think he got it! and good luck on the test for all students! and good weekend afterward!

Week of 2/5/18

I didn't have any students come to office hours this week. Maybe some students will come next week since the material is becoming more difficult.

Week of 2/5

We had our first exam of the semester on Monday and I'm hoping it went well. I didn't see too many students in office hours this week, which makes sense given the exam and all. The few students that came by had questions on Newton's Laws and forces; our next topic of interest. I was able to answer their questions and help them understand how to draw free-body diagrams, as well. During lecture, I also answered more questions related to forces and equilibrium. The students seem to have some difficulty isolating x and y variables and computing them separately, but I was able to clear up some of their doubts. Hopefully, with practice and more help from us UTA's, they'll be ready to tackle some of the more difficult problems we'll encounter throughout the semester.

Week of 1/29

Last week I had a good amount of students attend office hours, in preparation for their exam this Monday. Students brought in old homework questions and end of chapter questions from the textbook that they had problems with. We talked through the concepts and I utilized the white boards to draw out diagrams of certain questions/concepts. I think this really helped the students to understand some tricky topics, in particular two dimensional motion and the independence of the velocity in the x and y direction. 

Got to cap off the week with a Super Bowl victory, GO BIRDS!

Week of 2/2/2018

Had two students come to my office hours. Both did the VR lab and helped one through sapling problems. Wasn't an influx of people coming in before the first test, maybe it will change with the second test.

Week of 1/29

This week I had one student come to my office hours. I was able to help her work through the online homework. Some of the problems were different from what I have seem but I was able to work them out. The class has its first exam next week so I expect my office hours to be busier next week especial on Tuesday.

Week 1/29

Had some people show up to my Friday Office Hours. Encountered a student who appeared to be extremely stressed out. Had to explain concepts to him multiple times and I am still not convinced he understood. I believe he was too stressed out to focus properly. Other than that everyone else seemed to be fine. I stayed for a total of an extra hour and twenty minutes. However, I don't think I can do this anymore seeing as I have my fair share of work to do unfortunately.

Week of 1/29/18

No one came to office hours this week. I expect some students to come to office hours next week since the exam is on Friday. 

Week of 1/29/18

This past week in lecture, we covered more material on electric fields and started new material on electric potential energy and electric potential.  Despite the course material picking up more, I had no students come to my office hours this past week.  The class has their first midterm in about a week, so hopefully more students will come to office hours in preparation for the exam.

week of 1/29

It was a rather busy week for our class. I had a student from Physics 1 come to office hours where I helped him understand some key concepts. He was confused about how both acceleration and deceleration occurred in every situation where there was an acceleration. We went through some examples where the acceleration became deceleration in the opposite direction. Also he had many questions related to vectors which I was able to solve. In class we started Electric fields and related context.

week of 1/29

Had a good amount of students come to my office hours this week. Many questions on homework as well as book conceptual problems were discussed. Students I have helped in lecture seem to be grasping the information but having difficulty piecing ideas together. Have seen improvement since beginning of the semester. First exam is on Monday, looking forward to see how everyone does.

Week of 1/29

Dr. Nero's class had their first exam on Monday. I had two office hours that day, so I tried to structure them more as a review session for the people that came. I think taking this proactive approach to preparing for office hours helps out the students a lot, as I am able to connect what they do in class to what I focus on in my office hours.

Week of 1/29

Hey everyone,

This past week was the final week before the first Physics 1 exam on the following Monday. Many students came to office hours and were asking really thoughtful questions. Hopefully the students that I have interacted with have benefited from the interactions and are better prepared for the exam because of it.

-Mahmoud

Week of 1/29

I again had six students come to my office hours, including some fresh faces.  Most of them seemed to have a decent grasp on the core concepts of the material, they just had questions regarding specific homework applications.  This was encouraging.

Week of 1/29

This week did not go very well. No one came to my office hours, but I helped my friends with Phys 2 outside of office hours. Some kids asked questions during lecture, and I was able to explain the material well. They had trouble grasping the concept of electric potential. For example, one did not understand why potential changed in a uniform electric field, but I compared it to gravity being uniform, and potential energy changes when it nears earth.

week 1/29

No one came.

Week of 1/29

This week no one came to my Monday office hours but on Friday I was able to help Physics 1 students with their homework and help them prepare for their Exam 1 that is this Monday! Keep chugging people :)

Week of 1/29

This week, I had a few students come in during my office hours. We worked on concepts and homework/textbook problems in preparation for the exam on Monday. During lecture, I assisted students with the in-class questions. 

Week of 1/29

This week I had a few students come to office hours in preparation for their upcoming exam. We went over some of the conceptual questions and homework problems they had trouble with. I was able to answer their questions and advised them on study techniques for the upcoming exam. In lecture, we went over some conceptual examples related to projectile motion. I helped students with their questions and cleared up any doubts.

Week of 1/29 - My problems (and solutions) as a Physics UTA

Alright, this blog post is going to be full of complaints, be warned.

I've been a UTA now for physics II for about 5 months. No one comes to office hours, nor do I expect them to anymore (it's honestly a waste of time to even sit in the OEH study room, it's not a comfortable study spot, the table legs are too close together and why do we need rolly tables anyway, I don't see why we can't do Hillman office hours like literally every single other course in this university, people are WAY more likely to come to those, it's closer to everyone, and people will be able to ask questions while studying so they can get clarifications instead of having to have a good enough question to trek up to OEH <-- don't get me wrong, I'll still go because it's "mandatory" but that doesn't take away from the futility and honestly negative impact. Physics is a tough class, and there are MANY areas where students need and even want help, putting office hours so far out of the way is making it tougher for students and TAs. #Letusmoveofficehoursplease)

Furthermore, these blog posts are tedious and not helpful, I don't read ones that other TAs write nor do they read mine. I will continue uploading single sentence updates unless something *important* comes up although I strongly doubt it.

I do enjoy being a TA, and one for physics at that. But I am no longer going to spend more than 3 seconds on these blog posts which will basically all say "No one came."

Ok now part 2 -

I don't want to just complain without offering solutions. I think right away we should be allowed to move office hours to Hillman (and have that change reflected in the UTA schedule and on courseweb, something that did not occur when I attempted to do this last term).

Furthermore, it should not be as hard to find the UTA schedule online - seriously try it, it takes a dumb amount of effort for something that should be viewable within seconds of trying to find.

And lastly, make it a monthly update on the blog post not a weekly. We'd still be able to interact with other TAs and share our thoughts, but on a less tedious and more effective basis.

Weeks of 1/15,1/22

UTA: Jeffrey Socash
Prof: Dr. Nero
Course: PHYS 0175

Apologies for the late post.  Not much happened over these past few weeks, despite an exam being ever-so-present on the horizon.  I had one student come into my office hours the Friday before the exam, so I don't have much to say about that.

I suppose the biggest thing I can talk about it comparing how Nero's lectures feel relative to Hong's, who I UTA'd for in the Fall.  Most noticeably, I definitely notice I'm getting more use helping with clicker questions, with at least 2 or 3 questions per lecture thanks to the flipped format.  I'm glad for that; it makes my lecture presence feel justified.  I still wonder if there could be more uses for UTAs at lectures, though, such as helping with in-class demonstrations.  I do miss when Dr. Hong would have us explain clicker questions on the board.

All in all, though, I do feel a lot more equipped to help with Nero's course than Hong's course, since I took it in the past.  Every problem a student brings to me or asks me to help with is familiar, and in the worst-case scenario I can fall back on my old notes or homework and find out how I solved the same type of problem previously.  Hopefully I get some more office hour attendance after the exam.