Conclusion

Although the second semester did not provide much insight on how the level of chemistry students previously took in high school affects how well they do in Chemistry 1210 here at Ohio State, the first semester was still able provide me with this information. The first semester showed about a 7% difference in the final percentages between students who had taken regular chemistry, honors chemistry, and AP chemistry. This is a significant difference, as the percentages for the entire group of students who participated had a range of about 28%.

The data collected from this observational study aligns with many studies that have been done before. In the first semester, there was a 14% difference in the final grade percentages between students who took AP chemistry compared to those who only took regular chemistry. This data is consistent with many studies that show the relationship between taking AP courses and college performance, including the study previously mentioned. While again, an observational study cannot prove causation, the data collected as well as previous studies show significant differences in how regular chemistry, honors chemistry, and AP chemistry prepare students for Chemistry 1210 here at Ohio State.

Update #2

My second semester as a chemistry lab TA, I had twenty one students. However, only seven chose to participate in my observational study. Once again, I collected their data in the form of a survey, giving them the same four choices as I did my first semester. The results of the survey showed that one of them did not take chemistry, five of them took regular, one took honors chemistry, and none of them took AP chemistry. Because of the low participation and the fact that five out of the seven participants took regular chemistry, the data for second semester was not as telling.

The student who had not previously taken a chemistry class finished with a 55.08, the average among the give students who took regular chemistry was 72.30, and the student who took honors chemistry finished with a 44.12. It should be noted that the student who took honors chemistry decided to retake the class before finishing, so that student stopped showing up to labs and exams. Among the five that took regular chemistry, the final percentages had a large range. The low was a 60.96 and the high was an 83.85. It should also be noted that overall, the class average was significantly lower the second semester in comparison to the first semester, which was reflected in a larger curve the second semester. Because of the low participation and the incomplete data, there could be no correlation drawn from the second semester students, therefore the data was not presented through graphs.

Update #1

My fall semester as a TA, I had twenty two students. Out of those twenty two, fifteen chose to participate in my observational study. I collected their data in the form of a survey, giving them one of four choices for their past chemistry experience in high school: no chemistry, regular chemistry, honors chemistry, or AP chemistry. The results of the survey showed that there were no students who had no chemistry experience, five students who took regular chemistry, four students who took honors chemistry, and six students who took AP chemistry. In addition to this survey, I met with each student individually over the course of the semester and asked them questions about how prepared they felt that were for Chemistry 1210 at Ohio State. I also took notes of which students frequently visited my office hours and/or asked questions during the lab, however, I did not keep track of this data quantitively.

At the end of the semester, I collected data on each of their final percentages in the class. The students were put into groups based on which chemistry classes, if any, they took in high school and the average final percentage was calculated within each group. The average final percentages were determined to be 69.52 for students who took regular chemistry, 76.45 for students who took honors chemistry, and 83.2 for students who took AP chemistry. The final grades for the students who took honors chemistry had the largest range, with a low of 67.2 and a high of 84.7. The final percentages within the other two groups were more consistent, although each did include one outlier. One student who took regular chemistry received an 83.5 and one student who took AP chemistry received a 66.4. These outliers can likely be attributed to outside factors such as work ethic or other stressors. Although an observational study cannot determine causation, there was a definite correlation between the level of chemistry the student had previously taken and their final grade in Chemistry 1210 at Ohio State.

Engineering Diversity and Social Media Reflection

It is known that there is a lack of diversity in STEM fields, particularly in the engineering field. Being a woman in a STEM major here at The Ohio State University, I have witnessed this first hand. After telling people my major, they often look surprised. This is often due to the fact that they are shocked anyone would choose such a major, but I also notice less of a reaction when males in my major answer this question. Because of this lack of diversity, people often have a preconceived image of STEM majors in their head. I admit that I often find myself surprised when someone outside of this image tells me that they are a STEM major, even though I myself do not fit that typical image.

In order to explore this lack of diversity and these common stereotypes, two Doctors from George Mason University used social media. Throughout their paper, they were constantly emphasizing the importance of social media in research. With most Americans being a part of the social media community, where people can share their personal beliefs and experiences, it has now been used as a tool to collect data.

Due to the outburst on social media over a billboard of a women engineer believed to be posing as an engineer due to being “too attractive”, a hashtag #ILookLikeAnEngineer emerged where people who do not fit the typical image of an engineer could share their experiences. The two Doctors at George Mason University studied the replies to collect data on the diversity of this field and the results of society’s preconceived image of engineers. They emphasized how valuable social media can be to not only share these types of stories, but also encourage young children of all backgrounds to pursue STEM fields. By studying this hashtag and its relation to lack of diversity in STEM fields, it is evident that social media is and will continue to be a source of an abundance of statistical data that can be used to explore our society. It is also apparent that there is a serious lack of diversity in STEM fields, but social media offers a way to encourage people of all backgrounds to pursue STEM and have a support system just one click away.

Capstone Project – Planning

Being a General Chemistry Laboratory TA this year will make it possible to perform an observational study with my students in order to study the connection between the chemistry class they took in high school and their final grade. In the beginning of both the fall 2018 and spring 2019 semesters, I will send survey to my new students. One of the questions will ask them what level of chemistry they took in high school: regular, honors, or AP. Then, I will take this data and organize my students into three categories.

Throughout the semester I plan on checking in with my students, some from each group, and asking them how well they feel like they were doing in the class on a scale from 1-5 (5 being the best) and how prepared they feel their high school class prepared them on the same scale. I will document their responses and analyze them throughout the year. At the end of each semester, I will take this data in addition to their final grade in the class, to determine if there is a correlation of the level of chemistry they took and high school and how well they did in the class.

Capstone Project – Introduction

It is known that high school is supposed to provide students with the fundamental knowledge and skills that will help them succeed in college, but how well do they actual do this?

Sitting in a college class, it is apparent that the professors expect their students to have some sort of background knowledge on the topic they are presenting. Because of this, professors often accelerate through the fundamental basics early in the semester and move onto the more difficult, in depth content. Although some students did in fact have this fundamental knowledge to begin with, others are left struggling to teach themselves even the most basic principles.

There is no doubt that all college students have different high school experiences. The high school they attended, the classes they took, and how hard they were challenged all build a foundation for their college career. In high school, some students take Advanced Placement (AP) or honors classes in order to attempt to receive college credit and/or be more prepared for the rigor of college level classes. While many people see these as upper level classes, just how well do they prepare you for college?

In order to explore this question more in depth, I chose to study the effect of what level chemistry class students took in high school and how well they did in their general chemistry class at Ohio State. This observational study will hopefully give insight into how well these upper level classes, such as honors and AP, prepare or do not prepare students for the rigorous courses here at The Ohio State University. It can also help determine if these high school classes are worth paying extra money for, as AP tests offered at the end of the year cost nearly $100 per class. Another essential goal of this study is to help high school students understand how the classes they are currently taking will prepare them for their college career.

Professional Interview

Although college builds a strong foundation for your future, nothing gives you better insight into your future career and the path to get there than learning from the experiences of others. For me, my future goal is to become a general dentist. Because of this, I chose to interview my own dentist to learn not only about his job currently, but what he did in order to get there. It’s no surprise that the road to becoming a dentist is not an easy one. In addition to surviving your undergraduate career, you must also go above and beyond in order to have the best chance at getting into a dental school. Even after getting accepted into dental school, the four years of dental school are tremendously difficult. By interviewing my dentist, I learned a lot of information on how to survive these three major challenges and more about the job itself.

My dentist was a great resource for me because he went to The Ohio State University for his undergraduate degree and The Ohio State University College of Dentistry for dental school, which is where I hope to continue my education after I finish my undergraduate degree here at Ohio State. Reflecting on his own journey, he explained to me how thankful he is that he chose dentistry and how the opportunity for females in the field is growing exponentially. He also gave me helpful information on how to achieve my goal of becoming a dentist. For me right now, the most prominent challenge is getting into dental school. In order to apply and make yourself appealing to dental schools, there are a lot of requirements. You must take the required prerequisite courses, take the Dental Admissions Test (DAT), have a competitive GPA, and have a certain amount of shadowing and volunteering hours. My dentist was able to give me a lot of helpful advice, especially concerning the DAT. He told me the list of resources he used in order to prepare for the academic sections, as well as how he prepared himself for the Perceptual Ability Test (PAT). This was extremely helpful, as I have had little experience with advancing my skills in this area. He also encouraged me to do as much as I can to develop my manual dexterity skills, as it is a big part of both dental school and actual dentistry. In addition to the recommendations on how to prepare for applying to dental school, he also gave me insight into “a day in the life of a dentist”. This was extremely helpful and made me excited for both the challenges and new experiences to come.

Through this interview, I gained a lot of helpful insight regarding applying to dental school, which is currently one of my biggest challenges. It also reaffirmed my passion for dentistry and made me more excited for my future. After speaking with my dentist, he also provided me with the opportunity to shadow him when I go home for summer break. This will hopefully give me an even better insight into the career I hope to pursue.

G.O.A.L.S

Each component of G.O.A.L.S plays a vital role in my future success. Every letter contributes a unique skill that will shape me into a well-rounded individual. Original Inquiry is the opportunity to apply what is learned in the classroom to real life situations. I am a believer that any learning not applied in life is learning wasted. Participating in research is how I plan to apply my knowledge outside of the classroom. This research will not only give me the chance to apply my knowledge, but it will also give me valuable experience that will give me an advantage in my future career. Academic enrichment will help me plan and prepare for my future aspirations, including getting accepted into dental school. I have declared a chemistry major and plan to keep taking rigorous science courses in order to be best prepared for the schooling ahead of me. Service engagement has been an extremely rewarding part of my life thus far. Because of this, I plan to continue to participate in various service projects. One of the most impactful activities I have participated in was being a Leadership Intern at Camp Invention. As a leadership intern, I helped a group of elementary school students explore science and develop passions. I lead them through various science-based experiments and activities. This not only helped the children discover their passions for science, but also deepened mine. This opportunity confirmed my plans to pursue a degree in science.

Although all the components of G.O.A.L.S are extremely important to my future career success, Global Awareness plays a major role in my success as a human being as well. Developing a deeper appreciation for each and every person’s differences has and will continue to help me see the world through a new set of eyes. Every person goes through their life facing and overcoming different challenges. These challenging experiences shape each person into who they become as a person. Recognizing this is vital in the battle against close-mindedness. It allows me to not only understand each person’s differences, but also embrace and utilize them. I understand the challenges some families have to face and realize that there is often no money left for dental care. Because of this, I hope to travel to areas of high poverty and provide free dental care for children who normally could not afford it.

Leadership Development is another key component of G.O.A.L.S. Developing leadership skills is extremely important to any career. Unfortunately, true leadership is something that is commonly misunderstood. True leaders do not not simply assign orders to people, they motivate others to think for themselves and create their own paths. A key component of this is recognizing each individuals strengths and utilizing them. This is something I had experience in while planning my senior prom. I was the leader of a group who was in charge of the various decorations. In order to completely plan and create the decorations on time, I had to recognize each individuals strengths and guide them in activities that utilized these specific strengths. Since I hope to open my own dental practice, this quality will help me build a dental team that can use their individual qualities to enhance patient care. I will need to examine each person in the team carefully to determine their strengths and weaknesses in order to maximize the potential of our team. Overall, every aspect of the honors and scholars G.O.A.L.S is necessary to be successful in my future career.

Artifact #2

All throughout high school, teachers claimed that they were “preparing us for college”. Unfortunately, nothing I experienced in high school prepared me for what I have faced during my first semester here at Ohio State. Since the time I arrived on campus, my life has been a series of trial and error. This has been most prevalent in my academics. My first round of midterms hit me like a brick wall, especially in Math 1151. Although I had taken AP Calculus in high school, I was still struggling in the course. While I still believe I was well prepared for the first exam, I did not have the correct mindset while taking it. I was used to breezing through my exams and turning them in. I entered my first exam extremely nervous, but confident. Similar to high school, I rushed through the exam and felt confident in all of my answers. Even though I still had about 20 minutes left before I had to turn in my exam, I was so eager to get it over with that I turned it in without looking back over it. As I walked home, I felt great. I honestly believed there was no way that I did not receive an A. This feeling quickly faded when I got my score back the next day and got a B. Although a B is not a failing grade, I had wondered what I missed because I knew how to do every problem. When I received my exam back later that week, I realized every point I missed was easily avoidable. All of the questions I missed were due to avoidable math mistakes that could have been caught if I would have gone back through and checked my answers with that remaining 20 minutes. As the second exam approached, I promised myself not to make this mistake again. I once again finished the second exam with around 15 minutes left, but this time I used all of those 15 minutes to carefully check back over my answers. While checking over, I caught two mistakes that I had made. After the 15 minutes were up, I turned in my exam and eagerly awaited my grade. Two days later, I found out that I got a 96/100 on my exam! I felt so relieved. Through the experience of rushing through my first exam and not getting the grade I hoped for, I learned a valuable lesson for exams: always take the remaining time to check over the exam for errors. I hope to continue this and hopefully continue to receive As on my exams.

Intro to Me

I am a chemistry major at The Ohio State University from Cleveland, Ohio (Go Cavs!). I have been interested in science and other STEM fields since middle school when one of my science teachers opened my eyes to the wonders of science through multiple hands on experiments. Ever since then, my love for these subjects has continually grown. As of right now, after graduation I intend on attending dental school. Back home I work at a summer camp and am a leadership intern at a science camp for elementary school children. These experiences have been so rewarding and would love to continue working with children so I am considering a specialization in Pediatric Dentistry. I am extremely sociable and love being around people and I also love to help people in any way that I can. This is why I intend on joining many clubs and organizations here on campus with a focus of helping people in need. In addition to participating in these organizations and studying a lot, I plan to spend my time here on campus staying active. One of my main goals is to try to be the best version of myself that I can be, including physically. I love lifting weights so if I am not in class, studying, or at a club meeting, you can probably find me at one of the recreation centers on campus. I am looking forward to meeting new people this year at OSU!