Hi, I’m having some problems with my chemistry TA and chem lab in general. I keep getting worse and worse grade on every lab report. My last 2 were C’s! She grades harder than most TA’s and is never clear with what she wants even though I ask her all of the time. Anytime I try to talk to her about my grades, she just says that “this is college and I’m not going to get A’s and everything is ONLY a few points and stuff like that”, but I just feel incredibly frustrated. Is it normal to get C’s on all of my lab reports simply because this is college? Also, I have tired to talk to the head professor who runs the TAs, but he basically said to “suck it up”. I feel like no matter how hard I work, I get worse and worse grades. I am a Chemical Engineering major, and I really like chemistry, so I don’t want to switch majors because of a bad TA/ lab in my freshmen chemistry course, but I don’t know what to do. I’m completely miserable and I’m trying so hard, but she just keeps beating me down again and again! Please help!!!
You must know WHY you are getting 'C’s on the lab reports.
A lot of the lost points is on discussion parts, but I read the “how to write a good discussion” paper that the professor made the first time we had to do a discussion, and I read over her comments form past labs. I just don’t know what to do to do better. Sometimes she says I gave too much detail and sometimes (more often) not enough. She also shoots down everything I say could be potential errors.
I basically don’t really know why except that she grades so much harder than all of the other TA’s. I really am willing to do anything to do better, I just don’t know what to do. Also, it definitely not weird to not think that C’s are ok just because I’m in college, right?
Lots of students get 'C’s in college. I know because I’ve seen them. ;))
You can survive a few grades like that in your major, but, frankly, you seem more worried about the grade than you do about mastering whatever it is they are trying to teach.
Do you feel like giving some examples of too much detail and some examples of potential errors that she shot down?
I am concerned about the grade, but I am also concerned about learning the material. However, I already feel good about the material and go to my professor’s office hours whenever I have questions. I’m not just in it for the grade of that’s what you think. If that was the case, don’t you think I would have switched to an easier major by now! Btw, I attend GA Tech, so I’m not an idiot. I’m not afraid of working hard, but I want to see some results. I don’t think it’s too much to ask to get a B in a class when I am putting a lot of time and effort into it. Do you?
Unfortunately, in college you tend to get graded more on your performance and less on how much time and effort you put into it.
Some examples:
too much- The hydrogen atom has four energy levels: n=3, n=4, n=5, and n=6 [1]. The data collected during this experiment was close to this, however it was not exact. While the wavelengths in the n=3, n=4, and n=5 energy levels were measured correctly, the wavelength in the n=6 energy level was not measured. Additionally, a second wavelength in the n=3 energy level was observed, possibly incorrectly. This wavelength corresponded to the color yellow. After researching the colors that correspond to the true energy levels in the hydrogen atom, it can be concluded that a green wavelength rather than a yellow wavelength should have been observed [4]. The wavelengths observed were also greater than the true value corresponding with each color [4]. This caused the energy level for each wavelength and color to be lower than expected (because wavelength and energy are inversely proportional).
not enough- Additionally, everyone sees colors differently since everyone’s vision is different. Therefore, the results of this experiment could depend on how well a person is able to see various wavelengths and colors.
I think you are missing the entire point of this post. I WANT TO improve my performance and I am simply asking HOW TO do this. Once again, I WILL DO WHATEVER I HAVE TO. I actually care about my learning, but that doesn’t mean I have to be like “screw this grade, who gives a shit if I fail” either. I’m not asking for everything to be handed to me, but I need some direction. I can’t read everyone’s mind.
In many of my MIT classes, you can ask for an appeal if you think you were graded unfairly or incorrectly. You could probably try appealing your lab grade, but I don’t know what your chance of success would be.
As for your “too much detail” example, I am a grader for the intro algorithms class at MIT, and we are actually instructed to take off points if the student’s explanation is overly wordy, even if it is correct.
Yeah, I don’t think there’s any hope of that unfortunately. But thanks!
@mycollegelife18 not even with the professor?
(also see my 2nd paragraph, which I just added in)
Probably not since I have already tried to talk with him before. Okay, thanks. It’s just hard for me to tell when I am saying too much or not enough.
I’ve noticed students do better on labs when they come prepared. By that I mean when they take an hour or so to work through the experimental setup and the equations that you will be using with the experimental data the night before.
This will help with the following;
- Understanding how to work the equipment to make sure there are no additional variables introduced.
- Help you identify sources (and magnitudes) of error in the experimental process and equipment.
- Keep your discussion limited to the principles the experiment is trying to demonstrate.