Tag: faculty interaction

Categories
amanda quotes

Amanda’s Quotes #19

[44-48] Then, for the ergonomics type of class, that classroom experience is similar to the intro to human factors course with PowerPoints but it’s more words on it and bullet points that she talks about every bullet point. So, ergonomics is much more possible to take notes and also when you’re going to study for the exams you have help from the PowerPoints which you don’t have in the introduction to human factors class because sometimes it can just be a picture.

[53-55] In the intro to human factors course, we’re sitting in a lecture with no interaction with my peers. It’s more interaction in the ergonomics class because sometimes you really can-do exercises like measuring each other with different tools so then there’s interactions.

[60-67] The peer interactions in the ergonomics course involve using different tools to measure different body parts. It can also be like chair evaluation. So, you can walk around the whole campus to find different chairs and then you write about it. You have a checklist and everything like comfortable or whether you can adjust it, or you cannot adjust it and everything. Then you come back to class and then we’re presenting all the results. So, with the measurements we are saying yes, as you can see, I’m taller which means I also have larger feet. With the chair you could say the ones in the library where you sit for a long time those are more comfortable leather ones in comparison to chairs outside the classroom where you’re maybe not sitting for so long a time.

[72-74] Then we have a paper where we’re writing everything on just like the results of the person or a chair. At the end of the class, we just hand the paper in to her and as long as you complete it you always get 100% on that assignment.

Tags:
Categories
amanda quotes

Amanda’s Quotes #20

[84-91] Engineering economics was a class which I looked forward to for a very long time since like sophomore year. Then, I got into class and now unfortunately I don’t like it at all because it’s a lot of work in Excel. I do like Excel. It’s not that issue. It’s more that it can be a problem and he can show the problem very quickly and you barely have time to read it. Then he has already solved the problem in Excel so it’s just going over the numbers very quickly in Excel. The issue with that is to understand Excel you need to see what’s inside every box because every box has a formula. So, he’s not teaching us what formulas are used when. It’s here you get a number and here you get a different number. So, most of us don’t understand anything. So, the classroom experience for engineering economics is not great.

[96-100] The time spent in the economics classroom is mostly a waste of time. I mostly go there just because it’s required attendance, but I don’t learn anything even though I try to pay attention. Then we have some homeworks that’s due. I have people that have taken the class before, so they have been very helpful. Some of their homework can be similar so then I learn by looking at the example and can implement it to my question. That’s how I’m managing the class.

[228-236] I have always been very interested in economics. I’m thinking about doing an MBA on that. I always thought it was important to, especially if you’re going to start a company not only knowing the engineering part of it but also knowing the business part of it so you can actually sell it. I actually didn’t really know what to expect from the course. I just thought the name was fun because I like engineering and I like economics so I thought hey, this can be something useful if I start a company one day. I will maybe learn what to think of and where to plan. Maybe it’s like how much of revenue are you spending on marketing. How can you come up with an investor offer and everything? But when I got there it was nothing like that. It was very focused on aerospace because we’re an aerospace school. I’m not that interested in aerospace.

[238-240] Overall, the main issue is because I don’t understand what’s going on in the class because you’re just going over some numbers without even showing how to get there. So, that’s the most disappointing part of the class.

Tags:
Categories
amanda quotes

Amanda’s Quotes #24

[192-197] For the controls class itself, it’s mostly PowerPoint and he’s also posted them on the university page which makes it easier to study for the tests. It’s a lot of math in it so sometimes we do a problem and then he works through it in MATLAB and all of us have computers in the classroom. Then we are just trying to follow. He’s very good at MATLAB so he has a tendency to do it way too quickly than we can write in all the commands. So, we’re trying to write down what he’s doing in MATLAB but he’s going too fast to be able to do it. But the concept is good.

[199-204] Then for the lab that’s only once a week, three hours long. We usually start with a quiz and the quiz represents what we’ve been doing in the classroom, but they don’t coordinate it, so the quiz is about a topic we haven’t even done in the class. So, we have never been able to do the quiz. We always get the quiz and then we realize we cannot do it so then we just start working on the lab. So, we have to take home the quiz and turn it in another day. For the lab, we can get lab manuals where it can tell us from the beginning it’s very simple because they give us step by step.

[206-212] Like click here, click here, click here. The more we’re getting into it is just all this is what he wants. Just find it. And then it’s become difficult because we’re not used to using any software so much. It’s a software called Simulink and we also use MATLAB so that has been very challenging to do something without instructions. We always need help from the professor and it’s only one lab professor for the whole class. Sometimes the instructions don’t show us what to do about the issue that students are facing. Then it takes a long time for him to help every student so then he can see you’re not doing anything for a long time just because you’re stuck and can’t get help.

[218-222] Yeah. So, in lab since we’re using so much equipment in the lab you have to finish it while you’re there if you don’t want to come back on Friday afternoon. You can go to his office hours and get help so you’re basically just waiting for your turn for him to come. If he realizes that you’re running out of time compared to when class is going to end, and you’re not done he tries to help a lot and he’s helping get us through is goals quickly. Of course, he can finish in a much faster time so he can help us through that.

Tags:
Categories
josh quotes

Josh’s Quotes #4

[158-160] I will say though this last fall it did falter a little bit because I was having some trouble in classes and I started to question whether or not I should be here if I’m not able to succeed in this class.

[202-211] I went to some professors and multiple people told me, “You can breeze through this class.” One professor actually told me, “I wouldn’t care if you got a 2.5 in this class and just passed it barely because as long as you get the concept and applied them later, it’s not about whether you can pass it with flying colors.” I went with that mindset and continued. The homework format changed and the tests ended up being super simple compared to some of the homework problems and some of the things we were doing in class. So, I realized a high grade isn’t the only grade you can get. I also realized it’s a culmination of concepts, but as long as I get the ones that I’m there to master, that’s what the program was focused on teaching me at that time.

[160-161] I ended up getting the help that I needed and I ended up getting a four in the class.

[345-348] Also, I think I definitely have a good routine. I’m a very organized person in how I organize the things in my house and also how I organize my life. I’m very timeline oriented, I have Google calendar and I do put a lot of my things on there. That’s something that I’ve kind of always prided myself on, is knowing when I can do something.

[358-362] You kind of get a feel for what each assignment is going to take time wise. It’s about deciding how much time I’m willing to spend at once. So it works good for me, I know a lot of people have issues with their time management and I try to give recommendations where it’s due but it’s definitely manageable. I mean, I still have free time even being involved in the five or six organizations I’m involved in.

Tags:
Categories
josh quotes

Josh’s Quotes #5

(6-9) So when the semester began I got to see all my friends. You know, I got to see the people who I had missed over the break. I also was excited for the start of the new classes.

(16-17; 19-20) Then I had a bad grade on a thermo exam. And it was a 78 percent, which for me is a fairly low grade, the teacher did tell me that I was in a fine spot, she told me it wasn’t a big deal, so once I got over my own personal opinion on it I was able to look past it and continue the semester.

(279-283; 294-296) With that thermo grade, it really wasn’t that difficult for me to overcome it because when she told me it wasn’t a bad grade, I kind of went what do you mean that’s not a bad grade? Because to me it is. But when she told me that I was fine, and that I had four more exams to make up for it, I just took that to heart and I just committed myself to say okay, well now I know. You know, I’ve got to make sure I’m on top. It’s kind of just a mental commitment more so than anything. It is more studying, I think a little bit more. But I think it’s more so asking questions and making sure I understand the concepts in a deeper sense.

Tags:
Categories
josh quotes

Josh’s Quotes #7

(176-177; 179-183) So the [mechatronics] practicum, he—well, so we are usually working in groups of two in class when we do labs, when we do projects, anything like that. When you come in he gives you, basically a lab sheet like you would with any other thing, except you’re expected to do it on your own. So we basically start with a hundred, and then every time you have to ask for help or you get something wrong, he deducts points. And you’re based on your ability to build and test a circuit without the assistance of the professor.

(145; 201-203) . . . right now we’re also working on a design project. I only have one team member. I know my team member from last semester. And this semester we have a lot of classes together, so we’ve gotten to know each other a lot better, so we work together well. But it’s very low stress environment. We’re both very open to the other’s ideas, and if we don’t understand, we’re honest about it.

(434-436; 438; 446-450; 439) I don’t interact with all of my peers, but the peers that I do interact are pretty much the same ones that I see day to day and that I interact day to day and it’s a very helpful environment. And I mean not everyone likes everyone. I’m not saying this is the case, but I might be a quiet introverted person and someone might be loud and extroverted, and I don’t want to be around them. Or they might be rude and obnoxious and I don’t want to be around it or vice versa. Someone may consider me rude and obnoxious. Or when I answer the questions in class, people might consider me a teacher’s pet, but we can put aside our differences to help each other.

Tags:
Categories
josh quotes

Josh’s Quotes #8

(398-402; 390-392) I walked into class for an exam last week, and I think I asked her a single question before the exam started. And she said yeah, you were definitely at my office enough asking questions. And I didn’t say anything, but it made me feel bad for going to her office and asking questions, when I feel that kind of behavior should be encouraged. I don’t say anything to her because she’s a professor and there’s a certain level of respect between the two of us.

(361-364; 367-369; 370) I’ve only ever had a few bad experiences with faculty members. The professor I have for my math methods class is very rude and short at times, when you ask questions, and it almost seems like she doesn’t want to help or that she feels that the questions I’m asking, I shouldn’t be asking. It’s frustrating when faculty members treat you like a child and act like you’re dumb for asking questions on things they think you should know, when they’re the one with a doctorate and you’re the one going to school. But I’d say those experiences are very far and few between.

Tags:
Categories
josh quotes

Josh’s Quotes #12

[377-415; 496-510; 656-673] Our fluids professor can be a bit hard on us. It does get annoying since I’m coming here to learn, not get chastised for asking questions. He definitely knows what he’s talking about and good at explaining. He called on random people in lectures. One time, I was working on a homework. I’m trying to be efficient by making a table, I asked him if it’s acceptable, and his response threw me off guard. He said, “Yes, but you should ask what’s the maximum I can do instead of minimum.” In my mind, I’m just trying to be efficient and make it easier to read.

For micro lab, I asked my professor a lot of questions. She would explain it until I understood. Knowing when you have a problem and seeking out the help before it becomes an issue that you can’t solve. I have a lot of interactions with faculties in school. The new professor has become a very good person to talk to because usually after I asked her a question about a lab report, we discus about how things goes for 40 minutes.

During an event orientation, a professor I had last semester pat my shoulder to say hello, so later I walked to his office. Even though we are both busy, we still talked for 20 minutes about my co-op and how I’m doing in school. The machine design professor sat down with me before this exam because I feel like I’m going to fail. He made me answer the questions to prove that I knew enough to what I was talking about to do decent on the exam. It’s also finding the time to relax in situations where it feels like I have none. I feel like it’s evident that I talked to my professors. I am very open about things going on in my life.

Tags:
Categories
josh quotes

Josh’s Quotes #15

[317-335] During winter break, I went home for Christmas, and was able to see my family. I felt happy with that. Then I was starting in a new job. The interesting thing about this job, last summer when I got my internship, I had applied to probably 20 or so places. That was the one place that gave me an offer. It wasn’t like my last choice. It ended up being really the perfect choice for me, it just fell into place. But this time around I knew I wanted to stay on campus. That limited my search to somewhere within 20 miles so that I didn’t want to commute very long every day from campus. I waited probably almost halfway through the semester just looking at places, thinking, “Would this be a good match? What do I want to do?” Then an opportunity opened up at a company that I knew about, but I forget what I thought they did. But it didn’t sound interesting. Then I was like, “Well, now I’m interested.”

I kind of put all my eggs in one basket. If at any point there’s a disclaimer you can put in, I would say, I don’t recommend that people do that. It’s very risky and I probably wouldn’t do it again. But I reached out to the company, I had contacts who were alumni. I went the extra mile and I wrote a cover letter, I got letters of recommendation if I needed them. I applied for only that job because it was the only job I wanted and it’s the job I got. I got really lucky there. Well, I guess not lucky, I guess, I earned what I got in my opinion. But that’s I think important as well.

[339-361] A professor that just retired from our school was actually an employee at the company at one point. I reached out to her and she gave me some tips and tricks, and she was happy for me. I had the people in the alumni department that hooked me up with someone in the company that would put in a good word for me. Those connections were good too. I think those resources were crucial in getting me in, getting my interview, and securing the position that I really wanted.

Tags:
Categories
josh quotes

Josh’s Quotes #25

[427-444] I’m only registered for two credits for my internship. But I think they still consider me a full time student because I still have my apartment and I’m still a housing contract and I can do all the things that […] I can be in these organizations even though I’m not a full-time student. But obviously very little interaction with faculty especially comparatively, but just in general. But I did get to see them a few times, just happenstance. I had to have my packages sent to the engineering building because of the mail room hours. There were a few times where I stopped in to grab a package at the end of the workday and they were just heading out for the end of their day. I said hi and that was it.

But specifically, to the internship, part of our internships is having a faculty advisor assigned to us. They have to come to the site and they have some questions that they ask me. They have some questions that they ask my supervisor. “How is your college doing? How is the intern doing? Would you have them back? Would you come back?” All that stuff. Then I have to make a poster at the end of the year or the end of the semester, basically talking about my work. Then the supervisor has to take a survey about me. When my faculty advisor reached out to me, I had communication with him and my work advisor, we figured out a day. He came and I have a personal relationship with this professor as well. There were a few emails otherwise. When COVID came out, I was asking him about the state of things, what to expect, how to move forward and stuff like that. Other than that, there has not been interaction with my professors other than the sparse email here and there about senior projects and other stuff coming up.

Tags: