Spring Break
Program encourages retention
By: Abid Mujtaba
Issue date: 11/8/07 Section: News
"One is to make Physics relevant for an engineering student. [It is] not just an impediment to their becoming an engineer [as they seem to think,] but it's a necessary tool for an engineer. We do this mostly in the lab," he said.
Bassichis said physics labs have been tailored to increase cross-referencing between physics and engineering labs.
"They want to build a truss bridge in their engineering project. When they need it, [the PHYS 218 lab has] a tensile strength lab measuring the tensile strength between the little magnet things they use to build their bridges," Bassichis said.
"[The second problem] they have is that we could make physics fun, relevant and entertaining and they will flunk out in their sophomore year," he said.
His book on mechanics for PHYS 218 Don't Panic was written for engineering students to prepare them for their sophomore year.
"It is not entertaining, there are no colored pictures [and] there are no essays. They have to read every word, essentially; work every problem," he said.
It is not surprising that popular tutoring services outside the campus put out advertisements with the subtitle "Extra charge for Bassichis."
Mitchell Martin, senior mechanical engineering student and a peer teacher for ELEN 111, said, "When students come to me saying that Don't Panic is challenging…all I ever tell them is that it is worth the effort. Mastering concepts from Don't Panic has taken me into [my] senior year of mechanical engineering."
In a STEP survey, 90 percent of 250 students polled in an ELEN 112 said the course helped them to understand the need for mathematics and physics in the field of engineering. Eighty-five percent said that they now knew what engineers do. In a follow-up survey of 150 students, 80 percent said that ELEN 111 and 112 were helpful in later courses.
Statistics collected by the Office of Institutional Studies and Planning show that the freshman retention rate has increased to 74.4 percent in 2006 as compared to 66.8 percent in 2001.
"The question of retention rates is too complex to be attributed to a single cause, but we feel that we are making a difference," Srinivasa said.
Mannan, from Team 9, said being in a team and taking three courses with the same people is more efficient.
"We just get together and study one subject," Blamer said, "and then switch to another one without having to get up and join a different study-group."
Bassichis said physics labs have been tailored to increase cross-referencing between physics and engineering labs.
"They want to build a truss bridge in their engineering project. When they need it, [the PHYS 218 lab has] a tensile strength lab measuring the tensile strength between the little magnet things they use to build their bridges," Bassichis said.
"[The second problem] they have is that we could make physics fun, relevant and entertaining and they will flunk out in their sophomore year," he said.
His book on mechanics for PHYS 218 Don't Panic was written for engineering students to prepare them for their sophomore year.
"It is not entertaining, there are no colored pictures [and] there are no essays. They have to read every word, essentially; work every problem," he said.
It is not surprising that popular tutoring services outside the campus put out advertisements with the subtitle "Extra charge for Bassichis."
Mitchell Martin, senior mechanical engineering student and a peer teacher for ELEN 111, said, "When students come to me saying that Don't Panic is challenging…all I ever tell them is that it is worth the effort. Mastering concepts from Don't Panic has taken me into [my] senior year of mechanical engineering."
In a STEP survey, 90 percent of 250 students polled in an ELEN 112 said the course helped them to understand the need for mathematics and physics in the field of engineering. Eighty-five percent said that they now knew what engineers do. In a follow-up survey of 150 students, 80 percent said that ELEN 111 and 112 were helpful in later courses.
Statistics collected by the Office of Institutional Studies and Planning show that the freshman retention rate has increased to 74.4 percent in 2006 as compared to 66.8 percent in 2001.
"The question of retention rates is too complex to be attributed to a single cause, but we feel that we are making a difference," Srinivasa said.
Mannan, from Team 9, said being in a team and taking three courses with the same people is more efficient.
"We just get together and study one subject," Blamer said, "and then switch to another one without having to get up and join a different study-group."
Be sure to include your name, major, and class year. Submissions without this information are subject to deletion.
By submitting a comment, you agree to thebatt.com's Terms of Use.
You may also send a Mail Call to The Battalion at mailcall@thebatt.com