Study Advice

[claire ikemiya_2I]

To those who are attending the step up sessions/workshops, do you recommend them or is doing the optional bookwork problems enough to understand the curriculum?

[AntonioZarich2E]

The step-up sessions are pretty helpful and I've found the material a little bit easier to understand, but if you don't have trouble with the topics in the bookwork problems, you will probably be fine.

[Rich Luong 1D]

Honestly, it's up to how you feel you're handling the course material. But every opportunity to further your understanding of the course is definitely recommended! As the saying goes, "Practice makes perfect," so the more you do, the better you understand the material. :)

[Daniela_Martinez_3B]

If you're having trouble with the textbook problems, I'd definitely recommend going to the step up sessions/workshops. However, If you're doing well with the material and want extra practice the workshops are good reinforcements too!

[Zainab Jamali 1H]

How do I go about accessing the step-up sessions? And is there a pre-decided set of problems that they go over in each session and if so, would I need to complete them before attending?

[John_Tran_3J]

Step-up sessions are for individuals that need more help on the basics fundamentals of the week's lecture topics ( in this case it would be about photoelectric energy, wavelengths, atomic spectra etc...) and Workshops are for those students that would want more difficult questions in regards to the topic. As for me, I've been to a couple of step up sessions and I believe that they have assisted me in the basics of chemistry.

[Callan Howard]

Here's the link to the pdf explaining a bit about the step-up sessions https://lavelle.chem.ucla.edu/wp-content/supporting-files/Chem14A/Chem14UA_PL_ALL.pdf

There are step-up teachers' names and times they are holding sessions and next to them is a link to a Zoom meeting I believe. They work through prepared topics and worksheets together.

[Varsha Ravi 3E]

I think step-up sessions are best if you're struggling with the material a little, and if you feel confident after doing the textbook problems, you should also check the workshops out! The links are available on the Chem 14A website under Peer Learning Sessions and Step-Up Program

[Kelly Yun 2I]

To anyone who has gone to workshops, are the problems that they give you much harder than the homework questions?

[505352202]

on the same topic, will there be an exam review or practice exams we can use to study?

[ellenulitsky Dis 1I]

I think there will be a step up session that will have a practice midterm. That's all I know so far though :/

[Ke Huang 2G]

I think going over the book questions are very helpful for me. They help me find many topics that I did not fully understand.

[Brian Nguyen 2I]

I would try the practice problems in the textbook first, and then seek help at a step up session if you find yourself struggling to complete the practice problems. I hear that the step up sessions really help, so honestly it doesn't help to do both just for the extra practice.

[TJ Lai 2H]

I've found doing the optional book problems to be really helpful for me in terms of understanding the material. I like that the Answer Key goes through each question very clearly and systematically.

[IreneGi2I]

Personally, I watch Khan Academy videos after I watch lecture videos and there are something I found confusing. It helps me a lot to clarify some concepts. I think it's better to solve the textbook problems first. If the problems are challenging, then going to Step Up sessions will be very helpful. UAs walk through the problem step by step so everyone can understand how the equations/concepts work. I also got a lot of help from step up sessions!

[Sarah Salam 1J]

As far as understanding goes, that's up to how comfortable you are with the bookwork. I found the workshops I've went to very helpful because the UA will go through the problem after letting you work on it, so if you get stuck that will hopefully clarify the problem immediately. You don't need to do anything in advance. I can't say if the questions are much harder than the homework but the workshops clear up strange phrasing or anything new of that sort.

[Sean Phen]

I definitely think that it depends on the person because everyone studies and learns differently. I would say to try it out once or twice and see how you like it. If you don't like it, then you know it is not right for you. I definitely recommend using all your resources to do well in the class, especially if you are struggling.

[Danielle Goldwirth 3F]

So far I have had a really great experience with the step up sessions. I enjoy going over material multiple times while learning because it creates a natural repetition to help remember what I learn, and the step up sessions and workshops have successfully facilitated that. It seems that most UA's start by sharing their notes from when they took the class or just rewritten notes to prepare for the session, so if you decide to take notes, it's almost like rewriting the lecture notes which is great. And then going over problems and being able to hear others' questions and clarifications is nice. I highly recommend attending.

[Marco Vivar 3G]

Step-up sessions are very helpful because the instructor could provide questions similar to what would be asked on the test. Its also a time where anyone can ask a question you didn't even know you had.

[Shrey Pawar 2A]

I attended one of the first workshops and found it really helpful for enforcing the topics we went over. Even if I felt as though I knew the concept pretty well, the extra practice was still a great resource.

[Ke Huang 2G]

I would recommend it. It has been really helpful that they went over all the concepts from the class.

[Jacob Schwarz-Discussion 3I]

It really depends. Doing the step up sessions have helped me to refine my skills but I usually already know the content. The more help and practice you do, the easier the midterms will be.

[Cass Cheng 2A]

Doing the textbook problems are super beneficial! With that said, however, I think the workshops are great at helping you retain the information you've learned in class/concepts you approach in the hw problems. Definitely recommend!

[Marley Magee 3A]

The textbook problems are honestly the best practice because you know the problems might be on the test and the answers are verified. The step up sessions are good if you're really not getting a concept and you want someone to go over it slowly. The workshops, I've found, are more helpful than step up sessions because they give you 5-8 problems to practice and they're a bit more fast paced. They're all good resources, I think it just depends on what you need for a particular concept.

[Adam Bustamante 1I]

I've attended a few step up sessions and workshops before the first midterm and found them to be really helpful. I'm not the greatest at chemistry but the hosts usually explain in detail about how and why we do something in a problem and at the end of the session I feel more confident. The textbook problems are also a great way to study; I found them to be the most helpful when it came to studying for the midterm because the exam problems were more similar to those.

[Mary Gallo 1G]

I think completing practice problems is one of the best ways to study because it mimics the calculations we have to complete on exams. This ensures that the steps for different kinds of problems are drilled into your mind. It's also a good idea to look over the lectures, or any notes you took on them, to review conceptual topics.

[Margaret Wang 2D]

I personally have not attended any of the live sessions but I save all the problems/worksheets that are done in the sessions and I did them all the days before the midterm and they really really helped. So, I don't believe it's necessary to attend them live, but having the extra practice is helpful.

[Darlene Lien 3E]

I would recommend going to the UA sessions if you are unsure about certain topics. The UA sessions really help especially if you're having trouble on a topic. Hope this helps!

[Minh-Thy Vo 3D]

The textbook questions are really helpful and if you understand those, you're probably good. I think the workshops and step-up session are great to reinforce you knowledge and for extra practice.

[Jonathan3B]

The few step up sessions I have been to, have been very useful and allowed me to get a deeper understanding of the material.

[Yolanda_Xing_3A]

I think step up section are more helpful if you have specific question that you need 1v1 help. I suggest to go through all the question and homework first and decide depending on what you need.

[Arti_Patel_3H]

I found that the drop-in sessions were much more helpful because I was able to get clear answers to my questions and clarification right away.

[Bailey Giovanoli 1L]

I too highly recommend the step up, workshop, and drop-in sessions. I would highly recommend attending Justin's workshops and step up sessions. He is very thorough and clear in the problems he does and works through. He doesn't give a worksheet but instead uses questions off of past exams, which has the potential to be very beneficial.

[Karen Elrayes 1L]

In my opinion, going to step-up sessions, workshops is in itself self-study and preparing for the exam because that is where you will probably find out what you don't know as well as where you commonly make mistakes. I highly recommend going to at least 1 or 2 per week.

[Kayko Lee 1C]

I'd say the bookwork problems are the most relevant so far to the tests that Lavelle gives but the worksheets that the UA provides have been really helpful too and I use them to solidy my understanding or as a means of finding out what I need to study more

[Lauren Strickland 1B]

I find the book problems helpful when trying to understand the material.

[Neha Gupta 2A]

The book questions are super helpful, but I find TA workshops to be great as well. Also, the drop in sessions are good because usually other people might have the same question as you so even if you're waiting to ask your question you can still get helpful tips. I went to a really good TA midterm review session before the first midterm and it helped sooo much.

[Aliya Roserie 3I]

I think that you should choose just a few study choices. I feel like going to everything offered and doing everything that is optional can be a bit overwhelming. I would recommend just doing what works best with the way that you learn chem. :)

[Charmaine Ng 2D]

I personally like the workshops more than just doing a bunch of textbook problems nonstop, just because having a UA go through the problems with you to make sure you're doing it right helps a lot for me :)) I think they also try to pick the more difficult problems, so that definitely helps a lot! It's up to you though!! Pick what helps you study better :))

[Arnav Saud 2C]

Personally, I like to use the textbook for my problems, etc; however, if I dont understand a concept or I need help on something, I normally attend a drop in session.

[Violet Kwan 3H]

If you have time to attend some of the sessions, I would highly recommend it! The UAs are so helpful in explaining steps and ways to understand the problem. They also try to choose the more helpful and specific content for you to practice, and the more practice you get, the better you will be at the material! Also, I think that it can be a helpful guide to see where you are at. If you do well on the textbook problems and the sessions, it probably means that you understand the material well enough :)

[sabrina ghalambor 2J]

i recommend the drop in sessions and workshops because they answer and explain all the questions so well!! i also use the worksheets from other discussion sections and i think those problems are the most helpful for practice and you can go to any TA for help with them.

[Nick P 3D]

I would really recommend the step up sessions. I find it hard to really concentrate just by myself with the book and having a live session to go to and watch really helps me pay attention and makes certain that I really work with the material rather than just skimming through the textbook.

[tholz11]

To those who are attending the step up sessions/workshops, do you recommend them or is doing the optional bookwork problems enough to understand the curriculum?

Personally I find that the step up sessions are incredibly helpful for understanding the concepts in a deeper way, and the optional bookwork is a better way to practice what you already know.

[TiffanyBrownfield 2I]

Personally, I would say to do a little bit of everything. When I was studying for the midterm I took a couple days to quickly scan the textbook and its examples, doing a few of the problems for each concept. Then I did Sapling and watched some of the modules and I'd say my understanding was pretty good.

[Megan ODonnell 3F]

I haven't been to the step-up sessions but I know that when I took the last midterm for this class, a couple of the questions came directly out of the textbook and so I found that doing the practice problems ended up being really helpful.

[Rylee Mangan 1K]

Justin's Workshop (Sat. 12-1pm) has saved me!!! I was so nervous for Midterm 1 but I attended the workshop and left feeling so confident! I ended up doing really well on Midterm 1 so thats bonus.
He really is the best

[Muskaan Abdul-Sattar]

I feel like doing the UA worksheets really helps me to prepare for the content on the tests!

[Katie Phan 1K]

I haven't been to sessions/workshops. I find that just taking info straight from the book is really helpful, as well as supplementing with info from lectures.

[Jacob Schwarz-Discussion 3I]

I would recommend doing both. The textbook problems are extremely helpful, but I’ve found that supplementing these with attending the step up sessions is the best. It also depends on how you learn best

[Megan Sparrow 1A]

Based on what I have been doing and hearing, the textbook problems and workshops are highly effective. Sapling homework is very useful in terms of learning the basics, but I've noticed that the difficultly of the midterms matches that of the textbook work. Khan Academy videos on YouTube are also live savers.