#I have to teach undergrads after I finish my orals. in a year and a half

[waugh-bao]

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[thousandmaths]

Semester 5 Starts Tomorrow

A year ago I wrote:

Honestly folks, I’m so thracking ready to get back to school. I’m sure I’ll have a different perspective in a month or two but for now the summer has just been oppressively long. This probably has a lot to do with doing so much catch up with the blog… 

This year it’s the same situation, but a very different perspective :P

It’s not that I want the summer to go on longer. I pretty much am happy, and in a few weeks I will be even happier, to have the structure in my life. But at the moment, man, I am not ready for the semester to start.

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I’m going to write a whole separate post about teaching this semester. There’s a lot to say.

As far as my own courses go, this was by far the easiest semester to make those decisions. My effortcourses will be 

Commutative Algebra, with Christine, and 

Algebraic Geometry, with Voronov— the same guy who taught me Lie theory whose Lie theory course I stumbled through

I’ll also be taking two other courses for fun and credits. One of them will be Axiomatic Set Theory with Messing— the guy who taught me “commutative algebra” last semester. The other was supposed to be Lie Theory, since, you know, I actually know what a manifold is now, but it conflicts with basically everything: not only the calculus lectures for my students and the Topology seminar (lol yes really), but also Complex Analysis.

Probably the resolution is that I’ll take Complex Analysis and always go instead to the calculus lectures. It seems that most people don’t do this (certainly I’ve never done it) but during the advisor-selection process I talked with a few people who I consider to be really good TAs and they recommended that I do it. Conversely, the lectures for complex are almost certainly going to be very bad, but it also seemed like the homework might be pretty straightforward? And I need to either pass this course or pass a prelim exam: considering how much complex analysis I currently know (literally only the half of the undergrad course I watched last summer), the course might be a good idea.

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But of course, we’ve been avoiding the elephant in the room. Semester 5 brings with it a whole new flavor: coursework is no longer my primary responsibility.

My relationship with Vic is going to be a little strange this semester in particular, since he’s not going to be on campus for most of it. He left last week to co-chair the MSRI Program in Geometric and Topological Combinatorics. I’m probably going to be writing a whole separate post about that program, because one of the other chairs is Francis Su, who is near to my heart both as a researcher and as a person (and also as a teacher). 

There’s an introductory workshop at that Program that I’m not going to because it’s the first week of school, but my academic sister Galen Dorpalen-Barry will be going. (If she’s willing to spend the time, I’d be happy for her to write a guestpost or two.) After that, she and Elizabeth Kelley will be taking over as organizers for the student combinatorics seminar.

Obviously I’m still planning on doing work on Catalan stuff while Vic is gone— although for the next month I expect that to slow to a crawl as I finish up OTAM and buckle down on my teaching responsibilities.

I’m planning on taking my oral exam in the spring, and will be studying with Galen and probably Elizabeth intermittently this semester, with more serious intent once winter rolls around. Galen has suggested that we’ll restart the Coxeter reading group at a more casual pace once the semester starts.

[edge-hill-university]

Learning Curve: getting to grips with university study

Some aspects of university life can initially be a struggle, and many new undergrads experience teething trouble during the transition to university-level learning. It’s no biggie, though, as there’s plenty of support to get you through the first term.  We threw some common queries to our in-house experts to shed a little light on overcoming any learning culture shocks. 

Q What is the hardest part of university study for first year students? What support is available? A I think it’s partly being in a different place and starting to be more independent than in the past. In terms of support, we do a lot of different things at Edge Hill University. We have an induction week to help people get settled and each student has their own personal tutor. We also have excellent support services that provide guidance. I’d also say our Students’ Union is excellent - their societies and events help people get settled in.  Charles Knight (below), Associate Director, Business School

A I’m someone who needs motivating to do my work and having to just do it of your own accord can be challenging. The way I managed was to just think ‘if I finish this now I’ll have less to do next week’. I never did ‘finish’ but it did help to start something, which I could then build on. Andrew Walker, BA (Hons) Sports Development and Management

Q What is the role of a personal tutor? A Every Edge Hill student has a personal tutor, who is there to help you get the most out of university. You see them in a group and also individually two or three times a year, and they’re there at any other times to discuss any personal or academic concerns you might have. You usually have the same personal tutor for the duration of your course. But they’re not there just for advice and to help you sort out any problems, they’re there to push you to do things that develop your confidence and initiative, and to prepare you for what you want to do after university. Dr Chris Beaumont, Senior Lecturer in Learning and Teaching Development

Q What is referencing? Why is it important? A Referencing is acknowledging all the sources you’ve used in your assignment. Whether you’ve used a direct quote or reworded an idea from something you have read, you’ll need to add some details about the source to show where you found the information. Referencing is particularly important because it helps you to back up your arguments, and shows your tutor that you’ve researched your topic thoroughly, which will gain you better marks. There are different styles of referencing, but the most common is the Harvard style. At Edge Hill all students can access the UniSkills Harvard Referencing Guide, which explains how to reference different sources, with handy examples. Kate Johnson (below), Student Engagement Co-ordinator, Learning Services Academic Support Division

A The most challenging part is the referencing within assignments and learning how to reference correctly to avoid plagiarism, it’s also been hard to learn how to structure and write essays. Erin Muir BSc (Hons) Physical Education and School Sport

Q What is plagiarism? A Plagiarism means passing off the ideas of someone else as your own, without including a clear reference to the original source. This includes copying something word-for-word but it would also be plagiarism to reword someone else’s ideas without giving them the appropriate credit. Today, it’s very common to find information or media online which has been copied or ‘borrowed’ from somewhere else and the original author hasn’t been credited or referenced. Unfortunately, despite an author’s popularity, this is still plagiarism and is something you should avoid in your essays. Just like school, tutors will treat plagiarism seriously so always double-check you’ve referenced anything in your assignments which is not your own original work. To help get your head around referencing and the pitfalls of plagiarism, we provide clear UniSkills referencing guides and face-to-face support. Rachel Bury, Academic Liaison Manager, Learning Services

A The lecturers at the University are always willing to expand on course content and aspects that spin off from them, which can lead to thought-provoking discussions in seminars. And tutors are always on hand to answer questions, whether after lectures or through email, it’s a great support network on which to base self-learning. Lydia Suffling (below) BSc (Hons) Psychology

Q What is a seminar? A It’s typically a classroom set-up, with around 12 students, and that allows all the students to contribute. They stay with the same group of students for the year, so they get comfortable within that group, and participate more. The majority of students are quite nervous to begin with, so you’ve just got to ease people into it. You can be a passive learner in the school environment, but at this level you have to participate. Their biggest fear is that they’re going to be wrong. That’s not an issue for me - you just need to contribute. There are different types of learning within seminar situations. They’ve got to have research skills, written skills, and oral presentation skills for the discussion. To produce more rounded graduates we’re trying to get them to question things, to be more analytical. Adam Pendlebury (below), Senior Lecturer in Law

Q What is academic writing, and how does it differ from the usual school essay? A Academic writing is a particular style of writing which you’ll need to use when writing formal course assignments. Think about a time when you’ve written a personal letter or email to a friend and then compare this to the last time you wrote a science report in school... the style of your writing was different, wasn’t it? Well, academic writing is yet another style of writing, but unlike personal writing, the language is more formal and you’ll need to follow a set structure and ‘academic rules’ (for example, you’ll need to write in the 3rd person). Writing at university may seem different to other writing experiences, but it’s important to realise that it’s a skill you develop over time, and not overnight. Your tutors will explain what you need to do and you’ll be supported every step of the way with UniSkills as you learn how to express your ideas in a more academic way.  Kate Johnson, Student Engagement Co-ordinator, Learning Services Academic Support Division Your first year can be something of a culture shock. New experiences and responsibilities hit you weekly, daily, hourly, even. So hopefully these answers to some common questions about the process of learning in HE will provide some reassurance and take away at least some preliminary anxieties. Just remember: everyone is in the same boat, and if in doubt, just ask. Even better, get ahead of the pack and ask your questions at one of our Open Days.