My Approach to the Class and Some Answers to Past Student Questions

Just like Nellie Forbush in South Pacific, I am a 'cockeyed optimist'. That is, a person who says the glass is completely full, even after drinking half the glass. I believe that EVERYONE taking this course has an enthusiasm for learning astronomy, is dedicated to working hard, and has the ability to understand the material. After all, UGA admits only high ability students and surely, with all the diversity of course offerings here you would never take a course in which you did not have an interest. Finally, with only 10-15 class hours per week you have plenty of time outside of class to study astronomy.

I am puzzled therefore when someone does poorly on the the tests and coursework. Perhaps some students do not know what the expectations of the course are. Let me make a few general statements, then you can look at some of your predecessors questions and my answers to them.

The substance and level our your understanding should be be enough to answers the questions at the beginning of the chapters in a general way and the questions at the end of chapters in a more specific manner. If you have access to electronic version of these questions and other tutorials within the 'Mastering Astronomy' website, this can aid your studying also.

Your reaction to any difficulty in the course, be it not understanding a question in class or a poor performance on a test, should be to figure out what you need to do and then do it. Soon! I am available to help you in this process, but I also fully understand that it is often more fun to solve difficulties by yourself.

Your reaction to success in the course should be to brag about it to your parents, friends, or whoever will listen.

Now for some previous questions, etc. If you don't find your question here, ask in class.

Q. There is a lot if material in the text. Do I have to know all of it for the test?
A. There is a lot of detail in the book that I did not say in class. For the most part it is background or alternate ways of explaining the same concepts I have been talking about in class.

Q. Could you give some advice about how to study for the test since there is so much material?
A. My advice would be:
After you have read all the material and reviewed your class notes, check your understanding of the material by looking at the topics outlined in the web pages and links I use in class. You should be able to 'speak intelligently' about each one and relate them to each other.
Another tip that works well is to go through the pictures and diagrams in the book and see if you know what they are trying to explain.
The Review Questions and the Test Your Understanding at the ends of the chapters are a great way to review your knowledge. The book also offers web materials for your study that may be useful to you

Q. Should we know definitions of things or is this strictly math?
A. There are many definitions of things you should know. Although a straight definition will seldom crop up in a question, if you don't know the astronomical terms, many questions (and answers) will not make sense.
The tests will not have math or problem solutions.

Q. I have never taken a physics course and I was just wondering if that would hinder me in this Astronomy class.
A. I am sure that students who are good at physics will find the course easier. However, I am not sure you are worse off than students who have had a high school physics course and didn't learn much from it. Unfortunately, that is quite a few students from Georgia high schools. You can certainly learn all the physics you need along the way. Perhaps the best indication of how hard it will be is how you felt about your high school or subsequant college performance in chemistry, physics and math. Another indicator could be your score on standardized math tests. If high school chemistry was pretty much a fog for you and your SAT Math was 520 or lower, this class may be a struggle. But then, any physical science course at UGA will be a struggle for you.

QUESTIONS RESULTING FROM A POOR PERFORMANCE ON THE FIRST TEST.

Q. I was wondering if there would be any chance of obtaining extra credit in the course.
A. Only as outlined in the syllabus

Q. Is the replacement test our final or do we have a separate final covering everything?
A. The replacement test does cover everything.  It is the same format as the other tests.  It is given at time scheduled for finals. If you wish, you can see it as a comprehensive final, weighted the same as the other tests and your grade is the best three of four.

Q. I have to make an 86 on the fourth test to make an 'A' in the class, so if I make lower than an 86 on my fourth test will that bring my grade down?
A. No. If your final (replacement test) is your lowest grade that is the one which is dropped.

Q. How concerned should I be in being in this class if I failed the first test?
A. This is a hard question to answer.  It depends a great deal on how much better you can understand the material for future tests.  If you can do better on all future tests, this grade will not be in your average.  How can you be sure you will do better?  That's the tough question.  Can you improve your understanding of the material by:
    better study strategies
    studying longer
    getting more help
    becoming more accustomed to 1) the material 2) my tests
I would be glad to help you with any of these, but since I don't know you well I really can't give you the best answer. Ask yourself: How much time did I study for the test? Do I *have* more time to study?  Am I willing to give up some of my social life to study astronomy? Does it take me a while to get used to a course?  Was I confused about everything, or just one area?
You need to make your decision in the context of your whole academic schedule.  Can you afford to drop the course?  How will staying in effect your other classes, GPA, your scholarship, etc.?
In my opinion, you need to talk to others also, particularly your parents, and listen to their advice.  They know you much better than I do.
Finally, come by and talk if you need help.

GRADE CHANGES

First and foremost:  IF YOU FIND A NUMERICAL ERROR IN YOUR GRADE COME SEE ME AND I WILL CORRECT IT!

Q.
"I need one point to receive the B in the class. I was just wondering if I could receive that one point."
 "I checked my grade this morning.  I made a 90 on the final that gives me an 89 average. Would it be at all possible for you to curve my final exam grade by 2 points? This will give me an A- instead of a B+ in the class."
"After the final, I have a 67. So close to a C-. If there is anything possible I could do for extra credit or to raise this grade, I am more than happy to do it."
A. Inevitably with the UGA grading system, even with plusses and minuses, someone is going to be a point shy of a grade. My personal preference would be just to submit the numerical grade, but the University insists we convert it to letter grades. If I add a point or two to your grade, then fairness says I need to add a point to everyone's. Then those whose new grade was a point or two short will feel just like you do and ask for more points to be added.
As to doing extra work or extra credit; this is only fair to the extent that I allow the entire class to do extra credit and announce it in the syllabus at the beginning of the term. Offering some students a chance to improve their grade and not others is highly unethical in my opinion.
Ultimately it all washes out. Sometimes you are a point or two above the cutoff; sometimes you are a point below. Someday a student may come to me and say “I got a 90.1 in the course, but I know I did B work could you just take a point off my grade and give me a B+?” However, it hasn’t happened in the last 35+ years.

Q. "I've been placed on academic probation. Failing your class will guarantee my dismissal. After checking my answers, I need 18 pts to have a D in your class. While my grade may not reflect it, my intentions have been to pass your class. The information I knew was not always on the test, it was usually the material I struggle with. While yes, I'm asking a huge favor, it doesn't hurt to ask, if I do not receive my 18 pts, may I please complete an extra credit paper, ANYTHING for those pts I need? "
A. As I stated above, it is unfair to students to allow only some students to do extra credit. This student’s circumstances are certainly direr than those of a student missing an A- by one point. However, I just don’t see how it is possible to assign or change a student’s grade based on the severity of the student’s need for the grade. I am open to suggestions of a method to do this in an equitable manner.

Parables of Academia

A student has an 88 average in the class. If he takes an additional test and gets a 93 he would get and A- in the course. Instead he comes to the test and asks the professor to regrade several questions on previous tests to see if he can get enough points to get an A in the class. When this fails, he leaves without taking the additional test.
Another student has a 61 average. To get a 70 and a C- she must take the additional test and score an 84. She has not yet come close to that score on any of the other tests. She comes and takes the additional test.
Which student would you prefer to have as a partner in your lab class next term? Which would you like to work for you when you are running your own company?

Fairy Tales

Occasionally, when I am not fantasizing about being observing with the only telescope with clear weather when the next supernova in the Milky Way explodes, I imagine the academic life, and my astronomy course, as a ‘life lesson’. If fairy tales are the earliest and perhaps best instruction on how life plays out, then maybe it is not to far-fetched to imagine the first test in the course as the first test in a fairy tale. You know the one. The youngest leaves the house to make his/her fortune. Not one day ever goes by before the first important choice pops up: an old man needs food, and old woman needs saved, etc. Of course the older brothers/sisters have chosen not to help when they went by earlier. We all know this was a BIG mistake, but you have to have some sympathy for them. They have busy schedules, a tough journey ahead of them, and sometimes something just has to slide. Maybe, just maybe, this time they will slip through life after they fail to see the old man/woman as a choice to be made. Maybe you can put off studying until the second test comes along. Maybe the tests will be so easy that you will not have to drop one test grade. Maybe you can party all this week because your astronomy test is not until next week. Maybe.