A few random things for my talk Monday, July 8, for the parents of incoming UO students — mainly put here just to have a place to which to point people for references. (If you were at the talk and have further questions, feel free to email: raghu [at] uoregon [dot] edu .)
How to do well in college (from K., age 7):
- Listen in class
- Don’t goof off
- Homework first, then video games
- [For multiple choice questions] Don’t circle a random answer. Think about the answers.
- Ask for help.
- Study carefully. Don’t skim.
- Don’t give up. (“You’re not allowed to give up,” from his brother, 4)
I’d add to this:
- Don’t think you can multitask — No one can, and you can’t either.
- About asking for help: Come to office hours! (Even if you don’t have specific questions.)
- Find topics you’re passionate about – a major advantage of a large university is that there are probably routes to anything you want!
About my Physics of Energy and the Environment course:
- The Syllabus (from Fall 2011): http://physics.uoregon.edu/~raghu/TeachingFiles/Phys161_syllabus_Fall2011.pdf . I’ll be teaching this (Physics 161) again in Winter 2014.
- A pedagogical article I wrote on cars and energy use: Raghuveer Parthasarathy, “Cars and Kinetic Energy – Some Simple Physics with Real-World Relevance,” The Physics Teacher 50: 395-397 (2012). http://tpt.aapt.org/resource/1/phteah/v50/i7/p395_s1
- An excellent (and free!) book on energy issues, focusing especially on quantitative understanding of energy issues, for the general public: Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air by David MacKay. http://www.withouthotair.com/
About my Physics of Life course:
- The Syllabus (from Spring 2012): http://physics.uoregon.edu/~raghu/TeachingFiles/Physics%20of%20Life%20Syllabus%20Spring2012.pdf
About my Scientific Revolutions course:
- The Syllabus (from Fall 2012): http://physics.uoregon.edu/~raghu/TeachingFiles/Syllabus%20SciRev%20156.pdf
- An excerpt from Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime: from Haddon 2003
About the UO Science Literacy Program:
The Eighteenth Elephant 