Learning Physics, Chemistry, and Biology with JS002 Peer Tutor Eli Gendreau-Distler

In this article, the Board of SASS interviews Foundations in Science: Energy and Matter (JS002) peer tutor Eli Gendreau-Distler. We hope that this article will help current and future Foundations in Science: Energy and Matter (JS002) students in their academic journey!

What did you enjoy about Foundations in Science: Energy and Matter (JS002)?

I really enjoyed the labs in JS002 because they allowed me to practice both carrying out experiments and clearly articulating my methods and results in lab reports. I think one of the most valuable aspects of the labs for me was learning to report what I actually observed instead of what I knew I should have observed. In addition, I loved getting to learn about Physics, Chemistry, and Biology all in one course as well as beginning to see the connections between them. I particularly liked getting to learn about the same topics from the perspectives of each field.

What challenged you the most in Foundations in Science: Energy and Matter (JS002)? How did you overcome those challenges?

Although they were also one of my favorite parts, I found the lab write-ups to be the most challenging aspect of the course because I did not have very much experience writing for science classes, at least at the beginning of the course. One thing that was helpful to me was giving myself plenty of time to perform the experiments before the due date to avoid feeling rushed and to have time to think over my results before trying to write.

About how much time did you spend a week working on assignments and preparing for discussion sessions in Foundations in Science: Energy and Matter (JS002)?

I spent about 5 hours per week on JS002 outside of class discussions. In general, I spent most of that time on labs, followed by the lectures, practice quizzes, quizzes, and quiz corrections.

What did the typical week in Foundations in Science: Energy and Matter (JS002) look like?

Each week, there were lectures, a lab, a practice quiz, a quiz, and quiz corrections. One of the nice things about the course is that the schedule is pretty consistent from week to week, but of course some weeks the topics were more challenging than other weeks (so the amount of time spent varied).

What was your favorite topic covered in Foundations in Science: Energy and Matter (JS002)?

Personally, my favorite topic in JS002 was Physics. In particular, I really enjoyed learning about the Physics of electricity. I found all the topics really interesting though, and liked getting to build upon Physics with Chemistry and Biology later in the year.

Do you have any resources (i.e. study tips, useful websites) to share with students who want to take the course?

For the midterm and final exams, it was really helpful for me to begin studying early and to spread out my time spent studying in small increments over multiple days. Something that I was able to do throughout the year to prepare for the exams was to take the time to really understand any quiz questions I got wrong or other topics I didn’t quite understand, especially because the exam problems tend to be similar to problems presented earlier in the course.

Eli Gendreau-Distler is a peer tutor for Foundations in Science: Energy and Matter and can be found on the Writing and Tutoring Center.

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