Pipetting, measuring and mentoring: Augustana students and teaching assistants excel in chemistry course

Students Sammy Abbott and Jocelyn Kublik complete an experiment as part of a general chemistry course that also includes third-and-fourth-year student mentors.

This semester, students were excited to be back in the lab. But the general chemistry (AUSCI 125) course was made up of more than just students and lab technicians. Instead, a student mentorship experience (AUSCI 425) course ran alongside general chemistry to give students the chance to lead and learn from their peers in a laboratory setting.

We spoke to a handful of students and student-mentors about their experiences this semester. Here’s what they said.

Students

Why did you decide to take this course?

Getting out of high school, labs were not my favourite part. In fact, the days I had labs were my least favourite. However, I still decided to take this course: one because it was needed for my degree, and two, I thought it would be easier to get over with in the first semester. Taking labs at Augustana totally changed my perspective. I had so much fun this semester.

- Sammy Abbott

I decided to take chemistry lab because in the future I hope to work in a lab. This course taught me the basics of lab skills and general chemistry lab procedures.

- Keely Benson

What's the best part about working with student mentors?

I didn't know there were going to be student mentors for this course. I think the best part about working with the student mentors was being able to relate to them more as they are also students feeling stressed out about school work and university life as well as us.

- Sammy Abbott

I feel that the best part of working with student mentors is the comfortable atmosphere they create. I personally am afraid of asking questions that may be unnecessary, but the instructors are willing to help as they have had similar experiences. They ask us about non-lab-related topics while still maintaining safety in the lab and a balanced student-instructor dynamic. It gives a more personalized laboratory experience beyond the already small class sizes at Augustana.

- Leah Peters

What's the most challenging part of working with student mentors?

During some labs that were a bit more challenging, the mentors had to help many lab groups and weren’t available at all times. But that really is no fault of theirs. I wouldn’t say that there were many times that they were challenging to work with. They were always available when they could be.

- Jocelyn Kublik

The most challenging part of working with student mentors is possible inconsistencies in instruction, as the lab coordinator is not always present in the lab to clear up questions the students and instructors have. This "challenge" is rarely an issue, as the lab coordinator is easily accessible and visits the lab at least once per class, and the chemistry lab technician will come to check on the lab's progress and provide input.

- Leah Peters

Did this course inspire you to think about becoming a student mentor in the future? Or teach you anything about your own learning style?

In the future, I would like to become a teaching assistant (TA), as I think it would teach me a lot. I really enjoyed the style of the TA's in our lab as they were helpful and very supportive!

- Keely Benson

Coming into the course, I had no idea that being a student mentor was an option here at Augustana for fourth-year students. I will definitely consider becoming a mentor in the future because I want to help other students the way they helped us this semester. During the course, I found out that I am a hands-on learner. Having the ability to implement what you’re learning in the lecture section of the lab and seeing the outcome, firsthand, of an experiment is very interesting and allows me to remember the course material much better.

- Jocelyn Kublik  

Mentors

Why did you decide to take this course?

I took this course because it seemed like a rare experience to me. I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone and try something different, and I knew it would also provide me with opportunities to grow as a person and enhance skills such as public speaking, critical thinking and time management.

- Kelsey Moch

I decided to take the course because I was always intrigued by what needed to be done to prepare for chemistry labs. In addition, I wanted to develop my soft skills.

- Thaovy Nguyen

What is the best part about acting as a student mentor?

The best thing about being a mentor was spending time with my students, assisting them through the labs and proudly watching them grow as scientists throughout the semester! I have taken the same labs in my first year so it was like reliving my past, but from the eyes of an instructor.

- Thaovy Nguyen

The best part about being a student mentor was being able to build relationships with the students and watch them succeed in the lab. Watching the students succeed provided me with a certain sense of pride, especially once I had built a bit of a relationship with them.

- Tyler Weenink 

What is the most challenging part?

The most challenging part for me was having to become independent. I was not alone because I had my instructor partners and the help of faculty, but as an instructor, you need to be independent and sometimes think fast in a new environment, which was different for me. But you are put into a safe environment to work on becoming more independent and I am proud to say I worked towards achieving that goal.

- Kelsey Moch

I found the most challenging part to be balancing the expectations of the course with the compassion I had for the students. As I mentioned, I liked watching students succeed so when there were situations in which a student was struggling to or failed to meet expectations I sometimes struggled to penalize them.

- Tyler Weenink

What's your biggest takeaway from this course?

My biggest takeaway would be the strategies to become an effective teacher, from bringing passion and excitement to the lab, to thinking of ways of moving up Bloom's taxonomy for students, to applying the universal design for learning principles. I want to take everything I learned in the lecture and applied in the lab, and use it in my future. After this course, I really want to find more experiences where I can teach science because it's what I'm passionate about.

- Kelsey Moch

My biggest takeaway from the lab is that not everything is going to go as planned and it is from those experiences that we learn the most! There were times where I turned to my co-instructors for help and was able to learn from their expertise and grow as an instructor.

- Thaovy Nguyen