Syllabus: (PDF)
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- WELCOME! -
This is the web-page for the special topics class for Fall 2015 entitled "Efficient Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Strategies". If you're on this webpage, it is probably reasonable to figure that you are likely enrolled in the class -- so thanks for signing up. Materials on this webpage are meant to supplement information given to you in class itself. I'm not a big fan of OAKS, therefore any on-line supplementary material for the course you need can be found here. To the left, you'll find important links/syllabi/etc.If you'd like to find out more about me or the research we do in my lab, check out my main webpage.
- About This Course -
This is a sporadically offered course at C of C that I'm very excited to be teaching. This course has several purposes that are loosely related to each other:- Prepare junior and senior-level undergraduate Physics and Astronomy majors to succeed on their subject GRE tests.
- Review basic material from lower level undergraduate physics.
- Find out more about the test, test strategies, and the logistics of signing up for the test.
- Focus on methods to quickly eliminate obviously wrong answers in order to have a better chance of "guessing" correctly.
- Develop skills associated with what is loosely known as "qualitative problem solving" (aka "Fermi problems"). The methods discussed and used will include scaling, dimensional analysis, limiting cases, symmetry, etc.
- Develop experience in effectively communicating within the disciplines of Physics and Astronomy. This is meant to be a low-stress -- yet practically useful -- course. Class discussions are hoped to be informal and, since the course is not yet a prerequisite for anything else on campus, we have a bit of freedom to digress into areas of mutual student/instructor interest. I've taught some version of this course a large number of times and -- in my experience -- the course is most enjoyable if you are comfortable asking questions and helping to guide the discussion. When everyone participates, this can be a very fun class.
- Test Date 1: 9/19/2015. (Regular registration needs to be completed by 8/14/2015. Late online registration (extra fee of $25) needs to be completed by 8/21/2015). Scores can be checked on-line starting 10/19/2015. Test scores from this test date will be mailed on or around 10/30/2015.
- Test Date 2: 10/24/2015. (Regular registration needs to be completed by 9/18/2015. Late online registration needs to be completed by 9/25/2015). Scores can be checked on-line starting 11/23/2015. Test scores from this date will be mailed on or around 12/4/2015.
- Test Date 3: 4/16/2016. (Regular registration needs to be completed by 3/11/2016. Late online registration needs to be completed by 3/18/2016). Scores can be checked on-line starting 5/16/2016. Test scores from this date will be mailed on or around 5/27/16.
- You sign up for the first test date. At the end of the test, do a quick critical self-evaluation. If you are sure you bombed it, quickly sign up (paying the extra late penalty) for the second date in an attempt to mitigate any damage that you did on the first test. If you rocked the first test, you don't have to worry any more about the GRE ever again and can focus on your class work, research, and applying to graduate programs.
- You could sign up immediately for both exams. After finishing the first test in September, you could decide that you're confident enough that you want to cancel your second test registration. They'll let you do that -- though you have to do so at least 4 days prior to the second test date, and they keep half your money. (What can I say -- they are still pretty evil).
- You again sign up immediately for both exams. After finishing the first test in September, you wait until you get your scores online on 10/19/2015. Based on your scores, you make an IMMEDIATE decision as to whether or not you want to cancel your October test date. You would have to decide THAT DAY in order to get half your money back, if you opt to just keep your first score. This is very similar to the above strategy, but you will use the results from test I to help you figure out if you want to take the test again or cancel your registration. This is the option I personally would go with if I were in your shoes, but you have to be on the ball when you get your scores back. You only have a single day to act.
- If you are the gambling type, you could forego the first test date entirely and just put all your eggs in the October test basket. This is dangerous, but cheapest.
- Sample Test 1 Due: September 3rd, 2015
- Sample Test 2 Due: September 10th, 2015
- Sample Test 3 Due: September 17th, 2015 [First fall GRE test-date is on the weekend after this on September 19th].
- Sample Test 4 Due: October 1st, 2015
- Sample Test 5 Due: October 15th, 2015 [Second and final fall GRE test-date is 9 days after this sample test is due on October 24th].
- Fermi Problem Presentations: (Date to be determined by in-class draft based on performance of an extemporaneous in-class sample estimation problem). Your presentation will be scheduled for either November 5th, November 12th, November 19th, December 3rd, or during the final-exam time-slot on the evening of Saturday, December 12th.
- Important Information about the Subject GRE -
Although this class would be very useful for any upper-level Physics major, the major impetus for the creation of this course is based in the desire of several students to have a vehicle to help prepare for the subject GRE. Because of this, the Physics GRE exam will be the primary focus of approximately the first half to two-thirds of the course. If you plan on taking this test, it is my sincere hope that this class will help better prepare you for it. For students planning on taking the GRE, you should be aware of the following resources and information.ETS Webpage (the people who administer the GRE)
Information Page for Physics Subject GRE
Link to create an account to sign up for the test.
FAQ page for the GRE Subject Tests.
Cost:
$150 (Plus there are a plethora of other options you can sign up for to give ETS your money if you so desire, like getting your scores early via phone, registering late, requesting additional score reports, requesting "hand-scoring", etc.)Important Dates:
In 2015-2016, you have 3 dates you can take the test. (All three dates allow you to take the test here at C of C if you so desire). If you plan to graduate in May and want to have your scores in the hands of a graduate school in time to evaluate your application in time to enroll in fall, you need to take the test on one of the first two dates.This year's schedule includes both good and bad news.
The bad news: if you are in your last year and you don't look at this webpage until the first day of class, you are already too late to register for the first date -- even with late registration! I'm going to try and send everyone enrolled early an email before the semester starts to ensure that you don't accidentally miss this deadline, but it is kind of annoying.
The good news: Maybe ETS is getting slightly less evil. (Maybe). See, this year you actually have a chance to register for the second test date AFTER taking the first test. Thus, it is possible to take the test on the first date, realize you bombed it, and quick register for the test on the second day. You don't have a lot of extra time (less than a week), and you have to pay the late registration penalty -- but this is an option that wasn't available until this year.
More good news: (I can't believe this -- this is amazing, and almost certainly a mistake by ETS): You actually get to see your test 1 scores prior to going in and taking the second test. This leaves you with an additional strategy (outlined below) that most people haven't had in the past.
If you are in your last year and plan on taking the GRE in an attempt to get into a graduate school for Fall 2016, you have a few different strategies: