Advice for Engineering Students

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I am sure many of you have heard the horrors that statics, dynamics, and strengths are weeder classes. Although they are not designed to be weeder classes, but it does have that effect. The classes really aren't that hard, you just need to keep up with it. You have taken a lot of hard classes to get to this point so I know you have the smarts. Here are my suggestions to do well in the class:

1) Don't just go through the motions of watching a video but after every video ask yourself what were the big concepts. How was this video the same or different from other videos? After awhile you will start to see a pattern, if not then you haven't mastered the concepts.

2) Before watching a video try to solve it first on your own, then watch it. I know it takes more effort to do it, but passively watching isn't a good idea.  I have heard it many times from students that the teacher only does easy problems in class or on the videos, but assigns hard ones.  That isn't so, it always seems easy when the teacher does it.

3) With the homework, make sure not to look at the solution. I can not tell you how many former students that I have had that failed the class and when I ask them why they didn't do well they would say that they didn't do the homework, but just looked over the solutions, watched some videos and it made sense to them at the time. Unfortunately it always makes sense when someone else does it, but when you sit down with a blank sheet that is a different story.

4) Procrastination is the worst thing for learning difficult subjects. This is a hard class and can't be learned all at once, but is better learned a little at a time.  You can't expect to perform in the "big game" if you skipped practice all week and then decided to cram the entire week's practice into the day before.  Exercising the brain is no different than exercising the body.

5) We have tutors in the tutoring lab and don't be embarrassed to ask for help.

6) If you have a private question for me then please email me via the Canvas email system.

7) Post non-private questions in the Discussion forum and I or someone else will answer it.

8) Find a study partner by posting in your availability in the Discussion Forum.

Make sure to work hard so you don't put yourself in a position that requires you to repeat the class. If you have to repeat this class you just cost yourself $36,000! Yep that's right $36,000! Since this class is a key prerequisite to other engineering classes you will end up pushing graduation 6 months. If you make $72,000 when you graduate you just lost $36 grand!

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