Links to Academic Knowledge

Because the LSS position is practically a lecture position with the material being purely from the CHMB42H3 labs, the link to academic knowledge is quite clear.  The concepts are basic organic chemistry lab skills and theory.  Things like reflux, TLC, distillation, recrystallization are basic techniques that organic chemistry labs typically require students to do.  I have been doing these procedures for all of my third year organic chemistry courses so I am quite proficient in these procedures, as evident with my successful mark in the courses. 

Mario and I answering a question from a student.

 My lab marks were personally quite high all across my different organic chemistry courses, which further gives me confidence that my lab techniques are good enough that I am able to teach them.  Also, many of the theories that the labs are based upon are from basic concepts that I have learned in my third year organic courses, but are advanced for the typical CHMB42H3 student so in that respect, the material I had learned in my third year was in use greatly throughout my placement.

Natalia and I setting up the "dry run" during Friday's Lecture

Additionally, even though I have not presented as often as I had during my placement, I have done presentations for my course work in my other courses and I had taken the presentation skills that I had developed thus far applied it, and built upon it during this placement.  But the presentations I have done for my coursework is quite different from the lectures that I have done for my placement.  The biggest difference is the intention of the presentation.  


For my coursework, I am just presenting information to my professor and classmates with the intention of just giving them information.  Of course, the presentation is more for the professor and less for the classmates since the professor is the one marking me, and thus, the reaction from the classmates is irrelevant.  But for the placement lectures, I am not lecturing to my supervisor; I am lecturing to the students.  Suddenly, my intentions for the presentation are completely different from my coursework.  Suddenly, the students' opinions matter and thus, I have to present to a completely different audience then what I am used to in my coursework.