First Semester
- How you have grown from the beginning of the semester to now?
At the beginning of this semester, I was extremely lost within campus. Also, I lacked a lot of knowledge regarding some of my classes and my major. However, gradually I became more familiar with the ODU’s campus layout. Additionally, I gain more knowledge about Chemistry and information regarding my major, Dental Hygiene. For example, some techniques needed to clean teeth and requirements to apply for the program.
- What were your expectations for this year? Did this semester’s experiences meet your expectations? Explain.
At the beginning of the year, I had my expectations running in my mind. In my expectation for this year, I thought all my classes will be very challenging. Furthermore, I thought that classes would be completely different from my classes from high school. This semester’s experiences somewhat meet my expectations because my classes functioned very differently from high school and were challenging. However, some of my classes like English and History were not very challenging, but a bit.
- What is something you wish you knew 14 weeks ago?
There are various things that I wish I knew 14 weeks ago. One of them would be knowing that if I got good scores for my four chemistry exams, I do not need to take the final exam. This would have been good to know so I would not have to be extremely stressed out worrying about it.
Study Habits
- How much time do you spend studying for each class now vs. at the beginning of the semester?
At the beginning of the semester I spent about two hours studying on topics prior to an exam. However, now I spend about an hour and a half studying. The time I spend studying decreased because I found a more effective way to study.
- How have your study habits changed?
Gradually, through the semester my study habits gradually changed. At the beginning I mostly depend on my notes to study. Currently, my study habits slightly changed into doing practice questions from the textbook. Also, I am utilizing Quizlet more to help me study for exams.
- What resource that you have used/learned about this semester that will assist you next semester?
A resource that I used this semester that will help me in the next semester is Quizlet. Another resource I used was the ODU library catalog to help me find credible sources.
- What study habits/techniques will you use going into next semester?
A technique I will use for next semester would be doing practice questions. Another study habit I will use is utilizing exam reviews into my studying time.
Health Professions Learning Community
- This semester you were enrolled in at least SOC 201S, and HLTH 101. Many of you were also enrolled in CHEM 105N and CHEM 106N, and some of you were enrolled in HIST 104H with Professor White.
- On the surface these classes do not appear to be connected; however this semester each professor was intentional about drawing connections between content, and subjects discussed. Discuss the ways in which these courses are tied together.
Currently, I am enrolled in SOC 201S, HLTH 101, CHEM 105N and CHEM 106N. These classes are tightly intertwined with each other in various ways. They mainly tie together due to these classes relating to medical fields. The two chemistry classes link together since the CHEM 105N talks about topics and concepts while in the CHEM 106N these topics are carried out physically. While SOC 201S links to HLTH 101 because SOC 201S explains that some inequalities affect the efficiency of health careers mentioned in HLTH 101.
Parallel Plan
- This semester we had presentations from different majors in the College of Health Sciences as well as from different majors on campus. This was to give you an idea for possible parallel majors to your current intended major.
- Which two other majors would you be most interested in? Why?
Two other majors I am interested in are Speech-Language Pathology and Sociology. The reason I am interested in Speech-Language Pathology is that I found it interesting after touring the building in ODU. While for Sociology, I thought it was extremely intriguing while taking Professor Lopez’s class.
- What benefit is there to having a parallel plan (or two) in place?
The benefit of having a parallel plan in place is having a back up plan in case my original plan does not work out.
- How could one or both of these two majors benefit your current intended major?
Both of these majors benefit my current intended major because Sociology is needed to understand patients. While for Speech-Language Pathology would slightly benefit my current major since it studies similar body parts as the one dental hygienist needs to know.