Bruce Mayer, PE Licensed Electrical & Mechanical Engineer BMayer@ChabotCollege

1. Chabot Engineering Study SkillsFor College Students Bruce Mayer, PE Licensed Electrical & Mechanical EngineerBMayer@ChabotCollege.edu

2. From CareerBuilder.com Apr08 • CHICAGO, April 2008 - CareerBuilder.com's annual survey. • Survey of 3147 Human Resource Professionals and Hiring Managers • When asked about minimum GPA requirements: • 31% of the hiring managers surveyed said they require a 3.0 and above • 11% require a 3.5 and above

3. Robert Irwin on JPL GPA • Mr. Irwin Studied Engineering at Chabot & UCBerkeley • He Now Works as Test Engineer for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory at CalTech • His Comments on JPL’s GPA policy: JPL has a 3.0 minimum GPA for interns and full time hires. It is a very strict policy. • >>> Robert Irwin <robertirwin22@uu.vv> 8/27/2012 7:41 PM >>>

4. Job Offers Circa Jan 1979 Thank You UC Berkeley Placement Center ~$70k in 2014-$

5. BMayerResume Used to Obtain 12 Job OffersCirca Nov78

6. Learning Goal • Hopefully this Lecture will Help Students to Develop the Skills, Techniques, and Methods to allow Each Student to… Study Like aCollege Student

7. Liberal Arts Majors Party Down

8. Rule-1: Be Responsible • You want to be a Professional; Professionals are Expected to Assume PERSONAL Responsibility for their Actions • At the University This Means • Attend EVERY Regular Class/Lab meeting • Be On Time, Be Courteous • Complete and Turn-in All Assignments as Scheduled • Ask for few “Special Case” exceptions • Professors Appreciate “SERIOUS” Students

9. Rule-2: Mind Connected to Hand • Unlike some Other Disciplines Bachelors-Degree Math and Science Education Tends to be • Linear - a course will build as the Term Progresses; courses build upon each other • Early Work is Required for Later Work • Precise and Quantitative • At Universities Most Math & Sci Courses Entail the Determination of a NUMERICAL Result • There are Objectively RIGHT & WRONG Answers

10. Rule-2 Cont. • Math & Science Education Provides Tools to Solve Problems • Becoming Proficient with the Tools Requires PRACTICE, PRACTICE, & more PRACTICE • Study with a Pencil-and-Paper • If the Instructor Follows a Text, then • READ carefully, Taking Notes in YOUR OWN HAND • Work all the EXAMPLES until you UNDERSTAND them

11. Rule-2 Cont. • To study for exams, Work problems for which the text provides answers • If Solutions Are Provided to Homework or Exams, then REWORK All problems that you got Wrong Until you Understand them • Neatness & Thoroughness helps • A problem you solved early in the term may be needed late in the term • If it’s Neat & Complete you can Use it more quickly

12. Rule-2 Summarized Don’t justREAD the Text; WORK the Text

13. Notes from EE-113 at Stanford Text Book Notes Class Notes HomeWork & Exams Go Card!

14. Rule-2 Personal Story • BMayer Learned Rule-2 in Ted Bowen’s Physics Class At Cabrillo Community College in 1974 • This TRANSFORMED My Academic Performance; leading to Results after Transfer to UCBerkeley (Go Bears) • 3.8 GPA (95%) • 12 Job Offers • Transformed an Atty I know well from a Medium Student to 3rd out of 245 in her SCU Law School Graduating Class

15. Rule-3 Worship the TextBook • Instructor and Class-Time provides a FRAMEWORK for Learning a College/University Skill • The Text, Or HandOuts/Notes, Provides the SUBSTANCE • Very Few People LearnPerformance Skills by Listening to a lecture • Lectures Tell you WHAT to Study • The Text & Exercises DEVELOP Skills

16. Rule-4 Listen to the Instructor • The Obvious Reason → To Learn the Material • The Subtle Reason → To Learn What is IMPORTANT to the Instructor • What the Instructor Says in Class Gives Clues about His/Her Priorities • Since you Have Finite Study Time (168 hrs per week) you need to PRIORITIZE • Typically What the instructor COVERS IN CLASS will likely appear on the TESTS

17. Rule-5 Mind your Math & English • Math and English form the FOUNDATION for College, and for Landing a good Working Position • Almost all Well Compensated (i.e. Good Paying) Jobs require that the Employee be able to CALCULATE & COMMUNICATE • A GOOD Employee will use ALGEBRA; a GREAT Employee will use CALCULUS • A GOOD Employee will be able to READ & UNDERSTAND a written report; a GREATEmployee will WRITE the Report

18. Rule-5 Cont. • Math & English form the BASIS for ANY Professional & Practice; c.f. • Required Courses for Engineering Degrees • Required Courses for Nursing Degrees • Required Courses for Business Degrees • Almost All Significant PROFESSIONS in the USA Depend written Math & English • Doctor, Lawyer, Engineer, Business Person, Company Manager, Police Officer, etc.

19. Rule-6 Be Creative • CREATING Something is MUCH Harder than USING Something • e.g.; The difference between READING a story, and WRITING a story • In the Professional World Creativity Leads to very VALUABLE outputs • NEW products and/or Services • Competitive ADVANTAGE • SOLVED Problems

20. Rule-6 Cont. • CREATIVITY and PRODUCTIVITY are Closely Related • Both Require Getting Something DONE • Develop Your Creativity Thru Practice • Draw Pictures • Write Stories • Build Things • Solve Puzzles TV & VIDEO GAMES are NOT on The Creativity List

21. End Product of Systematic Creativity

22. Rule-7 Draw Diagrams for Math • Science, Math & Engrng Have a HUGE Advantage Over the Written Language Disciplines – The use of Graphics • If you have difficulty with a problem • Chart it • Graph it • Sketch it • Flow Chart it • Diagram it

23. Rule-8 DON’T Sell Your Books • If you follow Rule-2; then you will Build a LIBRARY of PERSONAL Reference material • Since Math & Sci Education Builds, Your Text and The Study Materials associated with it are VALUABLE References • Many of the Underlying Laws of Science Cross Discipline Boundaries • Odds are you WILL use Your Texts as PROFESSIONAL References

24. Book Seller ShortSightedNess • A TextBook Seller unconsciously says this to Her/Him Self: • This attitude is a SELF-FULLING PROPHECY • Of Couse if a person DISCARDS a TOOL, then he/she will never use it!!! I DON’T NEEDTHIS Anymore…

25. Sell Books? I don’t think so… • From The Journal Thin Solid Films

26. TSF TextBook Refs Chabot CHEM-1A/B Text

27. Sell Books? I don’t think so… • From The Journal IEEE TSM

28. TSM TextBook Refs

29. TextBook Refs for: IEEE Transactions on Semiconductor Manufacturing MTH1 TextBook from Cabrillo College

30. Sell Books? I don’t think so… • From The Journal APS/AVS JVST

31. JVST TextBook References

32. Rule-9 PUT in the TIME

33. Rule-9 cont. • From the Chart on the Previous Slide, the MINIMUM Study Hours per week • 6 Hours for a 3 unit Chabot Course • 10 Hours for a 5 unit Chabot Course • 9 Hours for a 3 unit SJSU or CSU-EB or UCBerkeley Bachelor’s Level Course • 12 Hours for a 3 unit CalPoly or UCDavis or UCBerkeley Master’s Level Course • Even MORE for Ph.D or MD Level Course

34. R9: clueLESSvsclueFILLED • Request from a ClueLESS Student I don’t have time to Study…Tell me how get an “A” AnyWay • Observation by a ClueFILLED Student There is No Substitute for Personally Struggling with the Course Material

35. R9: You think it’s tough at Chabot… • Consider this Sp10 advice from UCBerkeley Prof. Bernhard Boser to his 2nd Year, 4-Unit EE40 class • “Effort: You are expected to spend approximately 12 to 16 hours each week on this course, broken down as follows: • 3 hours of lecture • 1 hour of discussion • 3-4 hours reading (book & notes) • 3-5 hours homework • 3 hours labs and project” B. E. Boser http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/~boser/courses/40/index.html

36. Rule-10 Study EXTRA for Exams • Preparing for Exams or Quizzes requires ADDED study time beyond the 6 Hrs/Wk for a 3 unit Chabot Course • Exam Study/Prep Time Guideline 3 Hours StudyTime Per 1 Hour of ExamTime

37. Rule-10 cont. • Exam Week Study-Time Example → Chabot 5 Unit Math or Science Course • 1 Hour Midterm Exam = 13 hours total • 10 Hours Normal Study Time • 3 Hours Exam Prep Study Time • 2 Hour Final Exam = 6 hours Final-Exam Prep Time • At the University Level Final Exams are 3 Hours long, which requires NINE (9) hours of Final-Exam Study time

38. Rule-11 Get EVERY Point • If the Instructor/Professor offer the OPPORTUNITY to earn Grading Points, then TAKE IT • Do EVERY Assignment • Do NOT incur LATE Penalties • Do Any & All EXTRA CREDIT Offerings • Learn how to Earn PARTIAL CREDIT and then DO IT • e.g., if SHOWING WORK earns Partial Credit, then Show your work

39. Rule-12 Join/Form a Study Group • LEARNING a subject is one thing, TEACHING a subject is Another • The depth of Knowledge required to TEACH a Subject is much Greater than that needed to LEARN the same Subject • In a good Study Group ALL Students will be BOTH Learner and Teacher • Study Groups need NOT be Large; two people can make an effective group

40. Rule-13 OfficeHrs Do’s & Don’ts • DO Use Instructor OfficeHours; the RIGHT Way • DON’T: Walk into the Office and say: “Teach me the SAME THING that you discussed during the class I MISSED” • DO: PREPARE for the Office Hour as you might for a meeting with your SUPERVISOR to make • The Visit Efficient & Effective for BOTH Parties • a GOOD IMPRESSION on the Instructor • Helps for subsequent Letters of Recommendation

41. Rule-13 OfficeHrs Do’s & Don’ts • Office Hour Visit Game Plan • Work HARD on the Problem/Issue until you get STUCK • Bring with you: TextBook, Paper & Pencil, Calculator or Computer • THEN go to Office Hours and talk to the instructor saying something along the lines: • This is what I have DONE so Far…Can you help me make the NEXT STEP

42. Rule-14: LEARN All You Can • A Four-Year Degree offers the Opportunity to Learn at a Level of DEPTH & DETAIL that will Likely NOT be Available LATER in Life • Higher Education In California is EXCELLENT – Take Advantage of it • Study Hard; Party Later • Learn Everything you Can • You will NEVER regret having done WELL at the University Level

43. 1960 CA Master Plan for Higher Ed • California Public four-year Universities allow for seamless CC transfer as provided for by the 1960 California Master Plan for Higher Education. An excerpt from this plan: • “The transfer function is an essential component of the commitment to access. UC and CSU are to establish a lower division to upper division ratio of 40:60 to provide transfer opportunities to the upper division for Community College students, and eligible California Community College transfer students are to be given PRIORITY in the admissions process.”

44. UC & CSU Engineering Programs • UC Programs • CSU Programs • Does NOT IncludeCompSci

45. LEARN it USE it (on the Job) • Virtually EVERY TECHNICAL (and ENGLISH Composition) CLASS I took I actually USED On The Job during by 24+ Year Engineering Practice Career • See Previous slides on TextBook Refs • The Deeper you Learn SomeThing in the Technical & English Classes at Chabot and the University the More Likely you are to APPLY IT when you join a Math/Sci/Engineering Profession

46. LEARN it  Return on Investment • Students are (or should be) PAYING for Their College/University Education • NOT Learning DEEPLY is like Paying for a Gym membership, and then doing “Mickey Mouse” WorkOuts • To Get a RETURN on his/her Educational investment the student should LEARN the Course Content NoEffort NoGain

47. LEARN it  Return on Investment • A excellent Perspective on RoI → “When I was a senior [in college], one of my professors asked wonderingly, ‘Why is it that you guys spend so much time trying to get as LITTLE AS POSSIBLE for your money?’” • M. McArdle, “Is College a Lousy Investment”, Newsweek, Vol. CLX, No. 12 (17Sep2012)

48. Case Study: ClueLessClueFilled • Consider the Test Performance Data For Electrical Circuits & Devices (ENGR43) Student • The student did about 3-times BETTER on the Exam that was about 3-times HARDER!!! • What PRODUCED this tremendous Improvement from MidTerm-1 to the Final Exam?

49. Case Study: ClueLessClueFilled • When ASKED about the Improvement the Student Replied: >>> Robbie Sweetman <rs@zzzzzzz.com> 05/31/11 11:52 AM >>> Hey Mr. Mayer, thanks! I think I finally realized that understanding the concepts and actually being able to analyze different problems were two different things. About a week and a half before the final I started doing problem after problem after problem. I think the only way that I was able to improve in that class was by seeing a lot of different problems and FINALLY PUTTING IN MORE TIME. And to me the final [exam] was the EASIEST of all three tests SIMPLY BECAUSE I HAD DONE SO MANY PROBLEMS that I UNDERSTOOD how a circuit worked. I knew the concepts AND how they actually applied and I think that made the difference. On the other tests I knew the general concepts, but DIDN'T SPEND ENOUGH TIME applying them to actual circuits. Thanks again Mr Mayer! I think your classes have helped me REALIZE HOW MUCH TIME I have to spend when I transfer [to UCDavis in AeroSpace Engineering]. - Robbie Sweetman

50. Case Study: “Sac State” BSCE >>> Robert Curry 03/14/08 4:00 PM …I do have to tell you , my time at Chabot was VERY HELPFUL IN PREPARING ME to go on to Sac State. I think that ALL THE ADVICE you gave us, and the TYPE OF WORK YOU HAD US do put me in a GOOD POSITION TO DO WELL. During my first semester at Sac State, I saw a lot of OTHER STUDENTS STRUGGLING with things that I found to be familiar. Not necessarily the material, but the WORK that was required AND THE METHOD to go about learning the material. I've seen that everything that you are doing to help your students will PAY OFF for them if they choose to use it. Thank you very much Mr. Mayer. Without your help over the previous three years I don't think I would be in such a good position to succeed in my goals. • Robert Curry – Chabot Transfer Student to CSU Sacramento in Civil Engineering • BSCE in Dec2009 • SacState GPA 3.95 • Now a Civil Engineer with the California Department of Water Resources (DWR)