I have almost made it through my first full week of grad school.
My schedule has taken a little bit of getting used to. I have my own grad classes on T/Th, but all of my teaching duties (my two classes of Intro to Psych at 12 and 2, and my teaching practicum course at 3:30) are all on M/W/F. So every day I alternate roles between being a student and being a teacher. It's kind of refreshing, actually. Grad classes would seem intimidating if I allowed myself to think about them in that way, but because being a student is a role I'm vastly more experienced with than being a teacher, it makes them seem easy in comparison. Funny how perception works like that.
I taught my first classes on Monday. I was more nervous for my 12 pm class than I had anticipated, so I talked quickly and finished ten minutes earlier than I had planned. However, we were only covering the syllabus and class expectations and policies anyway, so it's hardly a big deal. My 2 pm class went much better, as I felt more confident going in there.
There are a couple of logistics I've never had to think about before, because I've never seen them from the side of a teacher. For example, freshman on their first day of classes - and the large majority of my students are freshman - show up to class very early. I got to my 12 pm class almost 20 minutes early, and almost all of the students in my class were there within a few minutes. Yikes. They also didn't laugh at any of my offhand comments or jokes (can't blame them I guess), and no one raised their hands or asked any questions. The 2 pm class did chuckle at a few of my "gems" and they actually did ask questions, but I'm wondering if it's just because I was more comfortable with them. Maybe I just need to chill out more. I'm thinking about wearing something even less formal to class tomorrow, to help me relax - like my cargo pants instead of my khaki dress pants. We'll see.
I didn't actually have to teach on Wednesday, because the psychology department was administering some kind of survey that they have all of the Psy 102 students take. It includes basic demographic info and questions related to studies that grad students might be running, so the research assistants are responsible for running the testing, not me. I'll be back at it tomorrow to cover the intro chapter on history and basic psychological theories...at which point I get to show them how good I am at bullshitting about philosophy and history (ugh). Chapter 2, on research methods and such, will be much better.
As for my own classes, I think they're going to be really fascinating. I have one stats course that focuses on basic analyses of variance (ANOVAs) and the kinds of tests used for hypothesis testing, which I am quite comfortable with. (Also, math is easy.) My course on psychopathology (i.e., the study of psychological disorders) is likely going to be my favorite class. Kevin Wu teaches it - he's a professor here who studies anxiety disorders, primarily OCD. He's pretty young and enthusiastic, and the class is designed to be like a discussion class where we evaluate research journals related to the field. Today we had a really intriguing discussion about what constitutes "abnormal" behavior, how psychological disorders are classified, and basically how our current system of diagnosing disorders is flawed. It was awesome.
My only other "real" class only meets once each week, on Thursdays from 5 - 7:40 pm. I am not really sure how I feel about this class, partially because I don't like the idea of only meeting once each week for that long - it never worked for me at Hope. However, the topic is something I find at least somewhat interesting: theory and assessment of intelligence. The main goal of the course is to educate us in how and why intellectual assessment is conducted in the clinic, and to give us experience in administering and scoring IQ tests ourselves. I'm required to run IQ tests on three people this semester, only one of which can be an adult (thankully my advisor has children), and then present reports to the class about their performance. We're meeting for the first time tonight, so I haven't met the professor in person yet. If she is as enthusiastic and entertaining as my other two professors, I might really like it. If she isn't...myeh, I'll survive.
I found a flier today in the psychology building about the NIU fencing club, and I'm really excited about it. There's a meeting tomorrow night that I'm thinking about attending, just to see what it's about and to learn more about the group. Supposedly, they offer free beginner and advanced lessons, there are about forty members, and they are funded by the school - which means they provide all of the necessary equipment for free. I would love to keep up with this, and maybe pick up some weightlifting or other exercise as a means of working out. In similar news (in the sense that it's related to continuing my hobbies here in DeKalb), David and I went to the local gaming store and posted an ad that we're looking for a D&D playing group. Hopefully someone will get back to us in the next few weeks, and we can start doing that weekly! YAY!
I've visited two different churches in the area, and I found a website for a third that I'm thinking about visiting this weekend. I'm trying to get a feel for them to see whether I would be comfortable going there. The first one I attended is where my research advisor goes, and I think its style is closest to a traditional Lutheran church (although I'm not sure of the actual denomination). The second church was a non-denominational church, and although it was still not as contemporary as the Gathering at Hope (or Watermark for that matter), it had decidedly less liturgy and other stuff than the first. Supposedly they both have choirs, which means I could sing at either. However, I know for a fact that the first church has paid choir positions, which has me facing a dilemma: should I go to the first church because I'd get paid to sing, or sing at the second? Or should I go to the third (which sounds very much like a contemporary Watermark-style church) even if I can't sing in a choir, just because it's what I'm more comfortable with? I wish the prospect of money didn't influence my thoughts so strongly, but the chance to pick up another source of income (albeit small) for doing something I love to do really sounds tempting. I think I'm going to visit the third church on Sunday before I make any decisions, either way.
So, basically, grad school is awesome. I love my apartment. I love the town. David and I are having a great time. I'm not too stressed (yet). And the people in my program are awesome! What more could I ask for?
My schedule has taken a little bit of getting used to. I have my own grad classes on T/Th, but all of my teaching duties (my two classes of Intro to Psych at 12 and 2, and my teaching practicum course at 3:30) are all on M/W/F. So every day I alternate roles between being a student and being a teacher. It's kind of refreshing, actually. Grad classes would seem intimidating if I allowed myself to think about them in that way, but because being a student is a role I'm vastly more experienced with than being a teacher, it makes them seem easy in comparison. Funny how perception works like that.
I taught my first classes on Monday. I was more nervous for my 12 pm class than I had anticipated, so I talked quickly and finished ten minutes earlier than I had planned. However, we were only covering the syllabus and class expectations and policies anyway, so it's hardly a big deal. My 2 pm class went much better, as I felt more confident going in there.
There are a couple of logistics I've never had to think about before, because I've never seen them from the side of a teacher. For example, freshman on their first day of classes - and the large majority of my students are freshman - show up to class very early. I got to my 12 pm class almost 20 minutes early, and almost all of the students in my class were there within a few minutes. Yikes. They also didn't laugh at any of my offhand comments or jokes (can't blame them I guess), and no one raised their hands or asked any questions. The 2 pm class did chuckle at a few of my "gems" and they actually did ask questions, but I'm wondering if it's just because I was more comfortable with them. Maybe I just need to chill out more. I'm thinking about wearing something even less formal to class tomorrow, to help me relax - like my cargo pants instead of my khaki dress pants. We'll see.
I didn't actually have to teach on Wednesday, because the psychology department was administering some kind of survey that they have all of the Psy 102 students take. It includes basic demographic info and questions related to studies that grad students might be running, so the research assistants are responsible for running the testing, not me. I'll be back at it tomorrow to cover the intro chapter on history and basic psychological theories...at which point I get to show them how good I am at bullshitting about philosophy and history (ugh). Chapter 2, on research methods and such, will be much better.
As for my own classes, I think they're going to be really fascinating. I have one stats course that focuses on basic analyses of variance (ANOVAs) and the kinds of tests used for hypothesis testing, which I am quite comfortable with. (Also, math is easy.) My course on psychopathology (i.e., the study of psychological disorders) is likely going to be my favorite class. Kevin Wu teaches it - he's a professor here who studies anxiety disorders, primarily OCD. He's pretty young and enthusiastic, and the class is designed to be like a discussion class where we evaluate research journals related to the field. Today we had a really intriguing discussion about what constitutes "abnormal" behavior, how psychological disorders are classified, and basically how our current system of diagnosing disorders is flawed. It was awesome.
My only other "real" class only meets once each week, on Thursdays from 5 - 7:40 pm. I am not really sure how I feel about this class, partially because I don't like the idea of only meeting once each week for that long - it never worked for me at Hope. However, the topic is something I find at least somewhat interesting: theory and assessment of intelligence. The main goal of the course is to educate us in how and why intellectual assessment is conducted in the clinic, and to give us experience in administering and scoring IQ tests ourselves. I'm required to run IQ tests on three people this semester, only one of which can be an adult (thankully my advisor has children), and then present reports to the class about their performance. We're meeting for the first time tonight, so I haven't met the professor in person yet. If she is as enthusiastic and entertaining as my other two professors, I might really like it. If she isn't...myeh, I'll survive.
I found a flier today in the psychology building about the NIU fencing club, and I'm really excited about it. There's a meeting tomorrow night that I'm thinking about attending, just to see what it's about and to learn more about the group. Supposedly, they offer free beginner and advanced lessons, there are about forty members, and they are funded by the school - which means they provide all of the necessary equipment for free. I would love to keep up with this, and maybe pick up some weightlifting or other exercise as a means of working out. In similar news (in the sense that it's related to continuing my hobbies here in DeKalb), David and I went to the local gaming store and posted an ad that we're looking for a D&D playing group. Hopefully someone will get back to us in the next few weeks, and we can start doing that weekly! YAY!
I've visited two different churches in the area, and I found a website for a third that I'm thinking about visiting this weekend. I'm trying to get a feel for them to see whether I would be comfortable going there. The first one I attended is where my research advisor goes, and I think its style is closest to a traditional Lutheran church (although I'm not sure of the actual denomination). The second church was a non-denominational church, and although it was still not as contemporary as the Gathering at Hope (or Watermark for that matter), it had decidedly less liturgy and other stuff than the first. Supposedly they both have choirs, which means I could sing at either. However, I know for a fact that the first church has paid choir positions, which has me facing a dilemma: should I go to the first church because I'd get paid to sing, or sing at the second? Or should I go to the third (which sounds very much like a contemporary Watermark-style church) even if I can't sing in a choir, just because it's what I'm more comfortable with? I wish the prospect of money didn't influence my thoughts so strongly, but the chance to pick up another source of income (albeit small) for doing something I love to do really sounds tempting. I think I'm going to visit the third church on Sunday before I make any decisions, either way.
So, basically, grad school is awesome. I love my apartment. I love the town. David and I are having a great time. I'm not too stressed (yet). And the people in my program are awesome! What more could I ask for?
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