The Placement

Mario A. Vargas

Personal Profile

Hello! My name is Mario Vargas, and I’m an undergraduate student at the University of Toronto Scarborough. I’m enrolled in the Biological Chemistry Specialist program and I’m just finishing my fourth year of studies (will be back for an extra year). As the university years have gone by, I decided that I wanted to eventually enter medical school, so I made sure that I began to “expand my profile”, such as by working in research at Toronto General Hospital, participating in volunteering activities, and continuing to strive for excellence in my courses. However, I knew that I still had to do more. And so, I remembered that some of my friends have taken a course called “Science Engagement” (now known as “SCIB03H3 – Introduction to Service Learning in the Sciences”). They told me about how they were able to apply their knowledge gained in lecture to practical applications, such as by assisting teaching assistants in neuroscience laboratories. This has definitely interested me, because I wanted to be able to gain more practical experience outside of the usual learning environment.

University of Toronto Scarborough

After some investigation, I discovered the Lab Skills Seminar (LSS) Mentors placement for CHMB42H3 – Organic Chemistry II. I have attended some lab skills seminars while I was taking the organic chemistry courses, but I had no idea they were run by service learning students (I thought they were hired teaching assistants). I immediately considered it as something I could potentially do. I have already successfully completed CHMB41, B42, and a third year organic chemistry course, CHMC41. I also planned to take Bio-Organic Chemistry (CHMC47) the fall session before the placement. Furthermore, I had a lot of other lab experience (techniques and safety) from other lab courses and from training that I received at the hospital. With all this, along with my personal qualities such as my attention to detail, hardworking nature, and creativity, I felt I could effectively fill in one of these available positions. With this placement, I hoped to gain a deeper understanding of the basic organic chemistry concepts (such as that which I may have had trouble with previously) and develop my laboratory techniques, which would certainly help me in my current and future studies. Also I hoped to develop skills in teamwork, leadership, presentation, organization, time management, and teaching. I talked to my friends Donald Yang and Natalia Laciste about the placement, who have had similar experience in the organic chemistry courses, and they thought it was a good idea. Soon, after requesting SCIB03 on ROSI, I found myself filling out the required application form.

Placement Application Form

Click here to open this pdf file.

Here is a link to my actual placement application form. In order to be accepted into the placement I was interested in, I needed to fill out this form that would be reviewed in order to determine if I would be one of the most qualified to fill in the position (out of all the applicants). The form requires me to outline all of my relevant experience, such as previously completed courses, other training, and my unique personal qualities. Also, there is a section that allowed me to outline the outcomes that I wanted to gain through this experience.

Placement Profile

In the grand scheme of things, our position in this placement falls under several levels of organization. The in-reach placement itself, the course CHMB42H3 (Organic Chemistry II), is part of the chemistry program at the University of Toronto Scarborough. The chemistry program itself is part of the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences. The overall hierarchy can be outlined as follows:

A hierarchical representation of our mentor position in the CHMB42 placement.

Placement Supervisors

 In this placement, we had two supervisors:

"Wanda"

Prof. Wanda Restivo

B.Sc (Toronto), Senior Lecturer

In this session, Wanda taught lectures for the first half of CHMB42, but was the lab coordinator for the entire course. As LSS Mentors, we had to consult with her regularly to make sure we were on the right track. Previously, I had her as a professor back when I took CHMB42. Now, she was also the lab coordinator for CHMC31Y, which was a course I was taking at the same time, so I would see Wanda on a regular basis. I found her very knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly, and I was able to learn so much from her. She was also very understanding, and I was glad to have her as a supervisor in this placement.

"Lana"

Dr. Svetlana (Lana) Mikhaylichenko

M.Sc., Ph.D. (Krasnodar, Russia), Lecturer

Lana taught the lectures in CHMB42 for the second half of the course, just as she did back when I took the course. She was also my lab coordinator last year when I took CHMC41, and both lecturer and lab coordinator for CHMC47 last session. Currently, besides CHMB42, she was the lab coordinator for CHMC42 and one of the program supervisors for CHMD90/91 (directed chemistry research). We would also meet with Lana regularly, especially when Wanda was not available. Through the years, we’ve been able to know each other well, and I find her very caring to students, an excellent teacher, and overall an amazing person. She has also taught me so much throughout the years.

CHMB42H3 is the continuation of CHMB41H3, and together they comprise of 1.0 full credit in introductory organic chemistry. These second year courses are requirements for several different programs, including most of the chemistry programs (Chemistry & Biological Chemistry Specialist, Biochemistry Major), some of the biology programs (Cell and Molecular Biology & Human Biology Specialist), Neuroscience Specialist, and Environmental Chemistry Specialist. The objectives of this course include the development of basic organic chemistry concepts that build upon the foundations learnt in CHMB41, and the use of this knowledge in specific applications such as spectroscopy and laboratory techniques.

CHMB42H3 S Syllabus

Click here to open this pdf file.

According to the syllabus, specifically, “CHMB42 provides an introduction to compound determination using various spectroscopic methods. As well you will learn about aromatic substitution, carbonyl chemistry and biologically important compounds such as carbohydrates, and heterocycles. You will have a four hour lab every other week alternating with a one hour tutorial.” The syllabus also goes into all the other details of the course, such as instructor contact information & office hours, course components & organization, evaluations, policies, and resources available to students. In particular, the mark breakdown for students taking the course is as follows:

Evaluation breakdown for CHMB42H3 S, Organic Chemistry II, Winter 2012

Note that the lab component of the course is worth 25%. This involves 5 specific labs and a final lab test. In order to pass the course, students are required to pass the lab component. Thus, included in the resources available to students are the Lab Skills Seminars. These were organized by us, the mentors, as outlined in our contract.

Student-Placement Contract

Click here to open this pdf file.

Here is a link to the contract that I filled out and agreed upon with Lana. This was required to be completed with our supervisors before we begin our placement. It outlines my position, requirements, placement responsibilities, learning objectives, and agreement to specific policies. At the beginning of the session, Lana and I went through it and then signed it.

For more details on my placement and the ongoing activities, click here to go to the LSS Activities page!

Community Profile

CHMB42 Students Attending a Lab Skills Seminar

As shown by the hierarchy above, “under” the teaching assistants, and us mentors, are the CHMB42 students. This actually means, in a sense, that they are the community that we are providing a service to through our placement. Many of the students are enrolled in the course to fulfill requirements for one of the many possible programs listed above. All of them would have previous experience from the first year chemistry courses, CHMA10/A11, and the first part of organic chemistry, CHMB41, which are the prerequisites. Also, like the overall community of students at our campus, they represent a variety of cultures and social backgrounds. However, the vast majority of them are likely science students (in the programs mentioned earlier) in second year, around 19-20 years old. Like them, I am also a science student, but I have already successfully completed the course, and other more advanced courses, since I am older and in fourth year. Like many of the resources available to the students, the LSS’s are completely optional, but as explained earlier, the lab component of the course is worth 25% and must be passed. Thus, many of the students take advantage of the seminars we provide. A few years back, the need for this placement was likely brought about when it was realized that CHMB42 students require additional assistance in preparing for the labs. The professors and teaching assistants were already very occupied with the large body of students in the course, so the need for other individuals with qualified organic chemistry knowledge and lab experience to assist the students on a regular basis came about. Also, this assistance had to be scheduled outside of regular lecture and lab times, so the Lab Skills Seminars were eventually created. This need for additional assistance provided to students does not only exist in CHMB42. The LSS’s are also run for CHMB41, but outside of lab assistance, facilitated study groups (FSG’s) exist in several different courses to provide extra help to students on course material in general. CHMB42 students are fortunate to have not only LSS’s and FSG’s, but also extra discussion sessions, the “Chem Aid Centre”, and an online Discussion Board. This likely resulted since there are such a large number of students (not all students can take advantage of every resource; depends on their availability or preference), and since organic chemistry concepts can sometimes be difficult to comprehend or requires more practice to fully understand. After years of organic chemistry practice with a solid foundation that began in high school, I have been able to become very familiar with many of the concepts, so I felt qualified to become one of the mentors, and I was glad I could apply my knowledge to help the community of CHMB42 students.