Study Tips from Christine

Hello WEPO Girls!

My name is Christine Gunther, and I am a senior in Mechanical Engineering.  I started my college career off at a Commonwealth Campus outside of Philadelphia called Penn State Brandywine.  This summer, I am working for NAVSEA in Philadelphia, and it’s been awesome! I work in the Steam and Auxiliary Department, specifically with their air compressors. 

I want to focus this entry on study tools for freshman and sophomore classes.  Although there are many resources on campus with study groups and seeking out help with your professor, there are many online resources that can become handy when you’re studying late at night and someone isn’t available to assist you. Some of you may already know about these resources, but for those that don’t, I would watch them if you need some extra help visualizing material and getting a better grasp on concepts.  The following online resources are listed below, so check them out when you need them! They really helped me out with Math 141 and Math 251. 

A. Khan Academy

http://www.khanacademy.org/#browse

*Note that close to the top of the page you can jump to topics such as Math, Science, Finance and Economics, Humanities, Test Prep, and Talks and Interviews. 

Also note that these videos are free!

If you don’t want to scroll through the long page of all the videos, you can also search at the very top any topic. 

B. Patrick JMT

http://patrickjmt.com/

This resource is very similar to Khan Academy, but I found them both to be helpful.  The topics that have videos available are listed at the top.  These videos are free too!

NOTE: Watching these videos are not to be a replacement for going to class or seeking help from a professor or tutor.  But, I used them so I that I could be confident with the material before entering an exam.  The early mathematics classes that you will take your freshman and sophomore years are very important because you will be expected to use the knowledge in your higher level classes that directly pertain to your major once you are a junior and senior. Sometimes professors can get very technical in mathematics classes and it is easy to get lost, so I would watch these videos as extra practice for understanding the material and preparing for exams if need be.

Hope they help!

P.S. They’re also good as a refresher when you get to be a junior or senior and forget how to solve an equation that you were taught in your freshman year, so keep these in mind throughout your whole college career. 

Christine is a senior in Mechanical Engineering. She started at the Brandywine campus. This summer is working for NAVSEA. Christine is a mentor for WEPO 2012.