next month, there is a class officer meeting with some deans. i believe they are showing real interest in our class by allowing us to bring the agenda to that meeting.
what would you like to say?
22 comments:
Anonymous
said...
no ap students next year! keep our class the same size it is now !
Weekly quizzes should be for all subjects, they should not be split up like Biochem and anatomy was this semester. They want us to keep up with our studying? They really shouldn't put a 10% quiz with a .5% quiz together. We will only neglect one class and end up with double the study material.
Not regarding our class, but for the future, less emphasis should be placed on exit quizzes. They are too easy/lucky/hard at the same time. It also makes us turn our attention from what is most important: seeing anatomy in labs. Instead we sit at our own tables and try to cram every single old quiz and pre lab question into our heads. This is not effective learning.
I'd like some though on the second point. If there are other classes that are like anatomy, maybe those classes should take into consideration what I have mentioned.
I totally agree with the uneven portions of weekly quizes. I am one of many who neglected anatomy 0.5% quiz for 10% biochem quiz, which I still think is common sense at tight schedule. Now THAT is NOT effective learning at all. I also would not like to see that kind of awkward situation in our D2 year.
I also wanted to show my concern about GDS midterm today. Dr. Bucklan said officially in front of the whole class that where will be 3 very basic questions from molars. Well there were lot more than that today. It would have been better if he just told us that molars will be on the test, in general. Why announce specific number of problems from certain portion if he will not be consistent with it....
I just wanted to thank whoever was responsible for scheduling a CPR class the day before the biggest exam of my life. Frankly, I'm extremely pissed off about it. For next year's D1's this should be fixed. Other than that, our school has scheduling issues out the ass, get more organized, I'm sick of this.
and using the excuse that they are not able to find a room is ridiculous!
make the class size smaller, get more than 2 auditoriums, spread us out over different seminar rooms... SOMETHING!
who hates waking up at 9am for that damned patient relations class and then WAITING AROUND all day for our next class (which is usually epi... yea no wonder no one attends!)
a few words about combined midterms and student government....this might be the most ridiculous thing i have ever encountered. Why would it benefit us in any way to take the two hardest midterms on the same day, at the same time, and at 8am on a monday? This offers no academic benefit to us whatsoever, and is a hindrance to our learning experience. This leaves students no choice but to cram for four days straight instead of really understanding and reinforcing the material. If the goal of the administration is to design a curriculum that would be retained longer than a weekend, then why have they not realized the problem this method creates. This lame idea is also coupled with the horrible scheduling of outside events, such as CPR before midterms, to effectively make the past 3 weeks insanely horrible. The student council needs to become more proactive and start to fight for our class so we can potentially avoid these situations in the future. You are in the position to become positive agents of change for the betterment of the class, even if that means taking on the unpopular job of challenging authority. Furthermore, we need a method of assembly consisting of more than a blog and a 12 minute meeting. I'm astonished to see that there is no formal method whereby the student voice can make recommendations and changes (senate/ legislation). In any case, we should address combined midterms and scheduling issues because if you think two in one day is bad, wait until next semester because they think its a brilliant idea to raise the bar to three.
I think the point of this blog is to offer REALISTIC suggestions that could be presented to the administration by our class council. I mean, seriously, do you think that our class council can singlehandedly convince the administration to build extra lecture rooms? Instead of focusing on how unfair you feel the curriculum is, why not adjust your studying habits to perform better? You ARE in dental school studying to be a PROFESSIONAL, mind you. I hardly expect the administration to baby us through the next four years.
As for limiting class sizes, really?! I mean, they TOLD us it was the LARGEST class size in the United States. You could have gone elsewhere. YET, you still chose to go to NYU...I wonder why? Could this possibly be because this was the only school you got into? So WHY would you limit the number of seats at the ONLY school you got into? You probably wouldn't even be in school right now.
This is the same regarding the combined exam schedule as well as the large incoming class of AP students during our D2 year. They TOLD us it was going to be like this during the interview, yet you chose to go to NYUCD. Come on...let's be a little more responsible for our decisions.
Now a logical suggestion is changing the imbalance of quiz scores. This is something I would like our council to look into. However, I won't hold my breath expecting changes. Most teachers are set in their ways and it is OUR responsibility to adapt.
The intention of this post was not to patronize you, but rather give you guys a reality check. WE ARE IN DENTAL SCHOOL! We are studying to be professionals! Suck it up and stop whining. I do NOT want to be known as the class of whiners. It's time we started carrying ourselves in a manner worthy of that title.
the reason for the comprehensive exams is to prepare us for the boards which last time I checked was comprehensive.CPR yes horrible timing. But saying these types of midterms aren't helpful isn't necessarily true. If you kept up with the information so far this semester the work load isn't to bad. I would say work on your time management skills rather than bitching about it via the blog.
ok so the above poster sounds like either a member of student council, administration, or a gunner who enjoys hearing that other students are frustrated. Who would oppose the idea of separating the exams!? Let me clarify something, it's not whining if there is a legitimate concern. If you think things cant change then you are mistaken. Talk to upperclassmen and you will see that the curriculum changes nearly every year. Also, please tell me how taking a combined midterm now will prepare me for boards that are more than a year away? In the D2 year there are no combined midterms making taking them in the D1 year even more pointless due to the lack of continuity. Separating the exams by even just a day or two is not an outrageous request.
i have to agree with the notion that combined midterms is not preparing us for the boards. the goal of right now is to actually learn the material and learn it well! cramming for two exams in one is in no way helping me remember anything for the long term. furthermore, the administration doesn't even know if this will work! we're guinea pigs! well actually the d2s now are the guinea pigs, so if they fail their boards this summer... we're next! besides, the boards are pass/fail now, so who even cares! i want to do well NOW, when it counts as a real grade! if theyre really insistent on having the exams combined, make the final combined... biochem counts for so little anyway.
agreed to the lack of continuity issue! why didn't they just through dental anatomy in there too instead of separating it by a few days. dental anatomy will also be covered on the boards so that would follow the same train of thought. if theyre going to give us combined exams, they should give us time off from classes to study (they do this for finals anyway!)
I agree with the opinion that combined midterms are counter productive for our education. All of us took the same pre-requisites to get into dental school, and I would be willing to bet that most of us had to go back and relearn/refresh on organic chemistry, general chemistry, and biology. With that being said, does anyone honestly feel that if you would have taken your organic midterm at the same time as a biology midterm that you would have been "more prepared for the DAT"? I am of the opinion, and I feel that many of our fellow classmates share this opinion, that it is beneficial to learn material thoroughly the first time and then refresh it for the boards, rather than cramming before the midterm and having to relearn it for the boards. We as a class need to decide where we stand on this issue of combined midterms, and then present a well thought out and reasonable proposal to the administration as to how we feel would be the best method for us to learn this material. Obviously we're not going to ask them to spread midterms out over a lengthy time frame, but asking for 2 days between biochem and anatomy is, in my opinion, a reasonable and attainable goal.
Combined midterms should not be allowed. At the university I attended for undergrad, there were specific university policies regarding the scheduling of exams totaling more than a certain grade percentage within a 24 hr period.
There maybe something similar at NYU. One should look into this (when theres time...)
Scheduling is done prior to the start of the academic year..which in this case means before any of you even got to NYUCD. Rooms are a precious commodity at the school, and this is why exams and quizzes are rarely changed. Think about it for a second. You're competing with three other years of classes as well as PG programs and Hygiene. This is NOT because the council is inept or because anyone is making up excuses and is being lazy. Again, scheduling is done way before classes begin and so rooms are booked months in advance. Most professors are ready and willing to work with the classes to carry out a change, but its the room availability that halts the process.
I understand that the pile-up of tests is frustrating especially because of the lack of continuity through the second year, but its highly unlikely that these complaints are going to change that...hopefully the administration makes the change themselves, but until then all that can really be done is for the council to present the opinions of the class to the deans, etc.
And believe me, every percent that you can knock off the cumulative combined exams in the form of quizzes or whatever theyre giving you is for the best. It just gets worse.
haha whatever. he basically admitted that they're screwing us over (with the whole "welcome to dental school!" thing) and that they're only interested in making nyucd look good (by stating that it would "tarnish [nyucd's] reputation and lose tution dollars" if they fail kids.
besides, would it have hurt to address the class in person? how non-confrontational and wussy is it to write up some mass e-mail to the class while we're depressed about midterm grades.
don't baby us, but don't pretend to have an actual relationship with the students by sending us a feel-good "we believe in you" boost via e-mail.
I have a question - where are our curriculum reps? How are we supposed to get in touch with them? Has anyone heard or seen from them since the midterms have ended to see if we can make changes to any of the exams.....people have verbalized about the number of questions on molars in the GDS exam, issues with problems on the Biochem exam, etc. How are these concerns with the exams being cultivated and expressed to the powers that be? It is their job and responsibility to take our concerns to them isn't it? The longer they sit on the sidelines the less and less chance any changes will be made because it will be too late.
Dare I ask if they just don't care because these concerns raised aren't in line with issues they had with those exams (if any)?
"Do you feel that there is not enough time in the day to do everything the program asks of you? Do you feel that you are losing your grip on the normal life you once lived? If you answered "yes' then allow me to welcome you to dental school:)" - Dr. Palatta
For those who are complaining... grow up and accept the fact that life doesn't revolve around you. Stop whining and put more effort into studying. And if you're trying to challenge or fight for a question, you just didn't study well enough or you would've gotten them correct. And that doesn't go to mention that you were obviously not there during lecture when the professors clearly stated "NO CHALLENGES."
people need to stop the complaining. Our class averages are the highest from any other class even with the combined midterms!! so if you're having a problem with it maybe it's your fault and not the programs. the midterms aren't meant to be a crammed session it's meant to be a review and there are people who are doing very very well and getting all the questions right so how can you explain that? is it just pure luck because they're obviously getting the same questions as everyone else. and since the boards are pass and fail this is a really good distinction for us and the school for those that want to specialize. don't forget dental school is not undergrad and it is suppose to be challenging.
goodness. it seems as though this blog has become a venue for all of us to be anonymously mean to one another. I am starting to not want to check in with it because it has become so negative. It seems we should all be able to express our opinions and concerns(for either sides of these issues)so that student council can hear them all in order to accurately represent our class. It would probably be most productive to do this in a respectful manner, and without the fear of being personally attacked.
Well this is all anonymous posting so I think people should feel free to vent their feelings no matter how negative or positive they are. So we shouldn't take anything personal, mommy suzanne.
Just because people complain doesn't mean they are inept at the challenges of dental school. Right now my only main concern is that I'm completely against blackboard as it has failed multiple times for students and should not be used for test taking at all.
22 comments:
no ap students next year! keep our class the same size it is now !
Weekly quizzes should be for all subjects, they should not be split up like Biochem and anatomy was this semester. They want us to keep up with our studying? They really shouldn't put a 10% quiz with a .5% quiz together. We will only neglect one class and end up with double the study material.
Not regarding our class, but for the future, less emphasis should be placed on exit quizzes. They are too easy/lucky/hard at the same time. It also makes us turn our attention from what is most important: seeing anatomy in labs. Instead we sit at our own tables and try to cram every single old quiz and pre lab question into our heads. This is not effective learning.
I'd like some though on the second point. If there are other classes that are like anatomy, maybe those classes should take into consideration what I have mentioned.
Anyone else have an input?
I totally agree with the uneven portions of weekly quizes. I am one of many who neglected anatomy 0.5% quiz for 10% biochem quiz, which I still think is common sense at tight schedule. Now THAT is NOT effective learning at all. I also would not like to see that kind of awkward situation in our D2 year.
I also wanted to show my concern about GDS midterm today. Dr. Bucklan said officially in front of the whole class that where will be 3 very basic questions from molars. Well there were lot more than that today. It would have been better if he just told us that molars will be on the test, in general. Why announce specific number of problems from certain portion if he will not be consistent with it....
I just wanted to thank whoever was responsible for scheduling a CPR class the day before the biggest exam of my life. Frankly, I'm extremely pissed off about it. For next year's D1's this should be fixed. Other than that, our school has scheduling issues out the ass, get more organized, I'm sick of this.
hahahaha yes!
and using the excuse that they are not able to find a room is ridiculous!
make the class size smaller, get more than 2 auditoriums, spread us out over different seminar rooms... SOMETHING!
who hates waking up at 9am for that damned patient relations class and then WAITING AROUND all day for our next class (which is usually epi... yea no wonder no one attends!)
a few words about combined midterms and student government....this might be the most ridiculous thing i have ever encountered. Why would it benefit us in any way to take the two hardest midterms on the same day, at the same time, and at 8am on a monday? This offers no academic benefit to us whatsoever, and is a hindrance to our learning experience. This leaves students no choice but to cram for four days straight instead of really understanding and reinforcing the material. If the goal of the administration is to design a curriculum that would be retained longer than a weekend, then why have they not realized the problem this method creates. This lame idea is also coupled with the horrible scheduling of outside events, such as CPR before midterms, to effectively make the past 3 weeks insanely horrible. The student council needs to become more proactive and start to fight for our class so we can potentially avoid these situations in the future. You are in the position to become positive agents of change for the betterment of the class, even if that means taking on the unpopular job of challenging authority. Furthermore, we need a method of assembly consisting of more than a blog and a 12 minute meeting. I'm astonished to see that there is no formal method whereby the student voice can make recommendations and changes (senate/ legislation).
In any case, we should address combined midterms and scheduling issues because if you think two in one day is bad, wait until next semester because they think its a brilliant idea to raise the bar to three.
To the above posters...
I think the point of this blog is to offer REALISTIC suggestions that could be presented to the administration by our class council. I mean, seriously, do you think that our class council can singlehandedly convince the administration to build extra lecture rooms? Instead of focusing on how unfair you feel the curriculum is, why not adjust your studying habits to perform better? You ARE in dental school studying to be a PROFESSIONAL, mind you. I hardly expect the administration to baby us through the next four years.
As for limiting class sizes, really?! I mean, they TOLD us it was the LARGEST class size in the United States. You could have gone elsewhere. YET, you still chose to go to NYU...I wonder why? Could this possibly be because this was the only school you got into? So WHY would you limit the number of seats at the ONLY school you got into? You probably wouldn't even be in school right now.
This is the same regarding the combined exam schedule as well as the large incoming class of AP students during our D2 year. They TOLD us it was going to be like this during the interview, yet you chose to go to NYUCD. Come on...let's be a little more responsible for our decisions.
Now a logical suggestion is changing the imbalance of quiz scores. This is something I would like our council to look into. However, I won't hold my breath expecting changes. Most teachers are set in their ways and it is OUR responsibility to adapt.
The intention of this post was not to patronize you, but rather give you guys a reality check. WE ARE IN DENTAL SCHOOL! We are studying to be professionals! Suck it up and stop whining. I do NOT want to be known as the class of whiners. It's time we started carrying ourselves in a manner worthy of that title.
"It's time we started carrying ourselves in a manner worthy of that title."
By title, I meant professionals. In my haste to write this pots, I placed sentences in the wrong area.
And they let me into dental school...
how do you guys have time to post? go study. how do i have time to post? wtf.
the reason for the comprehensive exams is to prepare us for the boards which last time I checked was comprehensive.CPR yes horrible timing. But saying these types of midterms aren't helpful isn't necessarily true. If you kept up with the information so far this semester the work load isn't to bad. I would say work on your time management skills rather than bitching about it via the blog.
ok so the above poster sounds like either a member of student council, administration, or a gunner who enjoys hearing that other students are frustrated. Who would oppose the idea of separating the exams!?
Let me clarify something, it's not whining if there is a legitimate concern. If you think things cant change then you are mistaken. Talk to upperclassmen and you will see that the curriculum changes nearly every year. Also, please tell me how taking a combined midterm now will prepare me for boards that are more than a year away? In the D2 year there are no combined midterms making taking them in the D1 year even more pointless due to the lack of continuity. Separating the exams by even just a day or two is not an outrageous request.
i have to agree with the notion that combined midterms is not preparing us for the boards. the goal of right now is to actually learn the material and learn it well! cramming for two exams in one is in no way helping me remember anything for the long term. furthermore, the administration doesn't even know if this will work! we're guinea pigs! well actually the d2s now are the guinea pigs, so if they fail their boards this summer... we're next! besides, the boards are pass/fail now, so who even cares! i want to do well NOW, when it counts as a real grade! if theyre really insistent on having the exams combined, make the final combined... biochem counts for so little anyway.
agreed to the lack of continuity issue! why didn't they just through dental anatomy in there too instead of separating it by a few days. dental anatomy will also be covered on the boards so that would follow the same train of thought. if theyre going to give us combined exams, they should give us time off from classes to study (they do this for finals anyway!)
I agree with the opinion that combined midterms are counter productive for our education. All of us took the same pre-requisites to get into dental school, and I would be willing to bet that most of us had to go back and relearn/refresh on organic chemistry, general chemistry, and biology. With that being said, does anyone honestly feel that if you would have taken your organic midterm at the same time as a biology midterm that you would have been "more prepared for the DAT"? I am of the opinion, and I feel that many of our fellow classmates share this opinion, that it is beneficial to learn material thoroughly the first time and then refresh it for the boards, rather than cramming before the midterm and having to relearn it for the boards. We as a class need to decide where we stand on this issue of combined midterms, and then present a well thought out and reasonable proposal to the administration as to how we feel would be the best method for us to learn this material. Obviously we're not going to ask them to spread midterms out over a lengthy time frame, but asking for 2 days between biochem and anatomy is, in my opinion, a reasonable and attainable goal.
Combined midterms should not be allowed. At the university I attended for undergrad, there were specific university policies regarding the scheduling of exams totaling more than a certain grade percentage within a 24 hr period.
There maybe something similar at NYU. One should look into this (when theres time...)
Scheduling is done prior to the start of the academic year..which in this case means before any of you even got to NYUCD. Rooms are a precious commodity at the school, and this is why exams and quizzes are rarely changed. Think about it for a second. You're competing with three other years of classes as well as PG programs and Hygiene. This is NOT because the council is inept or because anyone is making up excuses and is being lazy. Again, scheduling is done way before classes begin and so rooms are booked months in advance. Most professors are ready and willing to work with the classes to carry out a change, but its the room availability that halts the process.
I understand that the pile-up of tests is frustrating especially because of the lack of continuity through the second year, but its highly unlikely that these complaints are going to change that...hopefully the administration makes the change themselves, but until then all that can really be done is for the council to present the opinions of the class to the deans, etc.
And believe me, every percent that you can knock off the cumulative combined exams in the form of quizzes or whatever theyre giving you is for the best. It just gets worse.
Wow guys, did you see Dr. Palatta's email? We're officially the class of whiners. Thanks.
haha whatever. he basically admitted that they're screwing us over (with the whole "welcome to dental school!" thing) and that they're only interested in making nyucd look good (by stating that it would "tarnish [nyucd's] reputation and lose tution dollars" if they fail kids.
besides, would it have hurt to address the class in person? how non-confrontational and wussy is it to write up some mass e-mail to the class while we're depressed about midterm grades.
don't baby us, but don't pretend to have an actual relationship with the students by sending us a feel-good "we believe in you" boost via e-mail.
I have a question - where are our curriculum reps? How are we supposed to get in touch with them? Has anyone heard or seen from them since the midterms have ended to see if we can make changes to any of the exams.....people have verbalized about the number of questions on molars in the GDS exam, issues with problems on the Biochem exam, etc. How are these concerns with the exams being cultivated and expressed to the powers that be? It is their job and responsibility to take our concerns to them isn't it? The longer they sit on the sidelines the less and less chance any changes will be made because it will be too late.
Dare I ask if they just don't care because these concerns raised aren't in line with issues they had with those exams (if any)?
"Do you feel that there is not enough time in the day to do everything the program asks of you? Do you feel that you are losing your grip on the normal life you once lived? If you answered "yes' then allow me to welcome you to dental school:)" - Dr. Palatta
For those who are complaining... grow up and accept the fact that life doesn't revolve around you. Stop whining and put more effort into studying. And if you're trying to challenge or fight for a question, you just didn't study well enough or you would've gotten them correct. And that doesn't go to mention that you were obviously not there during lecture when the professors clearly stated "NO CHALLENGES."
Go to class. Study. Stop whining.
"...welcome to dental school."
people need to stop the complaining. Our class averages are the highest from any other class even with the combined midterms!! so if you're having a problem with it maybe it's your fault and not the programs. the midterms aren't meant to be a crammed session it's meant to be a review and there are people who are doing very very well and getting all the questions right so how can you explain that? is it just pure luck because they're obviously getting the same questions as everyone else. and since the boards are pass and fail this is a really good distinction for us and the school for those that want to specialize. don't forget dental school is not undergrad and it is suppose to be challenging.
goodness. it seems as though this blog has become a venue for all of us to be anonymously mean to one another. I am starting to not want to check in with it because it has become so negative. It seems we should all be able to express our opinions and concerns(for either sides of these issues)so that student council can hear them all in order to accurately represent our class. It would probably be most productive to do this in a respectful manner, and without the fear of being personally attacked.
Well this is all anonymous posting so I think people should feel free to vent their feelings no matter how negative or positive they are. So we shouldn't take anything personal, mommy suzanne.
Just because people complain doesn't mean they are inept at the challenges of dental school. Right now my only main concern is that I'm completely against blackboard as it has failed multiple times for students and should not be used for test taking at all.
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