Oh boy. This is a new and interesting experience for sure.

The first day had me trying to find a parking pass, like always, since the parking passes never seem to arrive on time. That's okay though, because school gives out temp ones on the first day. I did take my own advice and get to school early - a half hour early - to get the parking pass and find class, which was in the Vocational Services building. It was a large classroom, the largest one I've been in, and even though only half the seats were taken, it was still a large amount of people.

My teacher comes from Cal Poly Pomona, and it can be typical for professors who teach during the Summer to come from different colleges. Last Summer I had Jon Russell (from Cold War Kids, for reals), who isn't a classroom professor during the regular school year. The Math 25 professor's teaching style thus far seems to be different from the teachers I've had before at Chaffey, and she's decided to use an online book and grading system for the class.

The online system for Math 25 that also comes with the ebook.

I brought my laptop with me just for this purpose, but the class is so condensed that trying to follow along with the textbook is can be tricky. Instead, I correspond my notes from Math 425 with the notes I take for this class, since it seems Math 25 just expands on what I learned in Math 425.

First, we need to do an assessment so that the online system can tailor our learning experience to what we need to learn, i.e. what are our strengths and weaknesses are. It took me a while to do this assessment, and I was surprised at how much I had forgotten (mostly the later chapters of Match 425) in the last two weeks. I am glad I am taking this class now, because I don't want to lose all the hard work I did in Spring!

I didn't quite understand the report, but if I am not mistaken, I am a bit shaky on the last few chapters of 425 that will also be a part of 25 and are considered College Algebra (hence the need to take this class). These chapters were condensed into a month in 425 so I am not too worried about the results of this assessment.

The teacher moves rather fast through the material, but it isn't hard to understand. She doesn't sacrifice comprehensive teaching for speed, which is great. There were a few things I was iffy on, but I wrote notes in the margins of my notebooks about where the lesson corresponded to the book so that I could review later during study time. That way I am not floundering to correspond the lecture with homework.

The only real con I can see to this experience is the amount of time I spend sitting. I work full time so I mostly sit for 8 hours, then for four days a week I sit 2 more hours. By the end of the second day, my legs and butt ached! By the end of the fourth, my ankles were swelling like I had been sitting on a 15 hour flight to China in coach (protip: spring for the business class, trust me)! In fact, sitting here typing this, I feel like I need to get up and jog.


This weekend I will be tackling the homework, which I hope doesn't take up all of my weekend. It is a condensed, high credit class, so that may just be wishful thinking. There are due dates and all the homework is submitted online, so I don't have to worry about not getting credit or feedback like my first Math 425 professor.


How was your first week of Summer classes? Where did you excel, and where did you struggle? How do you plan to adapt?