I feel low in lab

[MarioKart]

---

Members do not see this ad.

hey SDN,

I'm currently in a science lab course and I feel as if I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. To preface, I don't have any experience AT ALL with labs and I feel as if I'm the only one in class who never learned this or that. Everything is new to me, and I feel so embaressed when we have to do labs because I have no clue what the equipment even does. I preread the labs yet STILL get lost. We took two tests and I scored below average on both, which shocked me because I have not gotten lower than an A on anything my whole college career!! I feel really depressed, not because of the past two tests, but because I think this is going to get much much worse for me and i feel stuck. Anyone with any advice? I already have an appointment with m professor next week but was wondering if anyone feels like they are in the same boat + what you do about it? How are people so good at science labs???

 

[Goro]

A lot of lab work is techniques, like cooking. If you have a protocol, write it out and follow the check list.

And go talk to your TAs and Professor NOW.

 

[piii]

Are you going to wallow in self-pity or are you going to kick it up a gear and start taking initiative with you work?

 

[Pagan FutureDoc]

A lot of lab work is techniques, like cooking. If you have a protocol, write it out and follow the check list.

And go talk to your TAs and Professor NOW.

This and remember if you don't get as good of grades in one lab course as you do in everything else it's not a huge deal since most lab courses are for 1hr as opposed to 3hrs for a lecture.

But learn lab procedures so you can do well in future labs and know your way arose be labs in general. You will be spending a lot of time in labs.

I feel I said lab too much...

 

[MarioKart]

A lot of lab work is techniques, like cooking. If you have a protocol, write it out and follow the check list.

And go talk to your TAs and Professor NOW.

Thank you, Goro. The check list is actually a really good idea. And yeah, I have an appointment with the professor soon. Better to fix this now while I'm only a few weeks in rather than later in the semester when I'm too deep in

 

[Lannister]

Just a little advice in addition to what everyone else has said: stop worrying about what everyone else is doing. Chances are a lot of the students in the class feel just as lost as you do.

 

[JustAPhD]

Agreed with @Goro and I'll add on to that; when you're writing out the protocol, for every single step think about why you're doing it. What does each step accomplish? How does each step further the experiment? What would happen if this step or that step goes wrong?

 

[ridethecliche]

hey SDN,

I'm currently in a science lab course and I feel as if I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing.

Sounds like how I feel in anatomy lab

 

[NidDAlouette]

I used to look up youtube videos featuring similar experiments or equipment. I found it especially helpful to follow along in my lab manual while watching the video. Hope you figure out what works for you ... good luck!

 

[Oncie]

- Attend TA/Professor office hours
- Read and re-read pre-reading, make a general summary
- Look over the lab methods/techniques
- Search anything up that is confusing.

 

[gublagu3]

OP, I just wanted to add that I was horrible lab student as well. In fact, I found a way to mess up most lab experiments. However, it is important to remember that labs dont account for a huge portion of your grade. So, even though I did horribly in labs, I still did well in all my science classes. Try not to worry about it too much and just give it your best shot. If you are able to improve, great. If not, dont worry about it. Lab isnt the end all be all.

 

[kb1900]

you're probably just unprepared if you have no clue what the equipment does??

 

[JustAPhD]

OP, I just wanted to add that I was horrible lab student as well. In fact, I found a way to mess up most lab experiments. However, it is important to remember that labs dont account for a huge portion of your grade. So, even though I did horribly in labs, I still did well in all my science classes. Try not to worry about it too much and just give it your best shot. If you are able to improve, great. If not, dont worry about it. Lab isnt the end all be all.

Perhaps in lower level science classes, but all my upper levels had lab as a separate credit (ex: Mol Bio lecture 3 credits, Mol Bio lab 1 credit). Although I guess it depends on the institution.

 

[rilte4]

I used to look up youtube videos featuring similar experiments or equipment. I found it especially helpful to follow along in my lab manual while watching the video. Hope you figure out what works for you ... good luck!

I second this - YouTube is your friend. Working with new equipment/technology/terminology can be incredibly overwhelming, especially around classmates who seem to have it all together. Visualizing things beforehand helps immensely. You may even be able to find demonstrations online that are pretty similar to the experiments you'll be doing. For instance, I believe caffeine extraction is a common one in OChem. Good luck!

 

[samac]

Sounds like how I feel in anatomy lab

I laughed so hard.

It is the perfect example of medical school anatomy. "I have no idea what I'm doing. Ok hand me the scalpel."