My Neurochemistry capstone experience with Dr. Mach truly felt like a culmination of my learning and a practical application for that. Concordia’s five goals for liberal learning are a good basis to show how amazing this class has been. Concordia’s five goals for liberal learning are as follows:
- Instill a love for learning
- Develop foundational skills and transferable intellectual capacities
- Develop an understanding of disciplinary, interdisciplinary and intercultural perspectives and their connections
- Cultivate an examined cultural, ethical, physical and spiritual self-understanding
- Encourage responsible participation in the world
Neurochemistry succeeded in instilling a learning for me in the way that it was taught. Our weekly schedule was to read a literature article critically for Monday, learn a portion of it really well to teach on a partner basis on Wednesday, and a general discussion group. We had tests, however, they were tests that applied what we had learned throughout the year and didn’t require too much studying. This class was on of the few classes I’ve had where I’ve felt that I’m learning because I want to, not because the professor is requiring it. Every week we’re learned interesting things about how the brain works and those mechanisms can be see in daily life. I know I’ve really enjoyed a class when I discuss it outside of class independently. I’ve also grown in reading academic literature and can now understand some of the crazy lingo in neurochemistry.
Neurochem has improved my ability to read literature, function in a group oriented reverse classroom (that succeeds in teaching very well) and organize events. Reading literature is something we’ve been doing since Freshman year, but it’s nice to finally see that these are starting to make sense in their entirety. It used to be that any academic article would just be overwhelming and the only thing that made sense was the abstract, however, with my overall experience in college and my capstone here, I feel like a can read and comprehend most literature within science. That will be important for me going forward because as a physician, I will be expected to keep up with my readings. The reverse classroom was really interesting. Essentially the students are required for producing class discussion and the lesson, at least more than usual. Having the classwork centered around discussion and direction by us is part of what enhance the effectiveness of this class. Working as a class to discuss ideas and questions is much better for learning than being lectured at. It may be less efficient, but things I’ve learned in discussion in this class will stick much longer than something I learned by lecture. Organizing our group’s Narcan events and training session for the capstone project was an experience. I was able to work on my ability to work with a different group of students and produce an event that seemed to have a strong impact on the student body.
Developing perspectives and connections between disciplines and cultures happened by virtue of the interdisciplinary nature of this project and The Good Neighbor Project. Working with Social Work students was very interesting in this project. There are different group dynamics that develop over time in different disciplines either. As a group, we had some conflicts, but working together and seeing everyone settle into what they were comfortable with led to success on our project. Our project’s success was also dependent on The Good Neighbor Project. They put on the Naloxone training session and offered a window into the addict’s life, one which many at Concordia do not have.
This class simply reinforced my self understanding as a future health worker (Doctor). We learned a lot about brain mechanisms of diseases and how they may be prevented in the future. This has obvious medical implications, however, the project also served to apply future medical skills. The project is a practical application of medical knowledge through the cooperation of multiple disciplines and organizations. As a doctor, it’s important to understand that you are not the only one on a team. Others are going to be better and their own specialties.
And finally, this class encouraged me to BREW by calling me do it actively. In my mind, Narcan training for a community can only hold benefits. The Narcan training session seems like a great application of my knowledge to help a community.
Stepping away from Concordia’s learning goals, this was one of the best classes I have taken at Concordia. The routine we settled into a class reviewing the literature throughout the week was very welcome in hectic college life. As a class of 12, we grew much closer throughout the class. We had a mix between Bio/Chem students and some psychology students too. It was good to continue class with those I’ve been with since Freshman, but it was also nice to have a class with some friends I’ve only known outside of class. There were some unforgettable experiences and class discussions throughout the weeks and Dr. Mach was one of best professors I’ve ever had. All she asked of us, was that we give our best effort to understand the material and she assured us that the class would go fine. This made the class less stressful and much easier to focus on the actual learning. Dr. Mach was always available as a professor and advisor. Part of the class includes meeting with her for self-evaluations and this served as a great time to talk to someone who knows more than myself. We had a few discussions about life before and after college, that helped me gain perspective in my life. One of the most important lessons from this class: Neurochemistry is a great capstone class and anyone who can take it.
