Appreciation Post for Orgo Legend Tom Silldorff: A Discourse on Apprehension, Shortcomings, and the Aesthetic Allure of Organic Chemistry (First Installment)
In the world of academia, Organic Chemistry is notorious for its complexity and unconventional approach. For many students, the course can be a source of fear and stress. However, Tom Silldorff, a graduating senior at Princeton University, believes that a change in mindset can help students navigate these challenges effectively.
Tom, who has been a go-to tutor for Organic Chemistry students for the past three years, has found that the ability to help students with their mindset and approach to the class is his biggest takeaway from tutoring. He emphasizes the importance of understanding that everyone struggles and encourages students to view challenges as opportunities for growth.
One of the key ways a mindset shift benefits students in Organic Chemistry is by reducing the fear of failure. By embracing mistakes as learning opportunities, students can develop a resilient attitude that encourages persistence and lessens stress. For instance, some students have turned initial test failures into success stories by adopting new study techniques and a positive attitude towards improvement.
Another advantage of a mindset shift is the encouragement of a growth mindset. Believing that skills and understanding can improve with effort motivates students to keep trying, even after poor outcomes. This mindset helps reduce stress related to perceived fixed intelligence or innate talent limitations.
Adopting focused, streamlined study strategies over overwhelming, exhaustive ones is another benefit of a mindset shift. By studying smarter, not harder, students can improve their efficiency and confidence. Strategies such as memorizing key reactions, using reaction cheat sheets, and taking realistic practice exams boost performance and reduce anxiety by making preparation more manageable.
As students experience incremental improvements through targeted practice and mindset shifts, their confidence grows, which lowers stress and fear of failure. Seeking support and coaching for mindset and study approaches from academic coaches with expertise in Organic Chemistry can further enhance these benefits.
While direct research on mindset shifts specifically in Organic Chemistry fear and stress is limited, the interconnected findings strongly support that changing beliefs about failure, persistence, and study approaches substantially mitigates stress and fear in challenging courses.
Tom Silldorff, despite struggles in other chemistry classes, has found his path in organic chemistry and teaching chemistry rather than research. During exam weeks, he hosts tutoring sessions for upwards of 50 hours per week in the Choi Dining Hall (Yeh/NCW). His expertise in Organic Chemistry is available for current students at NCW.
The professors who run the Organic Chemistry course, including Professor Sorenson, Professor Semmelhack, and Dr. Martinez, understand that the course is tough and do not grade brutally. The course has a progressive grading policy, and the professors ultimately want to see students succeed.
This article is part of the 2023 Seasonal Series on "Effortless Perfection" at Princeton, as well as the "Student Life" category. The Princeton Perspectives Project (PPP) is collaborating with an unspecified entity to explore the concept of "effortless perfection" in relation to the research process and learning a new subject.
In conclusion, a mindset shift can help students reframe failure, build resilience, adopt effective study patterns, and increase confidence, all of which reduce the fear of failure and stress in Organic Chemistry courses.
Students, like Tom Silldorff, can find success in challenging courses such as Organic Chemistry by adopting a growth mindset that encourages persistence and learning from mistakes. By focusing on efficient study strategies and seeking support from academic coaches and tutors, students can improve their understanding and reduce stress. The professors running Organic Chemistry courses at Princeton understand the challenges students face and do not grade brutally, instead aiming to help students succeed. This shift in mindset and approach can be applied not only to Organic Chemistry but also to other subjects in areas like science, health-and-wellness, education-and-self-development, and mental-health, transforming independent work into more effective and less stressful learning experiences.
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