My first physics course, which isn't really a physics course, is called Considerations for Effective Physics Teaching. We meet one or twice a week to discuss the readings that we did. This means a lot of your own time goes into the class. It's a very interesting course and is amusing to be taking at the same time as my other physics course where my professor does everything we've learned you shouldn't do when teaching physics.
The other course is Nuclear Physics. The structure is quite different from UVic. At UVic, your class is generally made up of other students in your year with a few older students. Every week you have a lab and hand-in assignments. Then there are one or two midterm tests. Each week we also have a tutorial where we work through some problems with a grad student. My nuclear physics class is a mix of bachelor and master students. I haven't figured out how they are able to teach us all together but apparently it's common. We have one assignment with 7 questions that is due in the middle of December. We were recommended that we hand-in the questions as we finish them so that we get them back quicker. And it sounds like they only count if we do them, not if we get them correct. We also have tutorials; although, here they are called lessons. In December, I have three full days of labs in a row, instead of having shorter weekly labs. There aren't any midterms, just a final exam which we are given all day to do. Our teacher told us that the final should be 70% concepts and only 30% calculations.
Also, winter is coming. Last week it started snowing slightly while I was cycling to class. Luckily for me the ground wasn't frozen and the snow wasn't sticking. I may have to start walking.
This picture was taken another day around 10am. Some days it's still quite frosty.
This picture was taken around 4pm. It gets dark very fast now.
Today around noon the internet is claiming that it is -2°C outside. Luckily I don't have anywhere I need to go today.
A post on my trip to Helsinki coming soonish.
