2:22 p.m., March 11, 2008--During Winter Session, while many fellow UD students were on study abroad programs to all parts of the globe or taking those extra courses on campus, junior Michael Rosen, who has been a tutor in chemistry for much of his time at UD, spent seven weeks at home on a different project--writing a book and publishing it. The result is a 186-page book, titled The Guide to Surviving General Chemistry.

Written by a UD student for UD students, the guide “offers a unique outlook on general chemistry from an undergraduate's perspective,” Rosen wrote in the preface.

As a tutor, Rosen wrote he knows “there is no escaping the horrors of the sophisticated science vocabulary and the frightening equations...” and has learned “where students get confused, the typical mistakes that students tend to make and the types of tricks that students fall victim to on chemistry exams.” The book is meant as a supplement to the material learned in class and is an “easy-to-read ensemble of all the author's tips, techniques and tricks to mastering general chemistry.”

As an “A” chemistry student, Rosen was recruited by James Wingrave, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, to become a workshop leader the second semester of his freshman year. “The workshops practice 'peer-led team learning,'” Wingrave said, “where groups of students, led by a fellow student, work on practice problems using the workshop manual and learn from each other. We have found this to be a successful way of learning.”

As a workshop leader, Rosen began honing his tutoring skills and then branched out and became a tutor for various units on campus, including the Academic Enrichment Center, Student Services for Athletics Program, the Student Support Services Program, the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and NUCELUS (Network of Undergraduate Collaborative Learning Experiences for Under-represented Scholars).

Rosen's abilities as a tutor and teacher became increasingly known, and requests for his services grew. The Academic Enrichment Center recognized his skills and invited him to become a group tutor facilitator, working with approximately 80 students, Monday and Tuesday evenings.

In his roles as student, workshop leader and tutor, Rosen said he got a firsthand view of the ins and outs of general chemistry from the student's viewpoint. He decided a different kind of chemistry guide from an undergraduate's viewpoint would be worthwhile.

Every day during Winter Session, Rosen spent hours at his laptop creating the book and showed the completed work to Wingrave.

“The guide can be used to augment Michael's help sessions,” Wingrave said. “Our main goal is that students learn and understand chemistry, and the guide may help some students figure out problems, recognize equations or learn about variables from a different approach. Also,” he added, “the guide comes with a tutor.”

The book is on display at the Academic Enrichment Center and can be purchased for $15. Rosen, who has a copyright on the guide, has sold the 150 copies he had printed.

Rosen, who said he is planning to become a dentist, hopes to have more copies of the guide published in the future.

Article by Sue Moncure