Tutorials that cover material which are standard topics for a physics class (e.g. Quantum Physics, Statistical Mechanics, General Relativity
- Select a number of sources. It is best if you don't rely on a single book, although one textbook can be used as the main reference.
- Write a tentative syllabus. i.e. list the topics you are interested in and decided what you are going to cover each week (count 13 weeks for the semester). Indicate the source that you plan to use for each of the topics (by the time you reach a topic you might have found a better source for it. However, it is good for you to have a starting point). A good way to have an idea about what is normally covered on a subject is to go online and study the syllabi of the same class taught in other colleges. Quantum Physics, Statistical Mechanics, General Relativity etc. generally have pretty standard curriculum. This is a good way to see what the most commonly used textbook are as well. This website http://www.compadre.org is a good resource for material on Physics and Astronomy. Sometimes online courses can be a very good support.
- Decide what your weekly assignment will be, for this kind of tutorial they are generally exercises (we should agree on the number of exercises you will present to me every week). You should solve as many exercises are needed to become comfortable with a topic. Between them you should select those that I'm going to grade. It would be best if we decide a day of the week in which, we don't meet but you turn in the exercises. This will give me the time to correct them before our meeting and it will help you to have a more structured week.
- Think about what you would like to do as mid-term and final exam. We should agree at the beginning of the semester on this and we should also set the dates when they will be due. The deadlines we agree upon will be hard deadlines!
