testing
To keep students from missing scheduled test, my make up test are 50 fill in the blank, essay, or all true false. I hardly ever have students that want to take make up test. All students are told about make up test the first day of class.
afework,
In some ways I feel we do without testing, at least in a formal way. Socrates asked questions, listened to the answers, and continued to question until he sensed the student had mastered the material. In our modern era, of course formal testing is required, to assure objectivity in grading, to be fair with all students, and to guage our own performance in measureing how effective we are in facilitating learning. But as you say, testing should be a helpful component to learning, not something that scares students from reaching and exceeding course expectations.
Barry Westling
Testing is to me a learning process. It should not be a tool to scare students. It is a mirror for students and teachers to see what they have accomplished and what they have left to add.
Hi John:
Our role as educators is to produce educated learners. Discipline, if required, is behavior due and apart from the instructional process. I think only an insecure, immature, or inexperienced teacher would dole out extra work as punishment.
Regards, Barry
should students be punished using acedemics? what message does the instructor send by punishing someone with difficult assessments? "you missed a test, therefore i am going to force you to learn more."
When I give test I review with them so that they can know what to study. Is this a wrong tactic?
I like your tactic. I will try this my next exam.
To discourage tardiness and absentees, would you consider having a quick 10 point quiz at the beginning of the class that reviews what was taught prior class periods a good practice method?
Sound like a great idea, I will try that, take some academic threatening sometimes :-)
Hi John:
Great! It shows us that we can be creative even when we're not instructing (such as testing).
Regards, Barry
Great tactic! I had an instructor that employed a similar tactic in college, and no surprise, people limped into class to make sure they got the first version!
