As an instructor, I have seen many students who know the material; but, when it comes time for the exam they freeze up, or go blank and end up not doing as well as they are capable.
I speak with each of them individually and offer them some suggestions. One suggestion I give them is to use a 3 x 5 index card and cover the answers up and look at only the question, then think of what the answer should be, and if their answer is not listed, then they need to reread the question again. This has helped many of my students.
Also, I share my experiences from when I was a student, and went back to school as a non-traditional student and this has helped many times with getting the students to open up about their fears.
Carolyn, many students have enough negative energy in their lives without more coming from their educational experience as well. By focusing on more positive approaches to transfer knowledge and get students engaged the issues that cause students to lack motivation tend to go away by default. I am not a big fan of threats and using the fear factor model of higher education and have seen first hand how effective positive energy and well developed lesson plans can impact even the most unmotivated student. Thanks for sharing.
James Jackson
Joel, well stated. Teaching students how to be a student sometimes gets overlooked or is thought to be a waste of time yet many students in career colleges have been away from higher education for a while or some students directly out of high school may not have developed good skills in the first place. Taking some time to just focus on how to be successful as a student can may huge dividends on overall student success.
James Jackson
In my culinary class I do a lecture/demo one day, the following day students cook what I showed them.
I always start the cooking class with a 5 question quiz from yesterdays lecture. The answers are short just a few words and i only give the about 3-4 minutes to take the quiz.
I try to create a fun environment and have noticed students over all grades have come up in my class, and the anxiety level really lessens.
When teaching, nothing should ever be a threat. It is a poor technique of motivation to students, and causes them to have test anxiety.
I have found that students that have not been in a classroom learning for a while or students that don't have very good concentration skills can be helped with a few simple things. Going over ways to read the question and answers completely and one at a time. If they understand that each answer is stand alone true or false concept instead of digging in too deep with the idea they become better equipped to handle multiple choice questions.
Terence, do you provide any other exam training resources? For some students that have been out of school for several years the actual mechanics of test taking can be a challenge. You may consider just taking a single session you would use for a quiz and take your students through some best practices in how best to take a test. Sounds a bit silly but for some students and this can be the case with more than you think, just knowing how to be a good test taker is just as important as knowing the material.
James Jackson
I give a practice quiz at the beginning of the course so that they can see what the style of tests will look like, in that course, without the consequence of a grade. I would never threaten to punish them with a quiz. A quiz is a learning tool, not a punishment.
Mark, I tend to agree with your statements. Too many of our students are surrounded with negative energy so their time in the classroom needs to be as filled with positive energy as possible. For those instructors that say students need to know that life is hard, most students already know this lesson and know it well.
James Jackson
Chad, sounds like a great resource. Videos could be provided simply by you creating your own YouTube page and releasing appropriate videos at different times during the term. Just a thought.
James Jackson
alwyn, I have also heard other instructors use the word Review. Time for a Review. Reviews can take the form of a quiz or some other form of assessment. The key is to take time to actually review and ask questions. When time is not favorable at least provide them a some form of assistance such as a resource where they can get answers. Many institutions today are using Learning Management Systems (LMS) to augment what takes place in the classroom. Complete review sessions can be created and opened to the students based on the time of the term or just by the instructor turning on a previously loaded lesson plan that provides answers to commonly asked questions. Students can also enter their own questions which provides an asynchronous method for the instructor to provide specific feedback.
James Jackson
Using extra tests/quizzes as a disciplinary tool will both the security and autonomy of a students experience in class. While it takes advantage of students commonly present fears, it exacerbates these fears instead of supporting successful learning and overcoming of these fears. Additionally this will affect the students overall motivation, both intrinsic and extrinsic, by decreasing their autonomy in the learning environment.
With so many of todays students being pushed through areas where they aren't confident in their understanding of the subject any test can be daunting. Using tests or a quiz as a threat can and will put students on the defensive mentally in that they may not feel ready and physically the body reponds to anxiety in such a variety of ways it can make the learning environment uncomfortable. Neither will lead to a feeling of security or increase in test scores.
We use an online grade program which has the potential to give quizzes, but the problem with it is format for creating math questions, but it does allow me to give quick feedback on grades and send messages. The text has an online resource the has tests, practice tests, and practice with each section. It provides instant feedback, hints, and complete explanations if desired. I could make my own quizzes there, but we have no ability to do video. I have generally used the online resource as extra help for those who need/want it.
Just the word quiz or test put the students in fear mode. So I try not to use the word, I use let see what you have learned or what you remember.
Ashley, just so I am clear on your statement. I am a student in your class and I come to class everyday on time, turn in my homework, ask good questions and have a good score on all my assignments - but if another student fails to turn off their cell phone I would issued the same punishment as the student that made the mistake? If I am misunderstanding your statement please correct me so we are clear and on the same page. Thanks for any feedback you can provide.
James Jackson
Chad, thanks for the feedback. One more question - does your institution give you as an instructor any resources to assist students outside of the classroom? One example would be access to a Learning Management System (LMS) where you could post a quiz review Online for students to view at any time. Some institutions even have instructors post video files of their classes or Video Vignettes where students can view special instructions or replay more complex tutorials that can be difficult to cover during regular class time. Thanks once again for any feedback you can provide.
James Jackson
There are definitely situations where quizzes for discipline seem to be useful because it does increase the attention of the students. However, there is always that one student that doesn't care because they are doing poorly anyway, so they ruin things for other students. For example, a cell phone that goes off during class is an automatic pop-quiz. However, I always feel bad for the student whose phone went off because of other students glares. However, with the pop-quiz, it is helpful to try to give them something that they can succeed in if they have been paying attention or doing the homework instead of something where they will automatically fail.
I do review. There is a test after each chapter and the curriculum requires that we cover 6 chapters in about 12 weeks, so it is not long between tests and class only meets twice a week for 2:15, which doesn't leave much time for extensive review. There is a practice test, which is very similar to each test that I use for review and I allow time for questions before the test. Considering the short time frame, I can't do much more and my results are good. Thise who don't make it generally have attendance problems and/or don't complete required work on time.
Todd, in what ways to you convey to your students how you make use of the quiz results? Do students know what level of impact they will have on their final course grade? Students like to know how anything impacts their end of class scores and they also want to know how the use of any time in the classroom prepares them for the real world or other class requirements. By keeping your students notified and having a process of high communication your students gain confidence and faith in your methods.
James Jackson
