Test Taking Strategies – lecture outline
Materials Needed:
none
Preparation:
Assign students to read “Dealing with Test Anxiety” in the textbook and fill out the Test Anxiety Assessment. (Do not have them read the test taking strategies or they will be bored in class...)
Discussion:
1. Introduction
· Why is taking tests an important skill?
It will have a big effect on grades.
Performance under stress is important in most jobs as well.
· What makes test taking so difficult?
The pressure is on; a lot is riding on your performance. (In general, students spend 30% in class, 60% studying, 10% taking tests, but that 10% counts for a lot!)
Another way to look at taking tests: look at it simply as feedback. Are you on course, or do you need to make a course correction? If you do well, you can keep doing what you're doing. If not, you need to change tactics, or you'll keep getting what you've gotten so far.
Watch our for your “inner critic” and your “inner defender.” These are the guys who pop up with bad advice. Your inner critic jumps up to keep you from getting your hopes up with stuff like “I'm so stupid, I never do good on tests” and so on. Your inner defender jumps up to make you feel better with stuff like “Boy, this teacher writes lousy tests.” Neither is helpful to get you what you want!
2. Test Anxiety
Turn to the Test Anxiety Assessment in the textbook. Record scores.
Ask students if any of the suggestions sounded helpful to them.
3. Test Taking Strategies
Tell students to turn to “Test Taking Strategies” in the book. For the rest of the class, their job during the rest of the class is to figure out what they can do to improve their performance on tests – they will write an in-class paragraph at the end of class.
As we go through each of these suggestions, mark them as: (write on board)
! new idea
* good advice for me
√ I am pretty good at this
Make comments as follows:
1 – student who claimed that an exam the wasn't MC wasn't “fair”
3 – this one takes some explanation: memories are strengthened every time you review them at the expense of others; if you study all of the material at night, then review a few things in the morning before the exam, you'll weaken the your memories of everything else
6 – everyone practice this; you can train your body to relax if you practice
7 – I always have a few students who just write “Beverly” as if I will know exactly who they are (rolls are alphabetized by last name...)
8 – who has heard of the joke tests where it says read all questions first, gives silly instructions, then at the end says not to do them?
9 – this is good for things that are easily confused (endothermic/exothermic)
10 – I had a 30 min quiz with a 2 pt question on the first page, and a 10 p matching on the second page, and several students spent all of their time on the 2 pt question and didn't finish the 10 pt one!
11 – who prefers straight through? skipping around?
12 – your brain is in stress mode, you don't read well. MAKE yourself read test questions slowly and carefully! Look for multiple parts.
15 – students who learn to think like the professor are always at an advantage
19 – 23 see sample questions below
26 – Quiz Question: “How many stereocenters are in the following compound?”
Student's question: “What's a stereocenter?”
Answer: “That's part of what the question is testing!”
4. In-class assignment
Ask students to take out a piece of blank paper and write a paragraph explaining what things they feel would be most helpful to them to improve their performance on tests.
[Writing multiple choice questions is actually quite difficult. Short answer or essay questions are easier to write but harder to grade. You come up with a question and the right answer, and then you have to think of wrong answers that are not obviously wrong, so that only a student who understands the material will get it right. These wrong answers are called distractors :)]
1. Which of the following is the liquid that comes out of the coconut?
a) coconut juice
b) coconut milk (liquid that comes from grated coconut meat)
c) coconut cream
*d) coconut water
(try to think of the right answer before looking, so that you don't get confused by distractors;
read all of the answers before picking one)
2. Which of the following is NOT TRUE about coconuts?
T a) A coconut is not actually a nut, and a coconut tree is not actually a tree.
T b) A coconut takes nearly a year to mature.
F c) The oil from coconuts is unsaturated and therefore very healthy.
?T d) Coconut water can safely be used as an intravenous solution.
T e) The coconut “eyes” are where a new plant emerges from the seed.
(mark them all or it is easy to lose track)
3. Which of the following is NOT TRUE about coconuts?
T a) A coconut is not actually a nut, and a coconut tree is not actually a tree.
T b) A coconut takes nearly a year to mature.
F c) The oil from coconuts is unsaturated.
T d) Coconut water can safely be used as an intravenous solution.
T e) The oil from coconuts is saturated.
(it has to be either saturated or unsaturated)
4. Which of the following is NOT TRUE about coconuts?
T a) A coconut is not actually a nut, and a coconut tree is not actually a tree.
T b) A coconut takes nearly a year to mature.
T c) Coconut water can safely be used as an intravenous solution.
T d) The coconut “eyes” are where a new plant emerges from the seed.
→e) All of the answers are true.
(couldn't think of a good distractor...)
5. Where does the new plant emerge from the coconut?
T a) the eyes of the coconut
F b) the outer husk of the coconut
F c) the meat of the coconut
F d) the milk of the coconut
F e) the roots of the coconut tree
(couldn't think of a good last distractor)
1. Which of the following is the liquid that comes out of the coconut?
a) coconut juice
b) coconut milk
c) coconut cream
d) coconut water
2. Which of the following is NOT TRUE about coconuts?
a) A coconut is not actually a nut, and a coconut tree is not actually a tree.
b) A coconut takes nearly a year to mature.
c) The oil from coconuts is unsaturated and therefore very healthy.
d) Coconut water can safely be used as an intravenous solution.
e) The coconut “eyes” are where a new plant emerges from the seed.
3. Which of the following is NOT TRUE about coconuts?
a) A coconut is not actually a nut, and a coconut tree is not actually a tree.
b) A coconut takes nearly a year to mature.
c) The oil from coconuts is unsaturated.
d) Coconut water can safely be used as an intravenous solution.
e) The oil from coconuts is saturated.
4. Which of the following is NOT TRUE about coconuts?
a) A coconut is not actually a nut, and a coconut tree is not actually a tree.
b) A coconut takes nearly a year to mature.
c) Coconut water can safely be used as an intravenous solution.
d) The coconut “eyes” are where a new plant emerges from the seed.
e) All of the answers are true.
5. Where does the new plant emerge from the coconut?
a) the eyes of the coconut
b) the outer husk of the coconut
c) the meat of the coconut
d) the milk of the coconut
e) the roots of the coconut tree