It was a big hurray in the class:” the teacher will allow us to cheat”
As a teacher I keep trying different and new ways to help my students reach the best they can. All around the world there must be a paper and pen exam to allocate a grade for the student, and I have to prepare my students for this. Following are some ideas that work for me.
The meanings of the exam command terms:
Most students get into the exams without knowing the exact differences between the meaning of one command term and another. In IB DP externals, this is a big problem, and as an examiner, I always find good writing in the exam paper which shows that the student knows what exactly s/he is talking about, and then the mark ends to be a zero simply because this student does not know what the question is about.
This is why I keep teaching my students the meaning of these terms and how to use them appropriately. One thing I did this year was having some fun with the students introducing these terms. I typed them using a large font as separate lines each for the terms and their definitions. In addition, I typed the level of each group of questions and the meaning of this level on a separate sheet of paper. I asked the students to match the meaning of each term with it. Them I asked them to categorize them under the proper level. We had a discussion to check if what they did was correct or not. After that we glued them on different colored cardboards.
I told the students that they can cheat the meanings of these terms during the exam from the poster. This is only for the first semester. And of course by the second one they should know all of them by heart.
It was a big hurray in the class:” the teacher will allow us to cheat”.
Write the exam questions you expect to come and I’ll be using some of them:
By the end of the unit I ask the students to think of the exam questions they expect. Based on the objectives of the lesson, they usually give very good ideas. I use these questions in the exams. This keep their minds alert and focused on the aim of the lesson, which eventually helps them to study effectively. It also helps them to criticize their lessons and read between the lines.
Prepare a visual organizer or a memorization tool:
One last thing I do with the students is that I ask them to think of a suitable graphic organizer or a revision tool for the lesson. And I ask them to share their methods of studying. This is the point where I usually find it disappointing that most of them depend mainly on reading the lesson. Directly I jump in and start discussing studying tips with them after giving a mini lesson about how the brain works and the memory forms. Following are some FREE online tools that help students study smart with technology:
https://www.mindomo.com/pricing.htm
https://app.wisemapping.com/c/login
https://www.thinglink.com/upgrade?buttonSource=fpPricing
https://www.readwritethink.org/…/re…/interactives/timeline_2/
https://www.kitzkikz.com/flashcards/
https://www.cram.com/flashcards/create