This Q&A was adapted with permission from the book Chalk Talk: E-advice from Jonas Chalk, Legendary College Teacher, edited by Donna M. Qualters and Miriam Rosalyn Diamond –
Question
Dear Jonas,
With final exams approaching, my students are asking my advice on how to prepare for the exam. Somehow telling them to study hard and solve lots of problems doesn’t seem to be enough, but that’s what I did when I was a student. Any advice?
Signed: Feeling Inadequate
Answer
Dear Feeling Inadequate,
At its core your advice is sensible since most exams in math, science and engineering are problem-solving activities. Unfortunately, preparation for some students, especially freshmen, entails simply reviewing solutions to problems done in class, in the book or for homework and understanding with the solutions. Other students might actually re-work the problems.
A previous column talked about approaches to help our students learn problem-solving skills/strategies. So, when I get questions from students about exam preparation, I suggest that they approach preparation for exams strategically as well. To facilitate this, I first ask them to describe the difference between taking an exam and doing a homework problem. Typical responses include remarks such as:
“I won’t have my book or notes to refer to.”
“There’s not enough time to use the book anyhow.”
“I can’t ask my friends.”
“Homework problems are on the subject we just studied. I don’t have to identify what type of problem it is as I do on an exam.”
“I have lots of time to do my homework but only two hours for the final exam.”
In response, I suggest that a good strategy might be to replicate exam conditions as the final stage of preparation. After individually reviewing the subject material and preparing, I suggest to students that they engage in study groups in the following manner:
- Students should borrow or purchase a book of solved problems in the subject from the bookstore. Schaum’s Outlines and many others publish them in a wide range of subjects (literally compilations of hundreds of solved problems in physics, math chemistry, etc.
- Splitting the cost among four or five study group members keeps the cost manageable. They could also use previously unsolved problems from the textbook, but generally, entire solution sets are not included in texts
- In turn, each group member selects a problem and gives it to the group. Time available is an issue in exams, so an alarm clock is set for 10 minutes or so, and all try to solve the problem independently. If you wanted to give them an old exam, you could urge them to use it in the same way. The time constraint does add a degree of stress that will exist at exam time
- If the exam will be closed-book, then students shouldn’t use books when solving problems. If it’s an open-book exam, then students should index the key pages and practice identifying and applying appropriate formulas/operations
- At the end of the time period, students can compare solutions with others and with the solution in the book. If anyone had difficulty with classification or concept application, a discussion should ensue. An understanding of any mistakes in problem solving usually leads to a richer understanding of the material. I often tell my students that one way to know if you have learned something is to teach it to someone having difficulty
- Students can repeat the process until all subjects have been reviewed extensively. The learning objectives stated on the course syllabus should provide guidance here.
In my experience, another situation that causes trouble for students is poor time management during the exam. We’ve all had students tell us that they spent too much time on the first problem and had to rush the rest of the way. To help students with time management issues, I offer the following suggestions (guidelines, not hard and fast rules) to my students just before handing out the exam:
- Read all problems before writing anything. Jot notes for yourself next to problems regarding relevant equations and definitions. This will help when you return to those problems, and show you know the information if you run out of time before completing them.
- Note the point value of problems to decide where to spend more time.
- Attack the problem you find easiest first. It may not be problem #1.
- Be aware of time passing. If there are eight problems on a 120-minute exam (that’s an average of 15 minutes per problem), spend no more than 15 minutes on the first problem tackled before consciously deciding whether to continue or move on to another.
- After completing each problem, reassess the time remaining. (If the first problem was done in 9 minutes you now have more than 17 minutes per problem remaining.
- If you have time left, use the last minutes to double-check your calculations.
I hope you find some of these suggestions on student strategies for preparation and for taking exams to be useful.
Good luck,
Jonas
Quick Tip
Even if students don’t ask about preparing for exams, you could spark a discussion by asking them about the difference between solving a homework problem and solving a problem on an exam. You could also talk briefly about the six points on exam taking prior to exam day, since students are more likely to “hear” you under less stressful conditions. Finally, you might consider offering a verbal and/or written time check through the duration of the exam to keep students on track.
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This content was adapted with permission from the book Chalk Talk: E-advice from Jonas Chalk, Legendary College Teacher, edited by Donna M. Qualters and Miriam Rosalyn Diamond.
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