I’ve been teaching math at a local community college for about a year and a half. At this school, 5 unit classes (quarter system) meet twice per week for 2 hours 20 minutes. I ordinarily give two exams during the quarter, about 1/2 and 2/3 of the way through. The tests are long enough that the students get the entire class period to complete them.
I’ve been hired by another college for the Spring Quarter, starting Tuesday. At this school, most 5 unit classes meet daily for 50 minutes. However, some evening classes meet twice a week for 2:20, which is what I’ll be teaching. I’m trying to think ahead: I don’t want to do two-hour exams in this class, because in the future I’ll probably be teaching a daily version of the class, and I don’t want to have to redesign my exams beyond changing individual problems.
So this means designing shorter tests that can be completed in 50 minutes, and having more of them. Which in turn means I’ll be splitting the time on test days between lecture and the test. So here’s my question - and I’m hoping to hear from both students and teachers:
Is it better to have the test during the first half of class, and require the students to wait around after they’re done for the second half, the lecture portion?
Or should I lecture on new material, which won’t be on the test, during the first half, so that students can leave when they’re done with the test?
I’m having a hard time with this. The first option sucks for students, because those that finish quickly have to wait around (or might just leave for the night), and their brains may be fried after taking the test. The second option sucks because they’ll come in having studied for the test, probably nervous, then have to hear about stuff that won’t be on it.
In either case, you’re not likely to get much productive teaching done in the lecture period. But I think you’d get even less done by putting the lecture after the test, with the added bonus of students waiting around idle in between. Do the test in the second period. And in the first period, if you can manage it, try for something a bit lighter than a usual lecture period: Maybe some sort of activity to help review or warm-up for the test?
I say test first. I don’t think it’s fair to have students take a test after 1½ hours of distraction, butt fatigue, and brain fatigue. Those who finish early can surely entertain themselves for a while, or even take a little break and come back when the testing time is over.
For optimum learning, I believe going over the test immediately after they’re done with it can be very helpful, especially to those who struggled with or wondered about some of the problems.
I also vote for test first. Just thinking back to when I was a student, tests made me very nervous. If the teacher had tried to lecture during the first half of the class, I wouldn’t have heard a word. I’d either have pretended to pay attention while mentally reviewing the material for the test, or flat-out ignored the lecture, pulled out my notebook, and started rereading my notes.
Finishing the test early and having to find some way to entertain myself until the lecture started would have been the least of my worries.
I’ve been toying with this idea, and I haven’t ruled it out completely, but I think it would make the test too easy for the students. One idea I have is to go ahead and do this, but make the problems on the test harder than I would otherwise. But then there’s the students who are struggling with the material - would this be fair to them?
I have had instructors give the exam first and tell the class that the lecture on the new section will begin in one hour. If you finished the test prior to that you had two options. One, leave the room and come back at the above stated time for lecture, or sit quietly at your seat (no talking, not even whispering) and do homework or read, or whatever. In general people left the room. The thing is that most of them came back for the lecture because no one wants to miss the first lecture of a new section, it will cause you to be behind for the next test. This is the way I would go if you don’t want to do review for the test in the first half of class. Starting a new section in a lecture prior to an exam is too much for the brain in my opinion.
I doubt the students would be able to concentrate during the lecture if the test follows it. I suggest doing the test first, and some lighter material after it.
Wouldn’t there be some time spent reviewing the test anyway, probably when it is returned to them having been graded? If so, I’d say better to spend that time on test day. Then when the tests are returned you don’t have to go over them, but can proceed with the newer material without losing momentum backtracking.
DEFINITELY test first. Think about it from your students’ point-of-view, not yours, and give them the best possible chance for success. I’ve taken evening classes after working all day, and it is TOUGH to do one’s best after that. Don’t compound the difficulty by blathering for half the time about something no one’s comprehending anyway, because they’re too worried about the test.
I don’t recall there ever being a problem with people taking off after tests. If they’re responsible, they’ll come back. If not, it’s their problem not yours.
Please don’t screw around like this. Just make the test fair and straight-forward, and based on your previous lectures and their homework. Don’t expect them to absorb anything immediately beforehand.
Both a former teacher and test taker as a student and I heartily, HEARTILY recommend giving the test first and then allowing the students to get up and leave but telling them that the next lecture begins promptly at such-and-such a time.
There are many reasons for this, already stated here. The students will want to come in fresh and ready, and sitting for a while listening to a lecture on new material is going to fatigue them a bit and perhaps hinder some of that last minute cramming that they did. They’re also probably going to be sitting quietly studying for/worrying about the test instead of listening to the new material if you do the lecture first.
Don’t waste your limited, valuable in-class time by doing a review activity. This isn’t high school. These students need to be able to review on their own. Lecture-hour in college should be entirely about new material and maybe a slight amount of time spent recapping some old stuff as it pertains to new stuff.
Remember, too, we are in a post-phone era. As one of my students said “boredom doesn’t really exist anymore”. If you let them have their phones out after they turn in the test (or go in the hall), they won’t care. They’ll be glad of the break.
One thing I would mention–this normally isn’t a problem in college classes, because people leave when they are through, but before the test starts you need to beat it into their heads that they cannot chitchat or interact AT All once they are finished. This makes me blind with rage in high school: otherwise nice kids turn into these little fuckers who enjoyed silence and calm while they took their test, but can’t be bothered to extend the same courtesy to others who are taking longer.
Also: if you plan to hard-core take up the tests at the end of the time limit, you need to tell the class in advance. If you are okay with stragglers working on the test while you lecture, you need to tell them that. The former isn’t fair to those kids that expect the later. There’s a good chance that your first 50 minute test will be too long–mine always are–and you need to have an idea of what you will do if 25% or 50% aren’t done at the time limit. You might also consider letting some kids resume the test after your lecture, if you don’t mind babysitting late.
I’ve been in this situation, I was in a graduate program where classes met 2 hours twice a week, and IMHO the only answer is test first. If you are having a 15 minute quiz you can do it after break or before the end of the 2nd hour, but not a major evaluation.
“Most of them”? Maybe we know different students, but some of them cut at every opportunity if they can.
Having been in the same predicament as the OP, teaching either 4x/week 1:50 condensed classes, or 3:45 weekly classes, I have determined that the consensus is right. Neither situation is optimal: exam first means that you need to carefully make the test the right length (shorter than you initially think it should be). Otherwise, you tell them to come back in an hour, and they have to wait for slower students or you gotta be a hardass and make them stop. But lecture first is worse. Fact is, no matter how much you try to change it, a good portion of students cram. Their brain is filled to bursting with information for the exam, and springing new information on them will probably impact their grade negatively. And I sympathize with the OP’s position that you shouldn’t waste the whole time with just a short exam and then let them go. Besides, I am a fan, from the students’ perspective, of giving more shorter tests covering fewer chapters than just 1 midterm/1 final. Although my tune almost changes when it’s grading time! :smack:
I’ve had some experience with just this dilemma, and I can say that, almost overhelmingly, the students prefer to have the test first. (And they also prefer more, shorter tests.)
This means you have to design a test that can be easily completed within the time allotted by a well-prepared student—but you’ll have to do this anyway when you teach 50-minute classes. (Even if you don’t want to enforce a strict time limit, there’ll likely be another class needing to use the room after yours, and some students will have other classes they need to get to after yours.) If you really feel it’s necessary to include longer, more time-consuming problems on your tests, you might consider splitting them into an in-class portion and a take-home portion, although the obvious drawback to take-home tests is that it’s harder to ensure the students don’t cheat.
I’ve been to college, and that’s how it ALWAYS worked.