Classes

Many classes are done in an interactive manner. Some subjects require more lecture than others, however. My classes tend to be a blend of group projects, journal writing, quizzes (both individual and group), and presentations. Students are generally given the opportunity to have input on the balance of these activities in designing the class syllabus.

Working in groups requires that students respect. Working in small groups and in cooperative projects requires that students learn how to compromise. The following general guides should be considered.

Silence is okay. Think before you speak. If you do not wish to make a contribution verbally to the whole group, jot down ideas and discuss thoughts with individual members. The first hand to be raised does not always have the privilege of answering. Everyone should feel comfortable in contributing to projects in ways that suit their styles. As a group member, be aware of the different ways of expressing ideas. A good group member is also a good listener.

• Stick with the assignment. Small groups can be effective forums for discussing difficult ideas and for resolving questions. Use the time wisely. Some discussion of other topics may break the ice within the group, but remember that you have a specific task to accomplish. Use the time to outline or cluster ideas, to clarify concepts, and to plan for how a product will culminate.
• If you do not understand what another person has said, ask for clarification. Do not fall into the trap of a "put down" to disguise your own lack of understanding. A statement like, "That doesn't make sense at all" is pejorative and self-defeating. Alienating others in the group or intimidating them does not make for a good group interaction. Cooperative projects mean that everyone contributes and feels good about the final product. All too often, students want to break from the group and do their own project because "the others are not doing what they are supposed to do". Regardless of the quality of such a project, I view it as unsuccessful because of the lack of learning cooperation. If a pathological problem occurs in a group, instructor intervention early may be required.
• Respect the contributions of others if you want your own contributions to be respected. One of the functions of small group work is to give students a chance to see things from different perspectives. Remember, listening is an art form to be cultivated. If you have a tendency to be the first speaker, experiment with the group and wait for others to speak first at the next meeting. You may find that it is more intellectually stimulating to engage in a conversation if others feel empowered in making a contribution. If you must always have the first and last word, perhaps you should invest in a tape recorder. Others will stop listening if you always dominate the conversation and do not all others to express ideas.
• Do not dominate the discussion and do not interrupt while others are speaking. Have someone in the group be the timer so that each contributor has "equal air time". This will help to prevent monopoly of time. Interrupting others while they are speaking disrupts their ideas and shows disrespect. Though there are tendencies to jump in when you have an idea, consider that the other person wants to finish her/his own thoughts as well. If you must interrupt, do so only on occasion for clarification. Nationally, studies show that male students interrupt both male and female colleagues more often than female students. Be aware of your own behavior.
• It is okay to disagree within a group. You may want to have both a "pro" and "con" side to your project expressing dissents. However, the final product must be a cohesive one. Some compromise may be necessary to move the project forward. Remember, a part of succeeding in group projects is the ability of the group to function effectively.
• If you absolutely cannot work in your group, ask for intervention. I will help to straighten out responsibilities and duties of the group.

 

How to take an essay quiz

There are several ways to prepare for and take an essay quiz. Most students prepare for short answer and essay quizzes in the same way. It is a better strategy to approach studying for the essay quiz by jotting down questions of your own and by reviewing those with colleagues. Consider the "big picture" in studying. While reviewing the notes specifically will help to recall details, often such reviews are too linear to assist in developing notions of trends.

Some of the following strategies will be useful in developing responses during the quizzes:

READ THROUGH THE ENTIRE QUIZ FIRST

In the rush to get started, students often fail to read through the quiz. Of ten there will be a recurring theme to questions. Discovering this will allow you to proportion your responses among several questions. For example, students often spend too much time answering a single question rather than providing specific information for the question asked. This is a result of seeing a few key words and using those as triggers to release a string of thought. Reading through the quiz may give clues as to which ideas should be discussed at length and which can be deferred to another answer. Reading through the quiz will also give you a notion of which questions might be easier for you to do first. Sometimes, completing these questions can jog your memory or help to organize thoughts for a more difficult question. Budget your time carefully setting a time limit for answering. You can come back to questions later if you have time.

ADDRESS THE QUESTION ASKED

Students who fail to read the question carefully generally spend too much time responding . Some questions call for summarization of information while others require more creative thinking. You need to learn to distinguish between these. Focus on key words such as define, compare, contrast, evaluate, discuss, describe. These can cue you to how your response should be organized. Always look for choices within the question. Many times in comparison or discussion questions, the questioner will establish a scenario and ask that it be evaluated. Look at the choices that the questioner provides. DO NOT REWRITE THE QUESTION.

PLAN BEFORE YOU WRITE

Always organize your ideas before you start to write. Stream of consciousness responses are hard to follow. Several organizing strategies can be used including outlines and clusters. Matrices and tables are also useful organizers in developing a more textured response. Make sure that in organizing the response that you address all aspects of the question asked in a reasonably balanced manner. All too often, students spend too much time on one part of a response, failing to develop the response as a whole. Organizing the response as a whole will allow you to determine how much emphasis should be placed on each part. Planning will help you to write a more comprehensive, better organized response. You can practice organizing when you study. Write out answers to questions you pose to yourself, then ask someone else to determine what the original question asked. In this way, you can learn to be more precise and concise in your responses.

KEEP FOCUSED

Your evaluation will not be better if you use the "shotgun" approach to answering. Irrelevant information does not improve the evaluation, rather it can obscure the stronger parts of responses. Often, adding irrelevant information leads the reader to believe that you either do not know the subject fully or that you are grasping at thoughts to come up with an answer. In either case, the information is not impressive if it is irrelevant. Putting down such information wastes your time. Don’t ramble. Organize around clearly stated central ideas.

THINK BEYOND THE SURFACE OF THE QUESTION

Some responses are cursory because they are superficial. General statements are made (so sweeping that they are indefensible) that can convey that the writer is floundering for an answer. By substantiating general responses with specific examples, you can clarify your response. If the question asks for examples, then the answer is incomplete without them. Be careful in using exemplars, however. Your preparation can be easily revealed if the examples that you use are incorrect. Also take care that you do not "hammer an example into the correct form". For instance, if you cannot recall an example relevant to the question, do not take an example from another area and draw an analogy. Often, this is distracting to the reader and signals that the writer is not well versed in the subject at hand. It also takes time which is generally limited in an essay quiz situation. Sometimes, a drawing , sketch or graph will clarify your response.

REMEMBER THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE

The essay quiz is a learning tool. It should allow you to express ideas in a comprehensive and sophisticated manner. Practice at such exercises helps to hone abilities to organize quickly and to present material concisely.