Activity #1 (Exams: High School vs.

College)

5 minutes

- Pull up slide #2 which contains two empty blocks of text with bullet points
- Ask the students to briefly turn to someone and discuss differences between high
school and college exams
- Ask Each group to contribute at least bullet point
- Write down their answers on the ppt.
A. This activity seeks to assess students prior knowledge of college exams.
Midterms are still a little way down the road, and some students may not have
even taken an exam yet. As the instructor, I want to understand what my students
know about exams before we engage in discussions questions about exams.
This activity aligns with the Maximize your learning learning outcome.
B. So far, my students have not been the most talkative bunch. Certain
individuals will participate, and I have found that having students talk to one and
another is very effective before discussions.
C. Discussion Question(s)

a. What is the difference between high school and college

exams?
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

Difference in study time?

Difference in study techniques?
Is one more difficult?
Do you get review sessions for college?
Percent of grade?

D. none

Activity #2 (Exams Dates)

10 minutes

-Ask students to take out a piece of paper and something to write

-Second, ask them to write down their exam dates and format if possible
-If the class is struggling, then ask them to quickly grab their syllabi and electronic
devices to find the information
-Tell students to keep this sheet as we will return to it later in class
A. Along with insights learned from activity two, students will anticipate how
much time they will need to prepare for exams. They will use their schedule from
page twenty to highlight what times during the week are best for studying. This
activity aligns with the Maximize your learning learning outcome.
B. I have not asked the class to do individual work yet. It will be interesting to
see how on task they will be. Also, it is the first time that I am asking them use
laptop, which could be an avenue for off-task issues.
C. The one discussion question that will guide this activity is: Did any of you
change your approach to studying for exams?
D. none
Activity #3 (Exam Discussion)

10 minutes

-Pair the students into groups of four or five

-List the following discussions questions on the screen and ask students to take a
couple of minutes to answer them collaboratively.
-How would your syllabus pertain to your exam?
-What is the importance of checking emails and announcements?
-What are some strategies you might use to study for an exam?
-How can you prepare your mind and body for an exam?
-What are different test formats?
-Ask each group to answer one of the questions
-Comment when necessary and put your own input on the screen:

Check your syllabus

What is the date of your exam? During class or at night?
Check the location of the exam
What portion of the test counts toward your grade?
Pay attention to emails and class announcements
For the most part, professors will not try to trick you. Pay
attention to in and out of class reminders about the test
Prepare for the Exam!!!!
Look over lecture notes, assignments, quizzes, etc.
Find a study buddy that is taking the same exam
Study in advance
Prepare your mind and body
Be well rested and fed before the exam
Relax before the exam. Do whatever stress reliever works
for you
Multiple Choice
find out how many questions will be on the test
will require more rote memorization
Essay
in class essays might require you to bring citations and/or
references to the test
more focus on critical thinking skills
Practical
typically in a lab setting
know what to bring
practice at home if you can

-Click to the next slide which shows a picture of a jacket. Tell students the jacket
metaphor, which is that bringing a jacket is better than not bringing a jacket, because
you can not take a jacket off if you do not have it in the first place. This applies to
studying. It is better to study more than not enough.
-Now that the students have your tips and advice for college test taking, ask them to pull
out the sheet from earlier. Ask students to look page 20 of their textbook and fill in times
where and when they could study. Also, ask students to include the number of hours
they anticipate they should study.
-Discuss if any of the students changed their approach to studying for exams
A. This activity entails the majority of study skills of the lesson. In this
discussion, students will understand how to use resources such as syllabi,
professors, office hours, lecture notes, and quizzes for exam preparation. This
section focuses on maximizing learning.
B. Like I said in activity one, discussions in my class go more smoothly if
students discuss within groups then share answers. This gives the opportunity to
participate without speaking in front of the class. These students will think

critically about the discussion questions and collaboratively work together to

formulate answers.
C. The discussion questions listed above are guiding my instructional
activities.
D. None

Activity #4 (I failed my exam!! What now?!)

5 minutes

-hand out the groups scenario note cards

-ask the students to create a solution to their problem
-discuss as a group
A. This final activity puts students in the worst-case scenario after a midterm.
Students will identity study mistakes and how to adapt their learning strategies. This
discussion focuses on Learning from feedback.
B. Again, I am using a group activity to generate answers and group
collaboration.Giving each group a different scenario allows the class to cover more
scenarios in a shorter amount of time. Instead of me giving them the answers, the class
will be more interested if they hear a different speaker for each scenario.
C. On the screen reads, Zac failed his first chemistry exam. He thought he was well
prepared for the test. Zac has given us some reasons why he thinks he failed the exam.
Assume that your scenario is true. Using your own intuition and the information we
learned from todays discussion create solutions to Zacs dilemmas.
a. here are the scenarios and quick answers:
b. Zac went to every lecture, did the readings, and completed all the
homework. Yet, he could not apply the knowledge he learned to his long essay
question. What else could Zac do to prepare for the exam?
i.
Go to office hours or approach the professor after
class, practice exams, ask friends who have taken the exam--know what
will be on the exam
c. Zac killed the questions from unit one but struggled to answer
questions from unit two and three. What are some studying mistakes that Zac
could have made?
i.
balance studying
ii.
possibly attended more lectures for unit one
d. The only study strategy that Zac did was memorize the lecture
notes. What other study methods could he have done?
i.
readings, homework, practice quizzes, office hours
e. Zac understood all of the concepts but could not remember the
vocab terms. How can he remember the terms better?

i.
D. none

flashcards, spend more time studying, use acronyms