My years of tutoring have taught me how to prepare students for tests. The process I use is a repeatable three step process. This method works for any test in any content area. I usually use this in the math classes I teach and I used this method in my Japanese classes in college.
1) Do something that is as similar to the test as possible in conditions that are as similar to those experienced on the test. For example on the TAKS test, there are released TAKS tests online that I would give to my students and have them work on the problems. For chapter tests I give them a review that is similar to the test. I encourage them to do as much as they can on their own, and then ask me for help when they are stuck or confused.
2) Correct the assignment.
3) Go back and help the students understand the questions they missed. I also asked my students to do "corrections" meaning, they worked out the problems that they missed. If they missed a problem twice, I would talk to them about it and help them understand what the question is asking.
I then repeat the process with another test or something similar to the test.
Through repetition, the students should improve each time and this increased preparation will often lower test anxiety because the students feel that they have seen similar questions. This also helps me as a teacher know which students are still struggling with enough time to help them improve their scores.
This isn't the only way that I prepare my students for tests. Students will get tired of doing the same thing every day. I switch back and forth between this process and review games that again use questions like those they will see on the test. My students enjoy the games because they are fun. I feel like using this process will help them improve their weaknesses, so we use both.
If you have other ideas on how to help students prepare for exams, I am interested to hear.
This is my blog about education. I am a math teacher in Japan who has flipped my class. I also love technology in education.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Think of things both ways
From my tutoring and teaching in a small school I have the opportunity of frequently working one on one with students. I have developed an awareness of noticing foundational misconceptions that students have. There are two that are very common, negatives and fractions. I was thinking about these a few days ago and realized that you can think of each in two very different ways.
Almost all students can see a number like -5 and know that it is negative. But sometimes we use the - as a negative and sometime we use it as a minus sign. For example when we are simplifying 8-2(x+1) is it 8 minus 2(x+1) or is it 8 plus -2(x+1). They are mathematically equivalent but sometimes we use - as a negative and times we use it as a minus sign. This can be confusing to students.
Fractions can be thought of as part of a whole and as another way to write division. For example 3/5 is three out of five equal parts and it is three divided by five. I know that these two ways of seeing fractions is mathematically equivalent but seeing it both ways can be confusing to students.
I am wondering if math teachers go back and forth between seeing things both ways without realizing it and as a result confusing our students. I will try to be more explicit about seeing things both ways and I hope this will help my students through these two very foundational and important concepts.
Almost all students can see a number like -5 and know that it is negative. But sometimes we use the - as a negative and sometime we use it as a minus sign. For example when we are simplifying 8-2(x+1) is it 8 minus 2(x+1) or is it 8 plus -2(x+1). They are mathematically equivalent but sometimes we use - as a negative and times we use it as a minus sign. This can be confusing to students.
Fractions can be thought of as part of a whole and as another way to write division. For example 3/5 is three out of five equal parts and it is three divided by five. I know that these two ways of seeing fractions is mathematically equivalent but seeing it both ways can be confusing to students.
I am wondering if math teachers go back and forth between seeing things both ways without realizing it and as a result confusing our students. I will try to be more explicit about seeing things both ways and I hope this will help my students through these two very foundational and important concepts.
Using my students to improve my teaching
It's those moments that I think "I never would have thought of that" that become some of the most powerful lessons. One example is an experience I had student teaching. If I haven't mentioned this before, I had an awesome student teaching experience. I remember struggling for several weeks with knowing how to determine if I should move on or not. I would often ask my cooperating teacher what he thought. He taught me that I need to find out from my students if I should move on or not. He also taught me that I should use my students to improve my teaching. There is a principle here that I know would have taken me years to find on my own, and I am so glad that I learned it.
The reason that I haven't posted anything for a few days is because of TAKS testing. Last week Tuesday through Friday the students were taking different benchmark exams. Yesterday I decided to spend some time talking about their preparation for the TAKS test. I handed out a half sheet of paper with two questions: "What are three things that helped you prepare for the TAKS test?" and "What are three things that you wish we did differently?" The responses were very enlightening. For my discussion here, I am not going to go into depth about how we reviewed although from my past 7 years of tutoring I have learned how to prepare students for tests. The point is my students were telling me my strengths and my weaknesses. I will continue doing the strengths and work on the weaknesses.
I do these kinds of activities occasionally in my classroom. At first my students weren't sure what I was doing. One student thought that I was trying to "save my job." I just explained that I want to be a better teacher and that this would help me know how.
This is a powerful principle that has helped me improve as a teacher and I thought I would share that with other readers.
The reason that I haven't posted anything for a few days is because of TAKS testing. Last week Tuesday through Friday the students were taking different benchmark exams. Yesterday I decided to spend some time talking about their preparation for the TAKS test. I handed out a half sheet of paper with two questions: "What are three things that helped you prepare for the TAKS test?" and "What are three things that you wish we did differently?" The responses were very enlightening. For my discussion here, I am not going to go into depth about how we reviewed although from my past 7 years of tutoring I have learned how to prepare students for tests. The point is my students were telling me my strengths and my weaknesses. I will continue doing the strengths and work on the weaknesses.
I do these kinds of activities occasionally in my classroom. At first my students weren't sure what I was doing. One student thought that I was trying to "save my job." I just explained that I want to be a better teacher and that this would help me know how.
This is a powerful principle that has helped me improve as a teacher and I thought I would share that with other readers.
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