Preparing Students for Exams

Can you believe the semester is almost over?! Now comes the time of the semester we all dread...final exams. As you begin to write or are finalizing your exam be sure to take a look at the IDEA Center Resource Page, there are some great resources to help you write your exams.

Another issue we all face at exam time is dealing with students' fears about the test. Barbara Gross Davis offers some great suggestions in one of the chapters of her text Tools for Teaching. In the chapter Allaying Students' Anxieties about Tests, you will find some great general strategies for test composition, "Preparing Students for an Exam", "Letting Students Show What They Know", and many other great topics. In addition, the Center for Teaching and Learning at Stanford offers students a 5 Day Test Prep Plan that your students might find helpful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello! We all wanted to wish you and yours Happy Thanksgiving! Travel safely and don't eat too much!

For those of you who will be working this week, here are a couple of dates to keep in mind.

Workshops:

• Gearing Up for Next Semester: Preparing Syllabi and Learning Outcomes, Tuesday 11/27, 10:30-11:30
• Declining by Degrees--Video and Discussion, Tuesday 12/4, 12:00-1:30

Deadlines:

• Peer Observations should be done or scheduled by now, be sure to schedule your follow-up meetings with your consultants.
• Workshop hours: A minimum of 10 hours are due by 11/30! Be sure to check your profile online.
• Teaching Portfolios are due 12/14.

Student Writing

Last week Allison presented a workshop entitled: If They Write It...I Have to Grade It!: Evaluating Student Writing. In it she offered some great advice on how to evaluate student writing in an efficient and constructive manner. If you missed the workshop, you can view it online on the TLTC Video Seminars website.

In addition here are some resources recommended by Allison that should also be of help.

• Ten Tips for Evaluating Student Writing
• Responding to Student Papers Effectively and Efficiently

Teaching Portfolio Review Panel (Hands-on)

Wednesday, November 28: 3:00-4:00
In this review panel, a faculty member will meet with you individually to review the progress of your teaching portfolios and give input about development ideas. This is a great opportunity to get feedback about your portfolio and this workshop is scheduled to help you prepare for the upcoming portfolio due date. Bring your portfolio in a draft form – whatever that may be – and plan to spend one-on-one time looking at your work with a faculty member. Early registration is a must for this workshop to allow us time to finalize details.

If you are interested in this workshop, please register by Wednesday, November 14th.

Reminders~

Can you believe that it is already November?! The semester is really flying by! Here are some important reminders and dates for the upcoming weeks:

• By now you should have completed your first videotaped observation and SGID.
• Peer observations need to be completed by November 16th. After you complete the observations be sure to contact your consultants so that we can schedule follow-up meetings by December.
• A minimum of 10 workshop hours are due by November 30th. Please be sure to check your hours online to make sure you have received accurate workshop credit.
• Teaching Portfolios are due on December 14th! It's not to early to start working on your portfolio!