Why Wait for Tomorrow? Why Not Now?
This article “More Testing More Learning” is written by Patrick O’ Malley. In this article O’ Malley is talking about how to make a students learning more easily than it is. The word more testing and more learning mean that if we test more then it makes easier for us to learn and understand more. In this passage Patrick says that students today are so lazy to study on time, they only study when their midterms or finals are near, which gets them worried about their studies.
He said that if one student have got C in his midterm then he thinks that final is the only chance for him to get through his class or it could break him and he could flung in it. O’ Malley has given amazing suggestions in this article which could improve students’ academic and will be helpful for him to learn better. O’ Malley has a strong point, that if teachers could give more in class tests or quizzes after every part or at the end of every chapter, then it would be helpful for its student and will improve in students educational knowledge.
It’s true that education has always played an important part in our lives, but studying without understanding ever helps one in its professional life. We have seen a lot of college students including myself like to study a night before our exams, which could give us a result of a failure. Our results are based on our learning power, and if our learning power is lesser then the course material then it will make us feel as if we are in some deep trouble.
The problem is not that we are in some trouble of failing the course or getting dropped from class because we can’t make it, but the problem is that our teachers should encourage us and make our course easier for us to understand. How can a teacher do that? As O’ Malley said by give student’s in-class tests, quizzes after every chapter or part of study, and give assignments to do, so that they both know how weak student is in particular subject. Taking these types of exams more frequently will encourage student to change its habit, and develop its learning skills.
At the other hand as per the argument goes on between professors that a frequent exam seems to create more problems, therefore there are many other alternate scenarios to achieve the same criteria. First one is to introduce a program which will work on improving students study skills. Whereas this program should teach a student how to be prepared for exams, moreover this might won’t be helpful in getting rid of that worry and anxiety, but it will get through them. The second scenario is to give them in class questions to do.
These questions will help them work on their timing. Like for an example, if teacher is explaining a chapter on in present class and ask them some questions about that particular chapter in order to do a revision in next class will help them improving their timing for understanding and memorizing the course material for a big exam. Now the third and last scenario is about how to help student in preparation of their midterm and final exams. Before both exams teacher should provide students with some sort of a guess paper.
Like giving some questions and idea of what is coming in exam and where it is coming from, so that it will be easier for a student to learn, because they know what is coming exam and from where. More testing makes us learn more. Everyone has their own ways to learn, some do it at the same time on same day and some delay them until their exams. If I would have to compare myself to this article I would more likely say that I come in students who waits until their exams are near.
I have always agreed with the idea that if teacher will make learning easier for us by giving us in class tests, quizzes, by asking some questions on the other day of class to see that if student remembers what they learn in previous class, or by teacher giving a sample exam or they tell us what is coming in exam and what is not. These all ideas make it easier for me it has always worked. I still do have some teacher in present and past classes who always made it easy for me like my intro to business and music class teachers in last semester, and English and computer information teacher in present semester.
In the end I would like to say that teachers do help, they always do, but it depends on us how often we understand and learn what is best for us to improve our skills. Like I said earlier that it is true that education is playing an important role in our life, but what’s the use of that kind of education in which we just learn to get rid of it. As a memorable saying by a person to person “Study what you like, study what you are good at, but study by understanding it not by getting rid of it”.
