Some people got scores on the midterms below what they had hoped
or planned for. If it was JUST this one midterm, don't panic - it's only worth a relatively small chunk of your grade. But at this point, after three midterms, if you see a pattern has developed, it should be clear that following the same studying strategies as you have been is not likely to significantly change your grade. Time is growing shorter, and if you need to significantly change your expected grade at this point, you require immediate action - the worst approach is to
ignore what happened, hoping for the best on the final. That's not a strategy
for success. Your grade on the final
won't go up just because you realize, after the fact, what you
got wrong on the previous midterms. Use this as an opportunity to change
what you're doing, and to rethink your own ideas about what effective
studying means in this course! You CAN learn this material, you need to believe in yourself and your abilities - it is very much a question of effort and motivation at this point.
Look back over the last three exams carefully, on your own at first - ask yourself why you missed the questions you did. I don't just mean "what was the answer!" How could you have prepared differently? Why didn't you know that idea during the exam? Is it test-taking skills, physics content, time issues? What do you need to do to more
effectively prepare for the final? Don't just hope it might
work out o.k. - take charge of your own learning, think about the
course goals, and the kinds of assignments we have, and try to figure
out how to best study. There is no universal answer . For some
students, more careful reading of lecture notes or textbook(s) may be
key. But, reading a physics textbook is not
like reading literature. You can't skim, and reading with a marker pen,
underlining keywords, is probably not very effective either. Have some
blank paper, work things out as you read. You need to engage with the
text. Argue with yourself, keep closing the book and try to reproduce
the argument, make sense of the definition, solve or extend the example.
Mastering physics is not about memorizing answers, or even memorizing
procedures. It's about making sense of the material. How do you
know if it makes sense? Getting a question right is not enough - can you
generalize, think about other cases? Can you explain your answer, in words?
Can you make up new problems, and solve
them? Can you summarize how the various ideas
we're studying fit together, can you build a "concept-map" that is more
than just a disconnected list of topics or (worse yet) equations?
When in doubt, ask yourself "how would I explain this to someone who
doesn't get it" or perhaps better yet, who doesn't even know much physics?
It's an incredibly helpful way to go about making
sense of something. If you can't explain it, clearly, so that someone else
gets it, then you probably don't have a solid understanding yourself yet . (This is one of the reasons that Tutorials and ConceptTests in class have such a demontrably strong positive impact on learning in this course!)
More likely, you may need to devote more time and attention to the
tutorials, and tutorial homework. These are hard, but they are
definitely within your reach. Maybe you should spend a little time
before the tutorial, looking over it to try to get a sense of what it's
about. You might re-read the appropriate section of the textbook(s) or
lecture notes, to try to see how the tutorial connects with the
"formulas". Don't forget that tutorial homework counts as much as a
midterm! It's worth putting some energy into that! There are still a couple of Tutorials to come - do your best on these last few. Feel free to get help
in office hours (see the schedule to make sure there's an 1120 TA in the
help room when you go) Study groups, if used effectively, can be great for
this kind of work. During tutorial itself, keep asking yourself "am I just going
through the motions, or am I trying to think about the big picture, and
really make sense of this material?"
Some of you may need to focus on the concept tests. There are even more available in your
text ("Stop to Think" examples) But
remember - it's not about "learning the answers" , it's about making
sense of them so that you can do new and different ones on your own
. Don't rush to
"check yourself with the answer". Take your time, think of the
arguments. Ask yourself what my arguments are likely to be. How does
this concept relate to the section we're covering in the text? Why did
I choose to ask it? How might I change it just a little, keeping the
CONCEPT the same, but changing the example or style or precise
question. Again, discussing with study partner(s) can be invaluable -
not just to hear other ways of thinking, but to help you learn
how to explain yourself out loud. There is no better way to learn
than to try to teach!!
If the problems you missed on the midterm involved "problem-solving" skills, perhaps you need to try more than
just the CAPA problems. E.g, you might start working problems from Knight,
there are many solved examples, and most odd end-of-chapter problems
have an answer in the back to check yourself with. This is not the
solution to everyone's test taking problems - but it can help if your "problem manipulation" skills are what are hurting you. (This is probably not so much of an issue on our first two exams, but there may be a few more "math-y" questions on future exams)
For a few people, the problem is not so much physics as it is simply
test-taking. If you feel you get so nervous or distracted taking exams that
your performance is not reflecting what you know, consider talking to Student Academic Services to get evaluated for test anxiety. There are some
basic tricks and tips that can help anyone relax, and perform as best they can.
If you find that time is an issue on exams, you may need to
actively practice budgeting your time and working efficiently. Talk to us,
or your TA -
we're happy to try to help, it's what we're here for.
If you are scoring below where you'd like to be, NOW is the time to take action. It's late in the term, but we still have several weeks, and several assignments to come! You can't
memorize your way through Physics 1120, and it's not about punching
numbers into formulas. We're here to help, but nobody can "teach you"
this stuff except you! Take advantage of the help room, and
office hours. Perhaps you should find/make a study group? Don't put it
off, don't be shy - this is your course, your grade, your learning! You can't "cram" effectively for a course like this, now is the time to take action, change your study habits, and decide what
kind of effort you need to put in to do as well as you want to in this
course.
Spending more time in not always what's needed, (though it will surely help, and at this point in the term may very well be required) but you will also need to change the way you spend your time. (For sure, try to
do the assigned readings in advance of lecture, and attend lecture and
tutorial!) Did you ever look at our recipe
for success in the online syllabus
?
Good luck, and do let Steve Pollock or Prof. Gurarie know what more I/we can do to help you
learn this material. That's what we're here for!