Course Info » Exam Advice

Some comments for those unhappy with their Exam scores

Some people get scores on midterms well below what they had hoped or planned for. If this is you - don't panic, but consider this as an indication that you are now headed for grade difficulties in the class. If it has happened on all three tests, you're especially in a situation that requires immediate action - the worst approach is to continue to ignore what happened, merely hoping for the best on the final. That's not a strategy for success. Something has to change, your grade on the final will not go up just because you realize, after the fact, what you got wrong on the first 3 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, it is very much a question of effort and motivation at this point.

Starters:

- There is more detailed grade information here. This outlines exactly how grades are computed.

- There is a detailed "learning goals" page here. This can be helpful for exam preparation!
- Please see our help page and a more general help/motivation page for suggestions about getting assistance.

- Have you seen our "how to succeed" page, as well as a Problem Solving Strategy guide?

- Have you looked at the "textbook" link under "Course Resources"? Go to the Giancoli website linked there - at the top you can select a chapter, and find review materials (and practice tests)

 

Reflect on what happened and why:
Look back over the exam carefully, on your own at first - ask yourself why you missed the questions you did. What do you need to do to more effectively prepare for the next midterm? 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. 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. Use my lecture notes if the textbook isn't working for you!

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 labs and ConceptTests in class have such a demontrably strong positive impact on learning in this course!)

Strategies:
- Perhaps you may need to devote more time and attention to the labs? Maybe you should spend a little time before the lab, looking over it to try to get a sense of what it's about. During lab 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?"
- You might re-read the appropriate section of the textbook(s) or lecture notes, to try to see how the lab connects with the "formulas". Are you reading the text assignments before lecture? That will make the lecture much more valuable to you.
- Get help in office hours (see the schedule to make sure there's a 2020 TA in the help room when you go) Study groups, if used effectively, can be great for this kind of work. Have you been making use of our piazza forum?

Some of you may need to focus on the concept tests. There are even more available in your text (and, at the end of every chapter, just before the "Problems", are "Questions", which I think are very good!) 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 the 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 algebra or math or "problem-solving" skills, perhaps you need to try more than just the CAPA problems. E.g, you might start working problems from Giancoli, 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 (our exams do not emphasize this, but it is present...) It can help if your algebra or "problem manipulation" skills are what are hurting you. (This was probably not much of an issue on the first midterm, but there may be a few more "math-y" questions on future exams!)

Outside resources:
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. Remember that any SINGLE exam will not determine your grade. 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.

Bottom line:
As you can see from the grade distribution, most of the class is doing very well, but there is a small subset of people who, perhaps, haven't yet figured out the best way to learn this material. You can't memorize your way through Physics 2020, and it's not about punching numbers into formulas. We're here to help, but really 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! 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. (Question: When is the best time to plant a tree? Answer: 20 years ago. Second best answer: Today)

Spending more time in not always what's needed, you may just 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 at the end of the online syllabus?

 

Good luck, and let Steve Pollock or Jorge Martins know what more I/we can do to help you learn this material. Like I said, that's what we're here for!