46 - A Test Checklist

We’ve mentioned it earlier,

but it’s worth repeating.

Testing is itself an extraordinarily powerful learning experience.

This means that the effort you put into test-taking,

including the preliminary mini-test of your recall and your ability

to problem solve during your preparation is of fundamental importance.

If you compare how much you learn by spending one hour

studying versus one hour taking a test on that same material,

you’ll retain and learn far more as a result of the hour you spent taking a test.

Testing, it seems has a wonderful way of concentrating the mind.

Virtually, everything we’ve talked about in this course has been designed

to help make the testing process seem straightforward and natural,

simply an extension of the normal procedures you use to learn the material.

So, it’s time now to cut directly to one of the final features of this course,

a checklist you can use to see whether your preparation for test-taking is on target.

This checklist was developed by legendary educator, Richard Felder.

Although it was originally developed for engineers,

it’s actually suitable for many disciplines.

As Doctor Felder says,

the answer to the question,

how should I prepare for the test,

is do whatever it takes to be able to answer “yes”,

meaning usually to most of the questions on this list.

Did you make a serious effort to understand the text?

Just hunting for relevant worked-out examples doesn’t count.

Did you work with classmates on

homework problems or at least check your solutions with others?

Did you attempt to outline

every homework problem solution before working with classmates?

Did you participate actively in homework group discussions,

contributing ideas and asking questions?

Did you consult with the instructor or

teaching assistants when you were having trouble with something?

Did you understand all your homework problem solutions when they were handed in?

Did you ask in class for

explanations of homework problem solutions that weren’t clear to you?

If you had a study guide,

did you carefully go through it before

the test and convince yourself you could do everything on it?

Did you attempt to outline lots of problem solutions

quickly without spending time on the algebra and calculations?

Did you go for the study guide and problems with classmates and quiz one another?

If there was a review session before the test,

did you attended and asked questions about anything you weren’t sure about?

Lastly, did you get a reasonable night’s sleep before the test?

If your answer is no,

your answers to all the preceding questions may not matter.

Taking a test is serious business.

Just as fighter pilots and doctors go through checklists before takeoff and surgery,

going through your own test preparation checklist

can vastly improve your chances of success.

The answer to the question,

how should I prepare for the test,

becomes clear once you’ve filled our Doctor Felder checklist.

I’m Barbara Oakley.

Thanks for Learning How to Learn.