Final Exam

I rarely get nervous for final exams. I'm nervous for this one. It doesn't help that we didn't get to write the exam, and that it doesn't align to the objectives we were told to teach this summer. It is also frustrating that we were expected to teach isolated objectives to prepare them for the final, and we had to squeeze in the foundational knowledge on our own. Oh well, it's up to the kids now. They always do better than I think.

Yesterday we had one of the most useful sessions I've seen so far: grading. How to grade, what to grade, when to grade. For example, if you grade every single homework, the students feel uncomfortable practicing new skills. However, if you never grade homework, they won't put enough effort into it.

In addition, it is important to create a rubric or grading system prior to giving the exam, so that you are grading by a standard, rather than giving points for effort. Don't confuse effort with mastery.

The students' grade should reflect their level of mastery of the material.

My students are taking the exam right now. The review session went well, so we'll see how they do in practice.

I am even more anxious about placement now. In the last couple of weeks, many of my fellow CT CMs have been placed. I haven't heard anything. I have no idea what city I'm going to be in or exactly what grade I am going to be teaching. I know that placement occurs right up to the start of the school year (and sometimes a few days later), but I am really hoping to be placed sooner rather than later. I'd like to have some time to find an apartment and move in, as well as creating a unit plan for my classes. I don't want to be that one person who wasn't placed until a week into the school year.

As for now, I'll worry about the final exams. Results to follow.