FAQs answered by Dr. McLean

• How can I best study for the Mini-Tests?
• Why are Mini-Tests a half class period long?
• I feel rushed to get through the whole Mini-Test.  Why are the Mini-Tests that long?
• How do you decide how much to put into a Mini-Test, anyway?
• Are Mini-Testss with time pressure fair?

How can I best study for the Mini-Tests?

• Use the available examples of problems (homework solutions, past year Mini-Tests) as practice.  Do not just look at the solutions to see if you understand them.  Actually try to work the problems first.  Then, look at the solutions to see how you did.
• Make up your own problems for practice.
  • Take existing problems and try them with different initial numbers.
  • Take existing problems and change the context.  That is, think of different physical situations which would require the same physics equations to solve.
  • Take an existing problem, but change it so that one of the given quantities is the one you are trying to find.  In order to do this, you will need to assign a value to the quantity that the original problem asked you to find.
  • Make up your own situations involving the concepts you are studying.
  In do this, you not only practice solving the problems.  You also improve your ability to recognize the physics underlying different situations.
• Study in groups of two or more. You can learn from other's perspectives, and it also allows you each to try problems invented by someone else.
• Try simulating the actual Mini-Test environment, using one from a past year.  In particular, you are allowed about 35 minutes for the Mini-Test, which works out to something like 5 minutes per problem.   For most students, this time limit is part of the challenge.  It will help if you go into the Mini-Test knowing what you are dealing with.

Why are Mini-Tests a half class period long?

A common choice in college courses is to have two to three class periods worth of testing.  In many cases, this simply means two or three mid-term exams.  I choose to break the semester up into smaller chunks: 5 Mini-Tests.  The benefits of this are

• It allows your studying to be more focused on fewer topics.
• Each Mini-Test makes a smaller fraction of your grade.  One "bad day" has less impact.
• There are 6 or 7 big subject areas that are covered in this course.  While they don't necessarily line up perfectly with the Mini-Test times, it turns out that two weeks is a sensible sized chunk of the course.

The main disadvantage is that on Mini-Test days we also must have some regular class time.  However, I believe that this is an acceptable tradeoff.

I feel rushed to get through the whole Mini-Test.  Why are the Mini-Tests so long?

If each Mini-Test had fewer (or less complex) questions, it would reduce the time pressure to finish.  In fact, that would probably make my job easier:  fewer questions means fewer things to grade.  But the length I choose has the following reasons.

1. Physics is all about problem solving.  Probably the most important aspect of solving a problem is getting the correct answer.  But another important aspect is being able to solve problems quickly.  If you can solve a problem more quickly, that indicates that you understand the concepts involved more thoroughly.  By including time pressure as an element of the Mini-Tests, I can give students credit for that deeper understanding.

   Note that this deeper understanding is not something you are born with.  You, too, can deepen your understanding of the physics (and your problem solving speed) by practicing.  Being able to complete problems without errors is important, but it is not the last step in learning.

   In contrast, physics is not as much about memorization (although there are a few equations and numbers I expect you to memorize).  Because memorization is an all-or-nothing thing, I would not choose to build time pressure into a test of memorization.

2. With fewer questions, some topics would be left off the Mini-Test entirely.  At best, that would be annoying to students who have studied those topics.  At worst, it could be considered unfair, making studying partly a guessing game of, "What will be on the Mini-Test this time?"

3. The Science of Sound is taken by students with a wide variety of backgrounds.  While for most of the class time pressure will be an aspect of the Mini-Test, there will also be some students in the class who finish before time is up.  I try to adjust the difficulty so that there is a reasonable spread.

How do you decide how much to put into a Mini-Test, anyway?

My rule of thumb is that I should be able to finish the Mini-Test in between 8 and 10 minutes.  I usually actually "take" the Mini-Test myself, to test the length.

Are Mini-Tests with time pressure fair?

In a word: Yes, I believe they are fair.  In fact, I think they are more fair, for the reasons given above.

But how can you judge this yourself?

Some people like to compare school tests to real life.  Their premise is that school is preparing you for real life.  And real life certainly does not give you unlimitted time to solve your problems!  However, I don't totally buy in to this perspective.  Afterall, it is frequently noted that "life isn't fair!"  I think academic grading should aspire to a higher level of fairness, so that in the end your transcript accurately reflects who you are.

In the final analysis, I believe that "fairness" should be judged on the grades distributed.  For each Mini-Test, after grading the whole class I review whether the numerical scores accurately reflect the work I have just reviewed.  If the numbers need adjustment, I apply an scale, the form of which I have put considerable thought into.

So please delay forming an opinion until you see your grade.  This is especially important if you are reading this just after taking the first quiz.  You may feel like you did really poorly, while in reality you just aren't used to this testing format. Your grade may surprise you.

If you do feel that the grade you recieve is inappropriate, please come discuss it with me.  I am dedicated to giving fair grades, and I promise to give you my full consideration.