As the semester is winding down, I have been thinking about what exactly I should do during the final exam period. Because a written exam wouldn't be appropriate for most English composition courses, I'm basically unsure of what could make good use of the exam time. I am currently assigning a basic feedback prompt to better understand what students liked, disliked, thought was fun and/or helpful, and what seemed like a waste of time. Of course, much of this information might be disregarded, such as comments like, "Grammar sucks," but even negative comments can tell me a lot about what information students don't like learning the way I've taught it. This information will be helpful when planning future lectures and classroom activities.
Many of the GAs--myself included--have opted for the "fun final" where the class might bring food, watch a movie, or play a joyous game of Jeopardy. Even though the writing prompt is included in this, I'm not sure if this is an acceptable way to spend the hour.
Any input or advice would be appreciated!
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3 comments:
I think you're doing a good thing in having your students fill out this feedback prompt for your final. I have absolutely no clue when we're going to get our student evaluations back, but if it's anything like our evaluations from last semester, it'll be a month or so before we hear a peep about them (it might be quicker now, though, since the evaluations seem to be geared towards easy reading and archiving). I like this prompt idea because you're going to get the results back a lot quicker than the standardized student evaluations, which will come in handy if you're intending on implementing changes to your teaching style sooner rather than later. I also like it because you have total control over the questions that you want to ask your students. As for the activities for the rest of your final exam period, that depends on your appraisal of your class and their personalities and achievements, as well as the resources you have on hand. I know that I'm planning a sort of "fun time" party for my students, but I probably wouldn't be able to do that if it weren't for the fact that I've got some of my students bringing supplies. I also know that they've worked their butts off this whole semester, so they've definitely earned a final party. I guess the biggest thing to keep in mind about what to do for your class's final is how you would feel about throwing such a final. Try drawing up a list of options and running through them, feeling your gut-level reactions to the different choices as you go, and then make your decision that way.
Like Adam, I'm throwing a movie/snack-time final. I'm having my students write a 2-page letter outside of class, with many of the same evaluation notions as your idea. And, like Adam, I feel like this is sufficient--my students also have worked hard, and, to be honest, I don't want another round of papers to grade at that point. My research project for 600 actually involves statistical information that includes their final grades, so I need to have everything figured out by that point anyway.
One thing I like to do, though, for my students' "fun" final, is to pick out a classic movie, to which many have never been exposed, to give them a different sense of storywriting. Movies have changed so much over the years, and I like the idea of my students getting a taste of what prior generations expected in, for example, slapstick humor--which, incidentally, has morphed a bit over the years.
Well, that, and I just love Cary Grant movies like Arsenic and Old Lace and The Philadelphia Story... *guilty blush*
Great choice, Niki! (Nikki?) I wish I had thought to show a movie - but I'm making mine write for an hour. It seems like the vast majority of my finals have been writing something for an hour or more - so I feel like I owe it to my students to teach them this skill - especially the non-native students. We spend four class periods prior to the final discussing "our growth as a writer" because I think the topic is important. They need to reflect on the teachers, classes, papers, assignments, that have shaped their attitude towards writing. When you get them to pre-write about this, they come up with amazing words. So, this is what I do for a final.
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