Let's Get Down to Business...

The Gentle Art of Test-Taking

Because this is a "core course," you've got to show you've mastered all its required elements.  How that gets done usually sparks some debate and causes some anxiety for the students.

A lot of approaches are used for "testing" a student's mastery.  Each has its pluses and minuses.  The tried-and-true method, which we'll use, is the written examination. 

Exams in this course will include objective questions (multiple-choice or true/false) and subjective questions (analyze a problem with a short essay).  There will also be some "fill-in-the-blank" questions, which are a little of both.

The two keys to getting a high score are, obviously, know all the material, and, less-obviously, know how to take a test.  There is an "art" to test-taking that, if practiced, is guaranteed to earn a few more points. 

Here are some test-taking tips and tricks that you'll want to consider and use.

Makeup and Extra Credit Policies: A Little Clarification

Deep inside the fine print of the syllabus is the course policy regarding missed quizzes and exams.  It's easy to skip over until something happens and you need to use it.

Fortunately, the policy has the virtue of brevity:  "Prior notice is required if any quiz or examination will be missed for reasons beyond the student's control."

Note that you are not guaranteed an opportunity to make up a missed quiz or exam.  It's a two-step process very much like a typical business transaction.  First, you must deliver "prior notice" that you will be unable to take a quiz or exam "for reasons beyond [your] control."  If the first step is successfully accomplished, the second step determines when and how the missed quiz or exam can be made up.

"Prior notice" means communicating to me before the quiz or exam starts that you will be absent.  This communication can take any form; e-mail, blog-post or voice-mail.  The essential point is if I've not heard from you when the curtain goes up, the opportunity to make-up the quiz or exam is lost.

The "reasons beyond your control" requirement comes into play in two ways. First, there's an expectation of mutual reasonableness.  I expect you to arrange the controllable parts of your schedule to fit the course's schedule; events that you can't predict or control are what trigger this policy. 

Second, be assured that the policy isn't enforced arbitrarily; it's applied on a case-by-case basis.  Situations occasionally happen where you might be unable to call or tell me in some way that you won't be joining us to take a quiz or exam: you might be seriously ill or have won a $200 million Megabucks prize.

If you suspect something might be a problem, bring it up sooner than later.  It's much easier to work things out in advance rather than at the last moment.

Last but not least, no extra-credit opportunities are available for individual students; instead there are the world-famous and nationally-acclaimed team presentations.  More about them later.   

When the Instructor waves his arms...

Here are some ideas on how to know what's important and, even better, how to recall them at the right time (that would be for a quiz or exam).

Note-taking Strategies

How do you know what's the important material that you should take notes on?  You may be taking great notes, but they won't be useful if you're not writing down the right things.

The University of Connecticut gives their students a very helpful hint:  "If the instructor is talking loudly and waving his arms, you'd better write that down."

Instructors usually will do something to alert you that something is important.  There might be little "red keys" in their Power-Point presentations or they'll be waving their arms.  Look and listen for those cues.  Kick it up a notch when you see or hear them.

Transcribe your notes

A good set of lecture notes has a very short "shelf-life."  You won't be able to decipher them more than a couple of days after the lecture, much less late on the night before the mid-term exam. 

Re-write and organize your notes on the same day as the lecture.  Identify the key points emphasized by the instructor.  Put those points into phrases that you understand (and could use on an exam).  If you can't find the right phrase, ask your teammates or the instructor for some help.  Don't hesitate to raise your hand during the next class and ask, "Could ______ be summarized as _____?"

Flash Cards

A big part of this course is learning the vocabulary of business.  That means understanding a lot of strange-looking words and phases.  And by the way, count on your quizzes and exams including a few "fill-in-the-blank" questions to test your new-found knowledge. 

They're definitely "low-tech," but there's no better way to learn "vocab" than to use Flash Cards.  Go buy a bunch of them; they're cheap and effective (and don't forget some rubber bands to hold them together).  Write the word or phrase on one side and its meaning on the other side.  Then as you're eating your morning bowl of Cheerios, go through the stack.  Put them in your pocket, not your back-pack, so you can flip through when you're riding the bus.

Putting it all together

Do a little test preparation every day.  When you're re-copying your notes or flipping through your flash cards, think about the kinds of questions that might get asked.  How could an idea be applied (essay-type questions) or how could a definition be re-phrased and still be true or false?  Before doing these things though, make sure you're well-rested, had a little exercise and ate something decent. 

Team Member Evaluations

Sometime after submitting your Final Business Plan and making your Extra-Credit Presentation (if your team did that), but before the Final Exam, please evaluate how your teammates performed.

The attached form should be used for your evaluation.

The evaluation is confidential; I'm the only one who will see or know the evaluation's contents.

The evaluation can be downloaded, completed, saved and returned as an attachment to an e-mail message.  Or it can be completed, printed out and directly submitted.  It's up to you how you get it done.

Make sure you fill-in your name at the top of the form and each of your teammates in a scoring section. 

Then evaluate their contribution by category using the "Grading Standards" and by checking the box that best describes how they did.

Also, please follow the rule that "Any Score of 0, 1 or 2 must be explained."  This ensures any low scores are justified.  If no explanation is given for a score of 0, 1 or 2, a score of "3" will be awarded.

Use the "Comments, Explanation or Documentation" section to explain any score below "3."  Or you can also use this section to acknowledge a teammate's outstanding performance. 

• Download team_member_evaluation_forms.doc