SEL SUPERS Ss RS SSR RAINE TE OT SS VS PT I IE I ETE BOT ES R PE IT ER EARS ECU ICH. BM EDN

for re-exams, when those who wished to re-study and try
to do better could take a re-exam, and those who did not
could instead watch a video on the current topic. I also
told my students that the re-exam would be of the same
difficulty level as the first, and if per chance they did
poorly on the second one, I would keep the better of the
two grades. This worked like magic.

With the threat of further failure removed, secure in
the knowledge that they would get another chance at
doing better with nothing to lose, many students availed
themselves of the opportunity. My class, as a whole, did
better. They experienced the pride of accomplishment,
and I experienced the joy of success.

A few of my students, especially older women, were
very keen on making As. They would make high Bs, try
again and still make Bs. I patiently went over their
exams, pointed out their flaws, and allowed them to try
again. The questions were never repeated. They were, of
course, very similar. I simply selected another set of
questions from the various test banks I have collected
over the years. This meant a lot of work. But these
students were determined, and they indeed did make As.

One student in particular took a 100-level General
Psychology course with me in the fall, and a 200-level Life
Span Development course the following spring. Amaz-
ingly, in the fall she took every exam over three to four
times before she managed to make an A, whereas in the
200-level course, she made As on the very first attempt on
most of the exams and did not have to take a single re-
exam to earn her A. She had learned how to learn.

See

I have found that my retention rate has improved
tremendously, and, what is more, my students are more
relaxed and seem to enjoy my lectures. More important, I
feel relaxed and am enjoying teaching more than ever.

Allowing re-exams does mean a little more work (an
understatement!), but the results in terms of the quality of
education, goodwill among students, and a positive
reputation for the teacher and the institution, makes it a
strategy second to none. I am looking forward to bring-
ing home the Golden Fleece.

Anila Ragade, Instructor, Psychology
For further information, contact the author at Jefferson

Community College (Southwest), 1000 Community
College Drive, Louisville, KY 40272.

Keeping In Touch With Students

My students are responsible for reporting their every
absence during the semester via memorandum. It is a
confidential “in-house” communication. The memo can
be handwritten in ink or typed with this standard
information: TO: (instructor), FROM: (the student),
DATE: (day submitted), SUBJECT: (a detailed explana-
tion of the absence).

SCE

This writing assignment further requires that the
student: (1) follow the writing format correctly (if format
is incorrect or explanation does not clearly explain, then
the student must rewrite the memo); (2) compose the
content—acknowledging and identifying why he/she
was not in class and directing the content to the stated
audience; (3) submit the memo at the beginning of the
first class following the absence; and (4) affix initials to the
writing. [The student knows it is read, even though no

grade is assigned.]
Ste

The recordkeeping (taking roll every class meeting,
recording absences, and reading/recording memos) is
well worth the instructor’s time: Current events in the
students’ lives are shared via the written memoranda,
events that rarely are communicated to the instructor
face-to-face.

Do the memos make a difference in a student's
decision to attend the class? I am not sure. But the
memos continue to help me know more about my
students and what is happening in their world.

Mary B. Funk, Adjunct Faculty, English
For further information, contact the author at Johnson

County Community College, 12345 College at Quivira,
Overland Park, KS 66210-1299.

 

Suanne D. Roueche, Editor

October 2, 1992, Vol. XIV, No. 22

©The University of Texas at Austin, 1992
Further duplication is permitted by MEMBER
institutions for their own personnel.

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS is a publication of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD),
Department of Educational Administration, College of Education, EDB 348, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
78712, (512) 471-7545. Funding in part by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the Sid W. Richardson Foundation. issued weekly
when classes are in session during fall and spring terms. ISSN 0199-106X.