Week in Review June 26, 2016
Midterm: a word that strikes horror in students who aren't prepared - and even those who are! My two Pharmacology classes had midterm exams this week. The situation was as bad as I feared. Pharmacology is one of the hardest classes and the tests are always killer. Before the test all of my students were between 90-98% - all A's. After the test more than one had a failing grade. (Nursing classes require that you have at least 77% [C+] to pass, so anyone whose grade was a C or lower gets an F). So - time to evaluate. Did I fail to teach the students effectively, did I fail to give them the tools that they need to pass the exam? Did the students fail to study? Did they study but not in a manner that would allow them to pass the test? Do the students all suffer from test anxiety? Was the test badly written? I just hate it when my students don't test well.
After doing some research I feel that the test was well written. I examined each student's response to each question and found that there were a couple of questions that I did not cover effectively in class, but the bottom line was that students struggled with comprehending and applying and key concepts. Nursing requires that students not only memorize and learn important concepts, they must learn to critically think about each situation, understand the ramifications of the actions they perform, and know how to apply each concept. It is a difficult learning curve to be able to think that way and not just memorize and regurgitate information.
I struggle with the best way to handle this, do I make adjustments in the assessments and exams the students take? Or do I continue to hold the bar high and make them stretch to that level? I feel that it is important for the students to stretch for two reasons: 1) they must pass a very difficult state exam in order to obtain their nursing licenses, 2) they will be handling life and death situations in their careers and must be equal to the task. For those reasons I decided to allow the students to remediate to raise their midterm score. The remediation is optional and it is hard. The point is that the students need to really work and stretch in order to get the concepts. The important thing is that they learn, not the grade. I hope it is the best way to handle it.
Midterm week is stressful for everyone, including the teacher.
Rae was so cute this week! Kim set up this tent and she played in it for hours!
We walked over to my dad's to visit. He had his Shopvac set up as a blower and he taught Rae how to use it. She had a blast blowing leaves and twigs off of the sidewalk. She then discovered what happened when she pointed it at herself and me. What goof ball!
Here she is standing by my daisies. They are taller than she is! I just love my daisies!
Of course I was thrilled when she wore this adorable daisy outfit on my birthday! Kalel was at his dad's this weekend, so I didn't get to spend any time with him.
We decided to be very extravagant for my birthday this year and celebrated by going to Peach City. Unfortunately I forgot to take any pictures, DARN. I had a yummy BLT.
I have decided to change my way of thinking about birthdays. After feeling so bad about not celebrating Kim or Tasha's birthday this year I had decided just to try to ignore my birthday too. But then I had an epiphany. Birthdays are Important! I know that every young child literally counts the minutes until their birthday. It is something that they look forward to for a long time. It is a major celebration as they move from one stage of their lives to another. It is a celebration of the age they have completed and move to a more advanced age. As we move into middle age I think that we start looking behind us and start comparing it to the years before us. As we look forward we realize that we are gazing at fewer and fewer years as each birthday. We decide to try to forget about our birthdays in an effort to not get any older. This way of thinking is seriously flawed. First of all nothing will stop our progression in age. Second of all it should be a day full of celebrations for several reasons, 1) We have succeeded in enduring one more year of our lives, perhaps even improving ourselves in the process, 2) Daily living is a rough business with disappointments, heartaches, and trials around every corner. We deserve to celebrate and enjoy a special day just for living through it! 3) Each of us is special and unique in our own way, we need to celebrate just for being who we are, and 4) It is fun. I know that there are many people who say, it is just another day, I still have to go to work and do hard things - but I say that everyone deserves to be made to feel special for at least one day. I know that I look forward to my birthday even if I don't say it (and honestly I am sad if my family doesn't make a big deal).
I have been very neglectful in celebrating the special days of those who I love most. I am committing right now to changing that! That doesn't mean that I am planning to spend lots of money on gifts. No, I am planning to celebrate in whatever way that I can to let my loved ones know that they are special to me and I am very happy that they are here with me for one more year.
To celebrate my birthday this year (along with all of the wonderful wishes I got while at church and on facebook) Ash and Marilyn came over for a night of games. We played Ticket to Ride and got more than a little crazy. It was a ton of fun.
I'm so blessed to have great friends and family!
After doing some research I feel that the test was well written. I examined each student's response to each question and found that there were a couple of questions that I did not cover effectively in class, but the bottom line was that students struggled with comprehending and applying and key concepts. Nursing requires that students not only memorize and learn important concepts, they must learn to critically think about each situation, understand the ramifications of the actions they perform, and know how to apply each concept. It is a difficult learning curve to be able to think that way and not just memorize and regurgitate information.
I struggle with the best way to handle this, do I make adjustments in the assessments and exams the students take? Or do I continue to hold the bar high and make them stretch to that level? I feel that it is important for the students to stretch for two reasons: 1) they must pass a very difficult state exam in order to obtain their nursing licenses, 2) they will be handling life and death situations in their careers and must be equal to the task. For those reasons I decided to allow the students to remediate to raise their midterm score. The remediation is optional and it is hard. The point is that the students need to really work and stretch in order to get the concepts. The important thing is that they learn, not the grade. I hope it is the best way to handle it.
Midterm week is stressful for everyone, including the teacher.
Rae was so cute this week! Kim set up this tent and she played in it for hours!
We walked over to my dad's to visit. He had his Shopvac set up as a blower and he taught Rae how to use it. She had a blast blowing leaves and twigs off of the sidewalk. She then discovered what happened when she pointed it at herself and me. What goof ball!
Here she is standing by my daisies. They are taller than she is! I just love my daisies!
I have decided to change my way of thinking about birthdays. After feeling so bad about not celebrating Kim or Tasha's birthday this year I had decided just to try to ignore my birthday too. But then I had an epiphany. Birthdays are Important! I know that every young child literally counts the minutes until their birthday. It is something that they look forward to for a long time. It is a major celebration as they move from one stage of their lives to another. It is a celebration of the age they have completed and move to a more advanced age. As we move into middle age I think that we start looking behind us and start comparing it to the years before us. As we look forward we realize that we are gazing at fewer and fewer years as each birthday. We decide to try to forget about our birthdays in an effort to not get any older. This way of thinking is seriously flawed. First of all nothing will stop our progression in age. Second of all it should be a day full of celebrations for several reasons, 1) We have succeeded in enduring one more year of our lives, perhaps even improving ourselves in the process, 2) Daily living is a rough business with disappointments, heartaches, and trials around every corner. We deserve to celebrate and enjoy a special day just for living through it! 3) Each of us is special and unique in our own way, we need to celebrate just for being who we are, and 4) It is fun. I know that there are many people who say, it is just another day, I still have to go to work and do hard things - but I say that everyone deserves to be made to feel special for at least one day. I know that I look forward to my birthday even if I don't say it (and honestly I am sad if my family doesn't make a big deal).
I have been very neglectful in celebrating the special days of those who I love most. I am committing right now to changing that! That doesn't mean that I am planning to spend lots of money on gifts. No, I am planning to celebrate in whatever way that I can to let my loved ones know that they are special to me and I am very happy that they are here with me for one more year.
To celebrate my birthday this year (along with all of the wonderful wishes I got while at church and on facebook) Ash and Marilyn came over for a night of games. We played Ticket to Ride and got more than a little crazy. It was a ton of fun.
THIS WEEK I AM GRATEFUL FOR:
My birthday
Comments
LOVE your thoughts about bdays. I kind of get a little out of control with bdays, but I think it's sooooooo important to make everyone feel special on their one day all year.
The older my boys get, the less fuss they want, but I still try! Glad you got to play games and have some fuN!
Rae is adorable!