Last week I gave an exam.\u00a0 With more than 100 students in classes, of course several were absent and had to make up the test.\u00a0 One student who missed the first makeup day came back to class on the day we were reviewing the exam\u2026 he walked in late as we were already into our exam review, with several of the answers on the board.<\/p>\n
Trying my best not to interrupt the flow of the class, I quickly had the students analyzing an alternate solution to a problem while I ushered my absentee student out the door with a copy of the exam, an answer sheet, and directions to complete the exam in the library and then return to class.\u00a0 He protested that he wasn\u2019t prepared (despite several days of review where he was present) and a policy that exams are made up upon a student\u2019s return.<\/p>\n
Not the most efficient or effective solution, and of course hindsight is 20\/20, but I prefer to trust my students unless they prove themselves untrustworthy.\u00a0 This time, I got taken.<\/p>\n
Upon grading the student\u2019s exam later that night, not only did I find a tremendous increase in this student\u2019s proficiency on the topic under study, he had also scored the highest grade in the class.\u00a0 In all my classes, as a matter of fact.\u00a0 An amazing feat for a student who hadn\u2019t worked in class, had scored poorly on our review questions, and in-class quizzes and tests for understanding, and who had professed his unpreparedness for the exam.\u00a0 Or, perhaps it was just an ignominious feat.<\/p>\n
I like to think the best of all my students, and I feel that for an overwhelming majority, they have earned my trust.\u00a0 But this single event unbalanced me.\u00a0 And I\u2019m more disturbed because as I look back through the year, I\u2019m quite certain this isn\u2019t the first time\u2026 too many \u201cshaky\u201d coincidences that should have caught only my glancing attention have slipped by.\u00a0 And I\u2019ve failed this student, as much or more than he\u2019s failed me.\u00a0 Because I\u2019ve allowed him to learn that he can succeed by cheating, even though he has yet to realize the person he\u2019s cheated is himself.<\/p>\n
Next time, of course, I know better solutions to the situation\u2026 give the student an alternate version of the exam, give the makeup exam in a controlled and supervised environment, or a combination of the two.\u00a0 Of course, that\u2019s next time.<\/p>\n
I like to think the best of my students, but I also need to realize that students make mistakes, and part of my job as a teacher is to assist them in recognizing those mistakes so that they don\u2019t repeat them.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be sitting down for a talk this afternoon, one that neither the student or I will likely enjoy, but that will hopefully foster growth in both of us.\u00a0 As a friend of mine advises, when you make a mistake, you should do three things: 1) admit the mistake; 2) learn from the mistake; and 3) don\u2019t repeat it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Last week I gave an exam.\u00a0 With more than 100 students in classes, of course several were absent and had to make up the test.\u00a0 One student who missed the first makeup day came back to class on the day Continue reading How Do You Deal With Cheating? #physicsed #edchat<\/span>