Day 118

The student contribution is from Angelina

On Friday, February 21, we had the class period to take the unit 6 progress check which consisted of 21 multiple-choice questions. Unit 6 revolved around topics such as economic development, imperialism, and migration between 1750 and 1900. Since the majority of the class did not complete the test until the end of class, we did not go over the test together. However, in order to make progress in our test-taking abilities and improve our knowledge in unit six, it is our responsibility to go over the test individually if not given time in class.

I found that when I reviewed my test, I made many avoidable mistakes that cost me several points. For example, how I managed my time while taking the test. I think that I was so focused on getting the correct answers, that I spent too much time on the questions at the beginning, which left me little time to carefully read and process the questions towards the end. In addition, I realized that I could connect background knowledge from the checklists to the test. 6.3, a topic within the test, was about indigenous responses to state expansion from 1750 to 1900. Based on the knowledge we have gained from the checklists about empires and the tactics they used, we can connect that to the questions on the test or use that to eliminate some of the other potential answers. Overall, I believe taking this test was very beneficial. Not only was I able to understand the mistakes I made during the test, but now I can focus on minimizing my mistakes in the future.

BIG Learning

Test-taking is a skill.  When people say they are bad test takers, there is truth in that. Despite all of the ways standardized tests are not fair and are biased, the students are going to be taking the AP exam in May. Therefore, this time of year, the students are learning the test. It takes time to become familiar with the test and learn how they respond to it. I’m not in love with spending as much time on the test as I do; however, that is the class I’m teaching and one of the goals of the class.

I love that she is the one understanding what she needs to do. I’m not the one pointing that out to her. She is figuring it out. I’m proud of her for that.