Tag: final exam week

Embrace the Crescendo

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The stress of a 16-week semester resembles a musical crescendo and can feel like this . We begin the term feeling excited and open to new challenges. By week 8, we’re feeling intellectually agile and in sync with students. By week 16, we’re revving up to peak volume knowing that a holiday rest is looming. Such is the rhythm of academic life. It can be miserable or it can be magnificent depending on how we choose to view it. Fortunately, we get to decide which perspective to view. One positive perspective is that a busy final exam week can be an opportunity to role model time management and self-care techniques for students who are also experiencing significant anxiety this week. What self-care techniques do you use during finals week…petting dogs, playing with your kids, meditation, eating good food, walking, writing in a gratitude journal, watching cats chase laser pointers on YouTube? Whatever you do to experience joy and fulfillment during this busy week, consider sharing your techniques with students. They’ll likely do better on exams and learn to positively embrace the challenge.

2 reminders…

  • The grading oasis (MLIB 459) with coffee, snacks, and grading assistance is open 8-5 all week.
  • Blackboard will be down Dec 22-25

Make a Habit of it

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Finals are just around the corner and many of us are sprinting/struggling to the finish line. In many courses grading is the thing standing between us and a change of pace during the summer. There have probably been semesters when you moved through grading efficiently and others when you are wondering how serious those requirements on timely grade entry from the Office of the Registrar really are. Those different experiences were probably driven by different habits. Take a minute to think of your best and worst grading habits.

My best habit has always been preparation. This was the time in the semester when I would be motivated to focus in the evenings and clear my schedule of lingering grading, manuscripts in need of attention, and other projects. This allowed me to focus on grading final papers or exams when they came in without having other work to do. When I executed well I would be done with grading on Wednesday of final exam week. My worst habit was the mini-reward. I would be proud of myself for grading one or two papers and take a minute to read ESPN or check facebook, then that minute turned into 10, then I needed a cup of coffee, soon 30 minutes had passed without additional progress.

Despite commonly held beliefs, you do not have enough time to create a new habit before final exams and papers come in, but you do have time to get started. The least we should do is commit to being conscientious of our habits so we can make note for the future. This can be a challenge as habits, by their nature, are often automatic.

This tip was inspired by one of my better habits, listening to the Teaching in H
igher Ed podcast by Bonni Stachowiak and her episode on habits.

grading effectively podcast quote
Teaching in Higher Ed podcast

Her guest Natalie Houston is a regular contributor to the Chronicle and said something
that hit home for me, “habits save us tremendoustime and energy, but they can also lead us to doing a lot of things mindlessly.” It made me think about the things I do mindlessly which are not that productive.

Got feedback on this tip? A bad habit to disclose? Leave a comment or email it to us. Got an idea for a tip? Send it along.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Caffeinated Cats podcast! The newest episode is on food on and off campus. Link to it on soundcloud, itunes, overcast, or follow the podcast on facebook.