Strategies for succeeding in math-based exams

00:38:53
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDovT1ysYGw

Zusammenfassung

TLDRIn this workshop, Holly Rice discusses effective strategies for preparing for and taking math-based exams. The session is divided into three main parts: preparation, exam-taking strategies, and post-exam reflection. Key preparation steps include understanding the exam format, creating a semester planner, and utilizing past exams for practice. On the day before the exam, it's crucial to check technology and conduct a mock exam. During the exam, managing time effectively and staying calm are emphasized. After the exam, reviewing answers is important for learning and future success.

Mitbringsel

  • 📅 Plan your study schedule early.
  • 📝 Familiarize yourself with exam formats.
  • 📚 Use past exams for practice.
  • 🖥️ Check technology before online exams.
  • 🧘‍♂️ Relax the day before the exam.
  • ⏳ Budget your time during the exam.
  • 🔍 Review instructions carefully.
  • 🧠 Do a memory dump of key formulas.
  • ✅ Check answers after the exam.
  • 📈 Reflect on performance for future improvement.

Zeitleiste

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    Holly Rice, a learning specialist at Concordia University, introduces a workshop on strategies for succeeding in math-based exams. The focus will be on preparation, taking the exam, and post-exam steps.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    Three weeks before the exam, familiarize yourself with the exam format, instructions, and technology requirements. Understand whether the exam is cumulative or non-cumulative, and ensure you have emergency contacts ready in case of technical issues during an online exam.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    To avoid falling behind, use semester planners to organize your exam schedule and prioritize tasks based on their weight towards your final grade. Allocate study time accordingly, ensuring you cover all necessary material before the exam.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:20:00

    As the exam approaches, plan daily study sessions covering multiple courses to prevent fatigue. Review previously covered material and identify key topics based on past exams and professor guidance to focus your study efforts effectively.

  • 00:20:00 - 00:25:00

    Utilize available resources such as sample exams and study groups to enhance your preparation. Create accessible notes and formula sheets during your study sessions rather than waiting until the last minute.

  • 00:25:00 - 00:30:00

    On the day before the exam, ensure your technology is functioning, review instructions, and conduct a mock exam under similar conditions to the actual test. Identify any weak areas that need further review before the exam.

  • 00:30:00 - 00:38:53

    In the hours leading up to the exam, prioritize relaxation and proper nutrition. Review your technology setup for online exams, and practice positive self-talk to maintain confidence and focus during the exam.

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Mind Map

Video-Fragen und Antworten

  • What should I do three weeks before the exam?

    Familiarize yourself with the exam format, gather information from your professor, and create a study plan.

  • How can I effectively prepare for my exam?

    Use a semester planner, review content regularly, and practice with past exams.

  • What should I do the day before the exam?

    Check your technology, review instructions, and do a mock exam.

  • How should I manage my time during the exam?

    Budget your time according to the marks each question is worth and leave time to review.

  • What should I do after the exam?

    Check your answers and reflect on your performance to learn for future exams.

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Untertitel
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Automatisches Blättern:
  • 00:00:02
    bye everyone today I'm going to talk to
  • 00:00:06
    you about step strategies that is going
  • 00:00:08
    to help you uh succeed in your math
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    based or problem solving exams my name
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    is Holly rice and I'm a learning
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    specialist at the Student Success Center
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    at Concordia University
  • 00:00:22
    so in this Workshop I'm going to focus
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    on three different topics how to prep
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    for your exam how to take an exam and
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    what's going to happen after the examine
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    the steps you have to take after the
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    exam
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    in the process of prepping for the exam
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    I'm going to look at what needs to
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    happen in the three weeks before the
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    exam
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    the day before the exam and the hours
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    before the exam
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    so
  • 00:00:53
    three weeks before the exam what you
  • 00:00:56
    want to do is you want to familiarize
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    yourself with what you need to know
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    about your exam
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    try to find as much information as
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    possible read the instruction often
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    you'll find very useful information in
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    the instruction in the Moodle page or
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    any other instruction that your
  • 00:01:12
    professor might provide you with
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    if your exam is online or is in person
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    there are different measures you need to
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    take are they short and long answer McQ
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    are they on call are they factored are
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    they on my lap map are they sequential
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    and non-sequential in case you don't
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    know what sequential or non-sequentials
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    are if it is when you are in an online
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    exam and
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    um if you answer to question number one
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    and you move on to question number two
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    if you don't have the option to going
  • 00:01:48
    back to question number one that's a
  • 00:01:50
    sequential exam if you can go back and
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    forth between questions you can browse
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    between the questions in another word
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    all questions are presented to you all
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    at the same time and then you can choose
  • 00:02:01
    which one to answer first that's a
  • 00:02:03
    non-sequential example
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    the point is you need to know as much as
  • 00:02:08
    possible about the format of your exam
  • 00:02:11
    also if your exam is online you want to
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    know the kind of technologies that you
  • 00:02:17
    allowed the kind of technology that you
  • 00:02:20
    need to use for your exam
  • 00:02:23
    um
  • 00:02:25
    also if your exam is online you want to
  • 00:02:28
    make sure that you have all the
  • 00:02:31
    emergency contacts handy meaning that if
  • 00:02:34
    for example if the exam is on call you
  • 00:02:37
    want to make sure that you have access
  • 00:02:39
    to all people to the emergency contacts
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    um call people or if it is an
  • 00:02:45
    e-concordia
  • 00:02:46
    exam or if it is
  • 00:02:49
    um any exam that your professor has put
  • 00:02:53
    on any other platform you want to have
  • 00:02:56
    the emergency contact of those people
  • 00:02:59
    just to make sure that if anything goes
  • 00:03:01
    wrong with your exam you have the option
  • 00:03:03
    of contacting them emailing them and and
  • 00:03:06
    calling them right away without having
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    to
  • 00:03:10
    um trying to find the end the the the
  • 00:03:13
    information of uh people you need to
  • 00:03:17
    contact in the in the middle of the
  • 00:03:19
    panic you're going through if something
  • 00:03:21
    goes wrong in the middle of your exam
  • 00:03:25
    then we think about how to plan in the
  • 00:03:29
    three weeks before the exam so you want
  • 00:03:31
    to know the kind of tools
  • 00:03:34
    um that are allowed or not allowed in
  • 00:03:36
    your exam if the exams
  • 00:03:39
    um that are allowing you for calculators
  • 00:03:42
    you need to make sure that the
  • 00:03:43
    calculators are labeled by your
  • 00:03:45
    department
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    you want to find out what's covered and
  • 00:03:49
    what's not covered in your exam if the
  • 00:03:51
    exams are cumulative or non-cumulative
  • 00:03:55
    so again if you don't know what
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    cumulative is uh for example if you you
  • 00:04:01
    have in the midterm on the first five
  • 00:04:04
    chapters and the final uh by the time
  • 00:04:09
    the final terms you have covered let's
  • 00:04:11
    say 11 chapters
  • 00:04:13
    if you are only uh studying and being
  • 00:04:17
    examined on the last six chapter that's
  • 00:04:21
    a non-cumulative exam if you have to
  • 00:04:24
    know everything from the beginning and
  • 00:04:26
    until the very end that's a cumulative
  • 00:04:29
    exam
  • 00:04:31
    um
  • 00:04:32
    what you need to remember is that no
  • 00:04:36
    matter what when you are studying for a
  • 00:04:38
    problem solving exam you need to know
  • 00:04:42
    all your content from the beginning of
  • 00:04:46
    the the course so even if the exam is
  • 00:04:50
    non-cumulative you still need to know
  • 00:04:52
    the beginning because because the
  • 00:04:54
    content is cumulative if you don't
  • 00:04:56
    understand chapter one chances are
  • 00:04:58
    you're not going to understand chapter
  • 00:05:00
    seven or eight
  • 00:05:03
    whatever you do it's important that you
  • 00:05:06
    don't fall behind now how do we make
  • 00:05:08
    sure that you don't fall behind it all
  • 00:05:10
    goes into how you plan to study we have
  • 00:05:15
    provided semester planners on our
  • 00:05:18
    website uh
  • 00:05:20
    and basically these the semester
  • 00:05:24
    planners look like one of the two files
  • 00:05:27
    this is the full semester planner and
  • 00:05:30
    this is the end of semester planner and
  • 00:05:32
    every semester will provide that on our
  • 00:05:34
    website you can download it and you can
  • 00:05:37
    fill it out
  • 00:05:39
    you can also fill it out online the key
  • 00:05:41
    is to be able to put in all your exam
  • 00:05:45
    schedule at the very end of this uh
  • 00:05:49
    document
  • 00:05:50
    so you put in for example you have an
  • 00:05:52
    exam here you have an exam here and you
  • 00:05:54
    have an exam here
  • 00:05:56
    you also want to put what percentage of
  • 00:05:58
    your final grade each exam has the
  • 00:06:02
    reason why you want to do that is
  • 00:06:03
    because not only for your exam you want
  • 00:06:06
    to also put everything all the quizzes
  • 00:06:09
    the uh all the other deadlines final
  • 00:06:11
    papers uh essays whatever you need to do
  • 00:06:15
    for that semester usually the last three
  • 00:06:17
    weeks are the very busy weeks of the
  • 00:06:19
    semester you want to make sure that you
  • 00:06:21
    put them all in here
  • 00:06:23
    and then you attach the percentage to it
  • 00:06:26
    you want to make sure that if for
  • 00:06:28
    example you have something due here and
  • 00:06:32
    then you have another thing do here this
  • 00:06:35
    one that is on the 28th is worth let's
  • 00:06:37
    say 15 and the one on the third 30th is
  • 00:06:40
    worth only two percent
  • 00:06:43
    the assignment or the quiz on the 28
  • 00:06:47
    even though it is uh regardless of
  • 00:06:52
    whether it is sooner or later should
  • 00:06:54
    take a lot more time
  • 00:06:56
    you should dedicate a lot more time to
  • 00:06:59
    that one now let's say if the scenario
  • 00:07:01
    was uh vice versa if you had your
  • 00:07:04
    assignment that was 15 on this day and
  • 00:07:08
    then the assignment that was two percent
  • 00:07:10
    on the 28th you should still dedicate
  • 00:07:14
    maybe six or seven times more to this
  • 00:07:18
    one compared to this one why because
  • 00:07:23
    bottom line in your GPA this is worth
  • 00:07:27
    about seven times more than this one
  • 00:07:31
    even though it's sooner
  • 00:07:34
    um
  • 00:07:36
    the same goes for your exams you want to
  • 00:07:39
    put in the final exams in your summer
  • 00:07:42
    end of semester planner just so you know
  • 00:07:44
    for example how to plan for it for
  • 00:07:46
    example if you have an exam here on the
  • 00:07:48
    22nd and then another one on the 25th
  • 00:07:51
    and another one let's see on the first
  • 00:07:52
    the one on the 22nd you have you will
  • 00:07:56
    see that you have
  • 00:07:58
    um
  • 00:07:59
    two to three days before that actual day
  • 00:08:02
    of the exam to prepare for it
  • 00:08:05
    this is the last thing of the exam the
  • 00:08:07
    17 is the last thing the the last day of
  • 00:08:10
    classes so that gives you a good four
  • 00:08:12
    days to prepare for it it's important to
  • 00:08:15
    know that because if you're finally if
  • 00:08:18
    your first exam starts on the day that
  • 00:08:22
    the final exams begin which is on the
  • 00:08:25
    20th it doesn't give you much time to
  • 00:08:28
    study after the last class you had and
  • 00:08:31
    it's important to know that because
  • 00:08:32
    sometimes content is covered in the last
  • 00:08:35
    class and really the only time you have
  • 00:08:38
    left is to is to go through the content
  • 00:08:41
    of the last class so you have to be
  • 00:08:43
    really prepared before getting here
  • 00:08:45
    right you have to stay on top of your
  • 00:08:48
    content and on top of the material
  • 00:08:50
    before getting to this point because
  • 00:08:52
    once you are in the last session you're
  • 00:08:55
    not going to have much time to review
  • 00:08:57
    everything after that you can only
  • 00:09:00
    review what is on the last day what is
  • 00:09:03
    taught on the last day of the Excel so
  • 00:09:05
    that's why it's important to put in all
  • 00:09:08
    the dates and all the exams with the
  • 00:09:11
    percentage now if final exam is worth 90
  • 00:09:15
    percent
  • 00:09:16
    and another one is worth 30 obviously
  • 00:09:19
    the one that is worth 90 is going to
  • 00:09:21
    take more more time of yours unless
  • 00:09:23
    you're super prepared for it and you
  • 00:09:25
    really don't feel like you you don't
  • 00:09:28
    feel like you need to study for it
  • 00:09:30
    because you absolutely know everything
  • 00:09:31
    about that exam
  • 00:09:34
    um the other benefit of this is that
  • 00:09:37
    let's say if you have two days in two
  • 00:09:40
    exams or two days in a row okay
  • 00:09:43
    um again what happens that often we feel
  • 00:09:46
    that we need to spend all our time on
  • 00:09:48
    the next immediate deadline whereas when
  • 00:09:51
    you see everything in one page what's
  • 00:09:54
    gonna happen is that you don't need to
  • 00:09:56
    spend all your time on the first that
  • 00:09:58
    comes on the first exam that comes you
  • 00:10:01
    have to divide your time of course
  • 00:10:04
    considering the time that is spent on
  • 00:10:08
    the the excuse me the percentage that
  • 00:10:11
    each exam has
  • 00:10:14
    okay
  • 00:10:15
    uh also if you were gonna start
  • 00:10:18
    preparing for the one on the 24th let's
  • 00:10:20
    say here now you know that there's
  • 00:10:23
    another example right after that so your
  • 00:10:26
    time is basically divided at two so you
  • 00:10:28
    have to start getting ready even sooner
  • 00:10:31
    than that
  • 00:10:32
    Okay so
  • 00:10:34
    if you haven't already done so please
  • 00:10:37
    download the semester plan on our
  • 00:10:39
    website
  • 00:10:41
    um and that the file exists on our
  • 00:10:43
    website and I'm sure it's shared with
  • 00:10:45
    you
  • 00:10:46
    um
  • 00:10:48
    and start filling this out
  • 00:10:50
    start planning now
  • 00:10:52
    once we put everything here and in the
  • 00:10:54
    back of this there is there are a set of
  • 00:10:56
    instruction once we put in all the
  • 00:11:00
    information here then it's time to start
  • 00:11:03
    planning how to prepare for exam so
  • 00:11:06
    let's say I've put all my deadlines and
  • 00:11:08
    now I am on April
  • 00:11:12
    um
  • 00:11:12
    effect
  • 00:11:13
    okay so I have about two and a half
  • 00:11:16
    weeks left to my exams what I'm going to
  • 00:11:19
    do is I'm going to plan for every day on
  • 00:11:23
    what I'm going to be covering
  • 00:11:25
    all right at least have two at least
  • 00:11:28
    review of two different courses every
  • 00:11:30
    day not focus on only one as little as
  • 00:11:33
    much as your courses and as your time uh
  • 00:11:36
    allows because if we focus only on one
  • 00:11:40
    course after our brain gets very tired
  • 00:11:42
    so you want to switch between tasks so
  • 00:11:45
    you want to switch between topics
  • 00:11:48
    um also make sure that you have enough
  • 00:11:51
    time to cover everything before you get
  • 00:11:55
    to that exam not only that let's say if
  • 00:11:58
    you're on the fifth and you decide that
  • 00:12:00
    here I'm going to be reviewing chapter
  • 00:12:02
    one and two from course a chapter two
  • 00:12:06
    and three from that course chapter four
  • 00:12:09
    and five from that course make sure that
  • 00:12:11
    on the day on on the on the 8th you
  • 00:12:15
    leave some time to review everything
  • 00:12:18
    that you have looked at all here to go
  • 00:12:22
    through a couple more questions
  • 00:12:25
    of what you have reviewed because when
  • 00:12:28
    you do that it helps you
  • 00:12:31
    bring back everything make it fresh in
  • 00:12:34
    your brain
  • 00:12:35
    and if there were things that while you
  • 00:12:38
    were reviewing you were not sure it's
  • 00:12:39
    gonna it's gonna show itself here again
  • 00:12:42
    and it's gonna remind you that you have
  • 00:12:44
    to go do a couple more practice problems
  • 00:12:46
    so that it stays with you for the exam
  • 00:12:49
    if you remember everything here and you
  • 00:12:53
    can do problems without any problems
  • 00:12:56
    that means that you have uh you're
  • 00:12:59
    basically done uh well enough in your
  • 00:13:02
    practices and you can hopefully move on
  • 00:13:05
    to the next topics okay
  • 00:13:08
    let's say you put everything here and
  • 00:13:12
    then you realize oops I'm not going to
  • 00:13:14
    be able to finish everything right at
  • 00:13:17
    that point you have to pick and choose
  • 00:13:18
    you have to look at the 80 20 Rule and
  • 00:13:21
    say what are the most important 80 of
  • 00:13:25
    the content that I need to cover
  • 00:13:28
    what needs to be your guide could be
  • 00:13:31
    past exams it could be information that
  • 00:13:33
    the professor is giving you
  • 00:13:35
    okay so if they tell you that this
  • 00:13:37
    chapter is super important that has to
  • 00:13:39
    be a chapter that you will review and
  • 00:13:41
    you will review again and again to make
  • 00:13:43
    sure that you can solve all the problems
  • 00:13:45
    for that chapter
  • 00:13:49
    all right so I think I've covered
  • 00:13:52
    everything for this semester planner
  • 00:13:54
    make sure that you color code
  • 00:13:57
    um your courses so that it doesn't get
  • 00:14:01
    too busy
  • 00:14:04
    all right so let's talk about prepping
  • 00:14:08
    find out about all the prep sessions
  • 00:14:10
    that exist for your course
  • 00:14:13
    if there are any sample exams that the
  • 00:14:15
    professor has provided you perfect
  • 00:14:18
    check your Moodle sometimes professors
  • 00:14:21
    uh give some
  • 00:14:24
    um sample exams to the digital Center at
  • 00:14:28
    Concordia which basically is on the lb
  • 00:14:33
    185 I no it's on the of on the on the
  • 00:14:37
    first floor on in the lb building
  • 00:14:40
    there's also one at
  • 00:14:42
    um
  • 00:14:43
    uh Loyola
  • 00:14:46
    sometimes professors provide sample
  • 00:14:48
    exams uh to the digital Center so make
  • 00:14:52
    sure you go and you make a copy of them
  • 00:14:55
    um
  • 00:14:56
    and then also for the
  • 00:14:59
    um for for there are other ways to find
  • 00:15:02
    sample exams sometimes there are stuff
  • 00:15:05
    that you might be able to find on the
  • 00:15:07
    internet sample problems of a specific
  • 00:15:09
    topic
  • 00:15:12
    if you absolutely cannot find any sample
  • 00:15:16
    exam
  • 00:15:17
    try to make exams for each other try to
  • 00:15:21
    get a group your study group together
  • 00:15:23
    and then you you
  • 00:15:26
    um find some questions put them together
  • 00:15:28
    everybody does the same and then you
  • 00:15:31
    share questions and you just test
  • 00:15:32
    yourself on those sample exams okay
  • 00:15:36
    if you have more than one past exam
  • 00:15:43
    use all except for one for prep
  • 00:15:48
    and I'll tell you why
  • 00:15:51
    because one thing that I see very often
  • 00:15:54
    is that students think that past exams
  • 00:15:57
    are more of a uh
  • 00:16:01
    they have to be
  • 00:16:02
    your learning material whereas they're
  • 00:16:05
    not
  • 00:16:06
    they're more your guiding material so
  • 00:16:10
    they're going to tell you that for
  • 00:16:12
    example in this uh chapter there is
  • 00:16:17
    going to be a lot of important
  • 00:16:18
    information and you have to really
  • 00:16:21
    review this content you have to know it
  • 00:16:23
    really well
  • 00:16:25
    it guides you to know that because the
  • 00:16:28
    last four exams they always had a
  • 00:16:31
    question from this chapter or on this
  • 00:16:33
    topic that is an important topic so you
  • 00:16:36
    need to review it you need to learn it
  • 00:16:38
    you need to learn it really well okay it
  • 00:16:42
    doesn't mean that all the questions that
  • 00:16:45
    you've seen one of them is going to be
  • 00:16:46
    in the exam it might but it only means
  • 00:16:50
    that that's a very important topic and
  • 00:16:52
    you need to go and you need to really
  • 00:16:54
    learn that do more problems on that
  • 00:16:58
    you will leave one exam
  • 00:17:02
    past exam on the site and I'm going to
  • 00:17:04
    tell you in a bit what you're going to
  • 00:17:05
    do with it
  • 00:17:07
    if you're supposed to have access to
  • 00:17:11
    notes or formula sheets make sure you
  • 00:17:13
    prepare them while you're studying don't
  • 00:17:15
    wait until the last minute or the day
  • 00:17:17
    before the exam to create these notes
  • 00:17:20
    what you want to do is you want to
  • 00:17:22
    create them as you go through your study
  • 00:17:26
    but also remember if it is an open book
  • 00:17:29
    you want to make sure that your notes
  • 00:17:32
    are accessible your notes are written in
  • 00:17:35
    a way that you can go through them and
  • 00:17:38
    find the information you need
  • 00:17:40
    if they're not open book again you want
  • 00:17:43
    to make sure that your notes are
  • 00:17:46
    accessible to study from
  • 00:17:48
    that means that in the days close to the
  • 00:17:52
    exam you can look at your notes and then
  • 00:17:54
    say okay so this is what this part means
  • 00:17:59
    uh same goes for the formula sheet you
  • 00:18:02
    don't want to create a very crowded
  • 00:18:04
    formula sheet you want to have all the
  • 00:18:06
    important formulas and the and the
  • 00:18:08
    formulas that you will most probably
  • 00:18:11
    forget
  • 00:18:12
    don't put everything there and
  • 00:18:14
    especially if there's if there are
  • 00:18:16
    formulas that are derived from other
  • 00:18:18
    formulas you want to make sure that uh
  • 00:18:22
    you put the main one and then derive the
  • 00:18:24
    rest because sometimes it's very
  • 00:18:26
    difficult to put everything on a piece
  • 00:18:28
    of paper but at the same time if you see
  • 00:18:31
    that it's going to take you another half
  • 00:18:33
    an hour to derive each formula once
  • 00:18:35
    equal to higher level of course it
  • 00:18:36
    becomes often a bit more complicated the
  • 00:18:39
    formulas are a bit more complicated so
  • 00:18:41
    if uh
  • 00:18:45
    if you are
  • 00:18:47
    um
  • 00:18:48
    if you have a formula that you find that
  • 00:18:51
    to be too complicated then of course you
  • 00:18:53
    want to put them all on the formula
  • 00:18:55
    sheet
  • 00:18:56
    okay
  • 00:18:59
    so you have studied you've prepped you
  • 00:19:03
    have attended all the prep exam exams
  • 00:19:07
    that might be offered to you
  • 00:19:10
    um
  • 00:19:10
    what do we do on the day before the exam
  • 00:19:15
    so I hear often different opinions about
  • 00:19:18
    the days uh the day before the exam but
  • 00:19:22
    these are the important things that you
  • 00:19:24
    have to remember if your exam is online
  • 00:19:26
    again you want to make sure that all
  • 00:19:28
    your technology works well
  • 00:19:30
    because the last thing you want is for
  • 00:19:32
    your technology to break on your exam
  • 00:19:35
    you want to make sure that you have all
  • 00:19:37
    the resources that you need again
  • 00:19:39
    emergency contact and all of that
  • 00:19:43
    you want to find a place that is quiet
  • 00:19:46
    and allows you to relax and at the same
  • 00:19:50
    time you want to make sure that you can
  • 00:19:53
    concentrate in that place
  • 00:19:56
    nevertheless you want to review the
  • 00:19:59
    instruction again for that specific
  • 00:20:01
    course
  • 00:20:02
    and what's important is to do a mock
  • 00:20:06
    exam
  • 00:20:07
    so what is a mock exam Mark exam is to
  • 00:20:11
    do something that is that is as similar
  • 00:20:14
    as possible to your actual exam within
  • 00:20:18
    the time that you have for your exam so
  • 00:20:22
    if you're supposed to do three hours for
  • 00:20:24
    your exam
  • 00:20:25
    that's how much your mark exam should
  • 00:20:27
    take as well
  • 00:20:28
    and it has to be within an exam
  • 00:20:31
    environment so for example if there are
  • 00:20:34
    limitations in your exam if for example
  • 00:20:36
    you have
  • 00:20:38
    um
  • 00:20:39
    I don't know if if you're not supposed
  • 00:20:42
    to have access to your nose that means
  • 00:20:44
    during the mark exam don't give yourself
  • 00:20:46
    access to the notes don't allow yourself
  • 00:20:48
    to look at notes right or ask questions
  • 00:20:51
    from anyone because you want to really
  • 00:20:54
    put yourself in an exam condition and
  • 00:20:56
    see how well you can do in an exam
  • 00:20:58
    condition
  • 00:21:00
    that one past exam that you put aside is
  • 00:21:03
    going to be handy here so you want to
  • 00:21:06
    keep that element of surprise you want
  • 00:21:09
    to take that exam you're going to sit
  • 00:21:11
    down give yourself the time of the exam
  • 00:21:13
    don't access anything and write the exam
  • 00:21:16
    once you're done you want to correct
  • 00:21:19
    yourself and see how well you did the
  • 00:21:22
    reason why you want to do that the day
  • 00:21:24
    before the exam or maybe even two days
  • 00:21:26
    before the exam is because you want to
  • 00:21:28
    know if there are topics that you're
  • 00:21:31
    still a bit shaky on and you need to go
  • 00:21:33
    back and review them or do more problems
  • 00:21:36
    of them
  • 00:21:37
    correct yourself to find out exactly
  • 00:21:40
    where your mistakes are when you're
  • 00:21:43
    doing the mock exam don't make the
  • 00:21:45
    mistake of saying oh well I know how to
  • 00:21:48
    do this because you actually want to
  • 00:21:50
    know how long it takes you to do it
  • 00:21:52
    sometimes we know the answer but we're
  • 00:21:54
    too slow
  • 00:21:56
    okay sometimes
  • 00:22:00
    what you want to do is to actually uh
  • 00:22:05
    every question that you take take the
  • 00:22:08
    question and try to time yourself as
  • 00:22:11
    you're as you're solving it while you're
  • 00:22:14
    prepping for example in the three weeks
  • 00:22:16
    before the exam because you want to know
  • 00:22:18
    whether or not you're able to actually
  • 00:22:20
    do that exam in an example to do that
  • 00:22:23
    question in an exam condition
  • 00:22:27
    okay
  • 00:22:30
    so now we're hours before the exam make
  • 00:22:34
    sure that you and I'm sure you know this
  • 00:22:36
    but make sure that you sleep well the
  • 00:22:39
    night before the exam you eat properly
  • 00:22:42
    uh you don't pull an all-nighter uh but
  • 00:22:46
    what do we do in the hours before the
  • 00:22:49
    exam so
  • 00:22:50
    do we review or do we relax some people
  • 00:22:54
    review all the way until the minute
  • 00:22:56
    before the exam
  • 00:22:58
    often will find that the result is
  • 00:23:01
    opposite of what they expect when you
  • 00:23:03
    review all the way till the end you
  • 00:23:07
    often get your brain very tired and also
  • 00:23:09
    you mix things up
  • 00:23:12
    um
  • 00:23:14
    so the best suggestion that we have is
  • 00:23:18
    to relax at least an hour before the
  • 00:23:20
    exam if you have an exam at 9 00 am and
  • 00:23:23
    you usually wake up at 7 00 a.m don't
  • 00:23:26
    try to wake up on that day at 4am and
  • 00:23:29
    start studying uh keep the same sleep
  • 00:23:32
    schedule
  • 00:23:35
    if your exam is at 7 pm
  • 00:23:39
    and you want to study in the morning
  • 00:23:40
    even a bit in the early afternoon that's
  • 00:23:44
    fine but then even try if you can to
  • 00:23:48
    take a nap
  • 00:23:49
    so you can get started uh with your day
  • 00:23:53
    again when you have when you're starting
  • 00:23:55
    with that which is at 7 pm which is
  • 00:23:57
    brutal but at the same time we have to
  • 00:24:00
    schedule all the exams in the University
  • 00:24:02
    so some of them are going to fall at 7
  • 00:24:04
    pm but your
  • 00:24:07
    um plan can be that you take a really
  • 00:24:10
    good break before you examine the
  • 00:24:13
    afternoon
  • 00:24:14
    sorry in the in the evening
  • 00:24:17
    um try to go for a walk try to relax
  • 00:24:20
    some people say to listen to a relaxing
  • 00:24:24
    music it never worked for me because the
  • 00:24:27
    music keep playing in my head all
  • 00:24:29
    throughout the exam and I cannot
  • 00:24:31
    concentrate
  • 00:24:33
    um
  • 00:24:34
    but do something that relaxes you
  • 00:24:38
    oh another thing that I wanted to say is
  • 00:24:42
    that if you actually uh find that
  • 00:24:47
    it it works for you
  • 00:24:50
    um try one to two pieces of dark
  • 00:24:53
    chocolate I'm not saying more than that
  • 00:24:55
    because you don't want to have too much
  • 00:24:57
    chocolate before the exam but research
  • 00:24:59
    shows that actually improves the
  • 00:25:01
    performance so
  • 00:25:04
    um just take one to two pieces of dark
  • 00:25:06
    chocolate and treat yourself uh an hour
  • 00:25:08
    before the exam
  • 00:25:11
    if the exam is online
  • 00:25:16
    before like the hours before the exam
  • 00:25:19
    you want to check again your technology
  • 00:25:21
    you want to shut down or even reboot
  • 00:25:24
    your computer
  • 00:25:26
    so that there is nothing else open but
  • 00:25:29
    the application you need for your exam
  • 00:25:33
    make sure that you check the internet
  • 00:25:36
    connection
  • 00:25:37
    so that you don't lose it and go to a
  • 00:25:40
    place that you know the the internet
  • 00:25:42
    connection is as reliable as possible
  • 00:25:47
    okay
  • 00:25:49
    so you've prepared you've slept well
  • 00:25:52
    you've eaten a while you've taken the
  • 00:25:55
    mock exam and now you're right at your
  • 00:25:58
    exam whatever I explain from this point
  • 00:26:01
    on you need to plan you need to apply it
  • 00:26:04
    to both your actual exam and also your
  • 00:26:07
    mark exam why Market exam because you
  • 00:26:10
    want to make sure that
  • 00:26:14
    you practice
  • 00:26:17
    um these strategies in your Market exam
  • 00:26:19
    so if it needs improving Improvement you
  • 00:26:22
    have time to improve it
  • 00:26:24
    okay what do we do what's the first
  • 00:26:27
    thing that we do when we get the exam
  • 00:26:30
    paper
  • 00:26:30
    read the instruction you will be
  • 00:26:34
    surprised how often I see that students
  • 00:26:37
    lost mark because they were supposed to
  • 00:26:38
    write with a pen and they wrote with a
  • 00:26:40
    pencil
  • 00:26:41
    or they were supposed to answer four
  • 00:26:44
    question out of five but they didn't
  • 00:26:46
    read the instruction so they divided
  • 00:26:49
    their time in between all five questions
  • 00:26:51
    so take 30 seconds and read the
  • 00:26:54
    instruction
  • 00:26:57
    do a memory down what is a memory dump
  • 00:27:00
    mean if there are
  • 00:27:02
    three formulas that you're constantly
  • 00:27:06
    worried about forgetting what you want
  • 00:27:09
    to do is you want to write them down
  • 00:27:11
    right away as soon as you get your exam
  • 00:27:14
    paper because at least you put your mind
  • 00:27:16
    uh
  • 00:27:19
    at ease and and tell your brain that
  • 00:27:23
    okay it's there don't worry I'm not
  • 00:27:25
    going to forget it
  • 00:27:27
    um
  • 00:27:28
    I'm saying three four five formulas
  • 00:27:31
    don't rewrite the whole book you're not
  • 00:27:34
    gonna have time okay so just put down
  • 00:27:37
    whatever you've been worried about
  • 00:27:39
    forgetting if there is nothing to worry
  • 00:27:42
    about then just skip that step
  • 00:27:46
    now
  • 00:27:47
    there are two different opinions on
  • 00:27:49
    whether we should look over the
  • 00:27:51
    questions or not some people panic if
  • 00:27:55
    they come across a question that they
  • 00:27:57
    don't know the answer some people have
  • 00:27:59
    exam anxiety and if they see something
  • 00:28:02
    that they know they don't know they're
  • 00:28:05
    gonna apply
  • 00:28:07
    um so
  • 00:28:09
    what you want to do actually is you want
  • 00:28:12
    to look at your own habits would you be
  • 00:28:15
    comfortable to look at all questions and
  • 00:28:18
    see and if you don't know one you just
  • 00:28:20
    skip you go to the next one and you look
  • 00:28:22
    at the next one or you get so nervous
  • 00:28:25
    and you panic so much that you're gonna
  • 00:28:28
    forget the rest of the answers
  • 00:28:31
    if you are the latter one what I
  • 00:28:34
    strongly suggest is to take your
  • 00:28:37
    solution booklet and look at the
  • 00:28:39
    questions one by one
  • 00:28:41
    read the question try to answer it as
  • 00:28:45
    much as you can then move to the next
  • 00:28:47
    one rather than uh starting the question
  • 00:28:52
    and then going and looking at the next
  • 00:28:55
    one the next one next one because then
  • 00:28:57
    it gets too confusing
  • 00:29:01
    if you are a type of student that you
  • 00:29:04
    don't panic if you don't know the answer
  • 00:29:06
    you'll take your time you move on to the
  • 00:29:08
    next one and then you go back to that
  • 00:29:10
    question then what I suggest is to look
  • 00:29:13
    at everything
  • 00:29:14
    even you can jot down on the side some
  • 00:29:18
    of the answers that you have
  • 00:29:20
    some of the steps while your brain is
  • 00:29:23
    still not very tired because let's face
  • 00:29:26
    it exams are three hours they're too too
  • 00:29:28
    long so sometimes we get tired by the
  • 00:29:32
    end so it might be useful to actually
  • 00:29:34
    put in
  • 00:29:36
    some of the steps for each question so
  • 00:29:39
    by the time we get to the last questions
  • 00:29:42
    and our our brains are already very very
  • 00:29:44
    tired at that point then you don't need
  • 00:29:47
    to uh worry about forgetting the answer
  • 00:29:50
    because it's already written for you you
  • 00:29:52
    have already written it
  • 00:29:58
    the next suggestion is to budget your
  • 00:30:00
    time and what does it mean it means that
  • 00:30:03
    if you have a question that is worth
  • 00:30:06
    eight percent of your of your total mark
  • 00:30:09
    it should take eight percent of your
  • 00:30:11
    total time
  • 00:30:14
    so do a bit of calculation sometimes the
  • 00:30:18
    questions give you how much time it
  • 00:30:20
    should take sometimes it's not just the
  • 00:30:23
    time they give you how many marks it has
  • 00:30:25
    out of a hundred
  • 00:30:27
    nevertheless you have to find the Mark
  • 00:30:30
    if if it gives you the time that it
  • 00:30:33
    should take then that's that's one step
  • 00:30:35
    easier but if not then you look at the
  • 00:30:38
    number of marks and that's the
  • 00:30:40
    percentage of the time you should
  • 00:30:42
    dedicate to the question why because if
  • 00:30:45
    you're spending too much time on one
  • 00:30:47
    question you're basically taking time
  • 00:30:49
    away from another question
  • 00:30:55
    if you come across a question
  • 00:30:59
    and you'll find out that you don't know
  • 00:31:01
    the answer and then you feel like you're
  • 00:31:04
    panicking put your pen down close your
  • 00:31:07
    eyes and tell yourself you've done
  • 00:31:09
    everything possible to succeed in this
  • 00:31:13
    exam you have
  • 00:31:16
    um
  • 00:31:17
    prepared you have
  • 00:31:19
    as as much as you could you've spent
  • 00:31:22
    time on this never allow negative talks
  • 00:31:26
    uh and negative thoughts come to your
  • 00:31:29
    mind okay
  • 00:31:31
    um just tell yourself this is my
  • 00:31:33
    opportunity to do as best as I can and
  • 00:31:37
    then that's it
  • 00:31:38
    you open your eyes
  • 00:31:40
    pick up your pen and start writing again
  • 00:31:44
    okay you'll be surprised how negative
  • 00:31:47
    thoughts uh could be
  • 00:31:51
    um could impact our brain performance
  • 00:31:54
    so you want to really stay positive
  • 00:31:56
    during the exam
  • 00:31:58
    okay
  • 00:32:00
    so we covered how we should plan we
  • 00:32:01
    covered some of the strategies that we
  • 00:32:04
    use during the exam
  • 00:32:07
    um now we want to look at what we do for
  • 00:32:10
    every single question
  • 00:32:13
    so when you see a question the very very
  • 00:32:16
    first thing you want to do is
  • 00:32:19
    to read the question very carefully
  • 00:32:24
    um you read it once you read it again to
  • 00:32:26
    make sure you understand you underline
  • 00:32:28
    your highlight you make sure you
  • 00:32:30
    understand exactly what the question is
  • 00:32:32
    giving you and what the question is
  • 00:32:35
    asking you okay
  • 00:32:38
    um once you fully understand the
  • 00:32:40
    question and you know the important
  • 00:32:42
    information either by Andrew lining
  • 00:32:44
    highlighting whatever and then you list
  • 00:32:46
    it you list what the what's given and
  • 00:32:50
    what's being asked from you
  • 00:32:52
    when you're answering the question don't
  • 00:32:54
    don't write too close to each other try
  • 00:32:58
    to use some space so that it's easier to
  • 00:33:02
    read it's easier to correct and also if
  • 00:33:05
    you find it a little mistake you can
  • 00:33:08
    always go back and fix it you have room
  • 00:33:10
    to fix your mistakes
  • 00:33:13
    strategic when you are
  • 00:33:17
    writing an exam so what does it mean to
  • 00:33:19
    be strategic
  • 00:33:21
    let's say if you're out of time for one
  • 00:33:23
    question what would you do
  • 00:33:25
    would you continue writing that question
  • 00:33:27
    if you still have the answer if you have
  • 00:33:31
    you need another one to two minutes to
  • 00:33:33
    finish that question yes
  • 00:33:35
    continue writing if not then put in
  • 00:33:40
    bullet point what needs to happen after
  • 00:33:42
    move on to the next question because if
  • 00:33:45
    you see that there's another 15 minutes
  • 00:33:47
    needed for that question that's the 15
  • 00:33:48
    minutes that should be taken that is
  • 00:33:50
    taken from the next question which you
  • 00:33:53
    might easily know the answer
  • 00:33:55
    so and you don't want to lose those
  • 00:33:58
    marks right
  • 00:34:01
    so put it in bullet point move on finish
  • 00:34:03
    the exam come back and
  • 00:34:06
    um answer to that question when you're
  • 00:34:09
    budgeting your time try to leave about
  • 00:34:12
    10 minutes at the end so that when
  • 00:34:14
    scenarios like this happen
  • 00:34:16
    uh you have time at the end to come back
  • 00:34:19
    to these questions and answer them
  • 00:34:23
    if at the end of the exam you'll find
  • 00:34:25
    that I've finished writing a long answer
  • 00:34:31
    and I made a mistake somewhere rather
  • 00:34:33
    than Crossing out the whole thing going
  • 00:34:36
    back trying to answer all questions
  • 00:34:39
    what you could if you have time to do
  • 00:34:41
    that then do it but if you don't and you
  • 00:34:44
    need to do it in Rush what ends up
  • 00:34:45
    happening is that because you've made a
  • 00:34:48
    mistake
  • 00:34:49
    um and you are in rush and you don't
  • 00:34:52
    have enough time you're gonna make other
  • 00:34:54
    mistakes so instead just make a note and
  • 00:34:57
    say here I made a mistake 2 plus 2
  • 00:35:00
    equals four and I put five and this is
  • 00:35:02
    how it's gonna change the rest of my
  • 00:35:05
    answers
  • 00:35:06
    sometimes professors give you partial
  • 00:35:09
    Mark for that
  • 00:35:15
    and always always check your answers now
  • 00:35:19
    we have different ways of checking
  • 00:35:23
    answers sometimes you use mathematical
  • 00:35:26
    ways for example you use back
  • 00:35:28
    substitution sometimes what you want to
  • 00:35:31
    do is you want to check your answers
  • 00:35:34
    by taking yourself out of the math of it
  • 00:35:37
    and see if it actually makes sense in
  • 00:35:40
    real world so if you are let's say
  • 00:35:43
    calculating the weight of an airplane
  • 00:35:46
    and the result the result is 1000 kilos
  • 00:35:51
    somewhere you've made a mistake because
  • 00:35:54
    obviously a plane
  • 00:35:56
    [Music]
  • 00:35:57
    um
  • 00:35:57
    is is way a lot more than that or if
  • 00:36:01
    you're calculating a budget of a country
  • 00:36:05
    and the result comes to a thousand
  • 00:36:07
    dollars some somewhere you've made a
  • 00:36:10
    mistake and you know that you have to go
  • 00:36:12
    back and check your answer
  • 00:36:15
    okay
  • 00:36:17
    now what do we do after the exam so when
  • 00:36:21
    I asked that question from students
  • 00:36:24
    um they often tell me Well we just go
  • 00:36:27
    and forget about the exam and we go
  • 00:36:29
    party and we go sleep yes all of that
  • 00:36:32
    accept that you can't forget about your
  • 00:36:34
    exam what you need to do is to check
  • 00:36:37
    your answers why because you're gonna
  • 00:36:41
    receive your grades in two weeks after
  • 00:36:44
    the the final exam let's say in two
  • 00:36:48
    weeks you're gonna forget what you put
  • 00:36:50
    in your exam what you wrote as Solutions
  • 00:36:54
    and as answers so if
  • 00:36:57
    there was a mistake let's say in your
  • 00:37:00
    grade event
  • 00:37:01
    you will never know
  • 00:37:04
    um
  • 00:37:04
    because in two weeks you've forgotten
  • 00:37:07
    you've forgotten what you put in your uh
  • 00:37:10
    in your uh on your booklet on your
  • 00:37:12
    solution booklet so you want to know
  • 00:37:14
    what your fair grade is before
  • 00:37:19
    um
  • 00:37:20
    forgetting everything right so that
  • 00:37:23
    let's say if you find that oh this is
  • 00:37:25
    not the grade I expected I checked all
  • 00:37:28
    my answers with the book with my
  • 00:37:29
    classmates and I expected a B plus and
  • 00:37:32
    now I'm getting a c minus so I better go
  • 00:37:35
    and ask my professor you will have more
  • 00:37:37
    confidence to go and and seek help from
  • 00:37:39
    your professor
  • 00:37:41
    and asked to see your paper
  • 00:37:44
    whereas if you haven't then you're not
  • 00:37:46
    going to be sure well maybe I saw my
  • 00:37:48
    Beta mistake so I don't know
  • 00:37:50
    also what you'll learn
  • 00:37:53
    in
  • 00:37:57
    um in this process after the exam even
  • 00:37:59
    though it's not going to affect that
  • 00:38:01
    grade it's going to help you really
  • 00:38:04
    learn that topic for your future
  • 00:38:08
    purposes
  • 00:38:09
    uh as we know we have a series of prereq
  • 00:38:14
    a prereq courses uh in problem solving
  • 00:38:18
    courses right so often what we learn in
  • 00:38:23
    this course is going to come in handy in
  • 00:38:24
    our next course so you really want to go
  • 00:38:27
    and check your answers and if you don't
  • 00:38:29
    know something you want to learn at that
  • 00:38:31
    point but the right answer was
  • 00:38:36
    okay
  • 00:38:38
    um that brings me to the end of this
  • 00:38:41
    Workshop
  • 00:38:42
    um I wish you best of luck in your exams
  • 00:38:45
    and in your courses
  • 00:38:47
    thank you
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