So you bombed Exam 1 too? Same. I’m going to take a wild guess and say that, like me, you were not exactly pleased when you saw your 60%. I felt sad, annoyed, and, to be honest, pretty dumb. I don’t want this for you guys, so I’m hoping that what I have to say will ease your mind and give you hope and motivation for the rest of the semester. Let me give an example to illustrate what I want to say about the exams in this class.
Think about a high school swim team where you have a certain amount of meets to qualify for Regionals. If you’re new to the team, you have a few weeks of practice before you’re thrown in a pool for your first meet. There’s no way you beat the time required to move on. Once the second meet rolls around, another few weeks of practice has caused you to shave a second off of your time. By the third meet, you’re even closer to the time. Finally, at the last meet before Regionals, after months of training, you qualify.
That’s how this class usually works. Just how working to master the same strokes throughout the season helps you qualify, working to master the same concepts throughout the course helps you get an A. Non-science majors in what is probably their first college-level science course simply haven’t had the training necessary to get an A on the first exam or blogging period. But, with the rest of the opportunities this course offers you to practice, you will be equipped to “qualify.”
Please do not be discouraged by your low exam grade. Like Andrew, Brennan, and I have said before, Andrew structures his class to reward improvement. If you continue to focus during lectures, practice taking exams/writing blogs, and attend upcoming exam and blogging review sessions, I’m confident that you’ll end up with a grade that reflects your hard work. And remember, you get to drop two of the four exam scores? Hopefully you feel at least a little better after the terror that is Exam 1. Don’t hesitate to comment on this blog or email me at atg5124@psu.edu with any questions or concerns. Good luck with Exam 2!
Amanda
I actually emailed Amanda a couple days ago discussing this with her. I got a 60% on my first exam grade as well and was very discouraged. I was so disappointed in myself and felt extremely dumb. I was scared that I was constantly be getting this grade all semester and then my GPA would be affected. Thank you for all your help and advice! 🙂
Yeah, I was pretty discouraged with my grade because I was really aiming to get an A (shooting high, I know!). But I really liked your analogy to the swim team and it boosted my spirits a bit! I feel a little less discouraged and believe that I can improve myself with more practice. Thanks so much for this post!