Go over the material on the Review Sheet. This is a comprehesive list of what has been covered in the class, and therefore what is fair game on the exam.
Get with a partner and quiz one another about the material on the Review Sheet. When we study, we have a familiarity bias, and we gloss over ideas that sound familiar, even if we haven’t mastered them. Quizzing with a partner helps overcome this problem.
Review the homework problems. Focus on the process. What are the different kinds of problems? How do these relate to the review sheet?
Try to get the big picture. Make connections between elements from different lectures.
Make a “cheat sheet.” Cheat sheets help you review and get the big picture. They also give you a reference that you can use to increase your test taking speed.
Take the practice exam as a simulation of the exam experience. Take it after you finished your other studying. Time yourself. Use the practice exam to help you (1) get down the timing of the exam and (2) identify areas where you are weak. If you run out of time on the practice exam, you will run out of time during the real exam. If you miss a concept on the practice exam, you are likely to miss it on the real exam. Do not look at the key until you are done!
Programming Quizzes - Review Sheet.
Quiz 1 covers Lectures 1-5.
Quiz 2 specifically covers Lectures 6-9 (but also includes everything from 1-5).
Programming Quizzes - Practice Test.
Note that this practice test covers material for both quizzes.
I apologize that this is not more ideal.
However, I think it is better for you to have some practice problems, than none.
Programming Quizzes - Review Materials (Game, Examples).
These are some extra questions that you can review on your own or with a study partner.
There are also a few extra example codes here for your review.
Again, this encompasses material for both quizzes.
A: By nature, programming and numerical methods do not lend themselves to easily assessing partial credit on exams. Usually the program either works or it doesn’t. This is actually good practice for the real world, where even little mistakes matter!
Q: Isn’t this super harsh?
A: It is a little bit harsh. I try to soften the blow by providing an “Exam Redo” where you can get some points back. That said, it is a good opportunity to get real feedback on what you didn’t get completely correct. Again, this is the standard for engineering in the real world.
Q: Why are you doing a makeup exam? Isn’t this a waste of my time?
A: It is not a waste of your time! Some of the best learning can happen after we get assessment about our performance. I have found this is true in my teaching, in my research, and in life! It can be hard, but we are better engineers and better people when we learn from honest feedback.
Q: How many points can I get back on the makeup exam?
A: You can get 1 point (out of 3) for a qualitative question and 4 points (out of 8) for a quantitative question.
Q: What is the format of the makeup exam?
A: It is exactly the same as your first exam, but you have unlimited time.
Q: I only missed a few questions, why are all of the exam questions repeated on the Makeup Exam?
A: Learning Suite does not make it easy to give you an exam where I give you only the questions you missed. Even if this is a bit annoying, please only answer the questions you missed. This will make it much easier to give you the correct grade!
Q: Will I get partial credit on the Final Exam?
A: Yes, you can get partial credit on the Final Exam on quantitative questions. You can get 50% for quantitative questions that are incorrect but “close.”
