So, Im a high school senior doing a dual enrollment program at a community college. for our math class (calculus 2), our teacher has 3 midterms and a final. there is a 2 hour class on tuesday and thursday. tests are on thursdays and I see that for the past 2 midterms, she ALWAYS introduced 2 new sections on the tuesday RIGHT before the test, and said they will be on the exam. I have my 3rd midterm this thursday, and today (tuesday), she introduced 2 new sections again… arc length stuff and surface area of revolutions. idk, if im overreacting because im still used to the high school life, but none of my other college professors do this (nor did my previous math professor). usually the class before the test day was either going into the next chapter or having a small review. is this normal for a college class?
thanks.
In high school, classes typically meet every day. If your math class only meets twice a week, in order to fit the curriculum in one semester instructors can’t afford to have two wasted class periods. Yes, it’s totally normal.
Yes, that’s normal. Welcome to college.
It’s not unfair or abnormal, but I’ve taken a lot of math classes and I haven’t had it happen often.
Even in high school, that’s not out of the ordinary. I’d definitely expect it in college.
Yes, it’s normal and fair. Not every professor will do it, but many do. Some professors don’t even talk about some of the material on the test. It’s in the reading or on assignments, and you’re expected to learn it on your own and ask questions if you need help. I knew a professor once that wanted to teach a section of the material during the first half of the final exam time and then include that material on the exam that students would take during the second half of the final exam time. We (the TAs) talked her out of it because we all thought that was a little ridiculous, but professors can structure their class however they want.
Also, in classes where we’ve had reviews before exams, they were typically held outside of class time because there just wasn’t enough time to cover all the material and hold a review. But I also went to a school on the quarter system where there was a little more time pressure.
ok i guess it fair, but i just dont get why teachers do it? if they can just move all the material up one day, it would make life for us students a whole lot easier. usually, the first sections of math are always bs, so the teacher could have told us to do the hw without actually lecturing it, and start off with the new stuff (or something like that to move everything up one class day up). this way there wont be a need to have a class then an exam testing us on stuff we just learned without having time to meet with a teacher in class and ask her questions.
idk. sure, it might seem fair, but if i were a teacher, i would just think it would make a whole lot more sense by just pushing everything a day ahead and allowing for a one class buffer between the exam and the material the exam covers. just my $0.02.
Many teachers don’t want to skip the basics when their teaching a class because that’s the time to bring everyone up to speed so that you’re all on the same page before you advance to more complicated topics. Or what you consider to be “bs,” others may consider to actually be an integral part of the subject they are teaching, and skipping it would do a disservice to their students. What is “old” to you may not be old to every other student in that class, just like what is new to you may not be new to them. In other cases, teachers do start with what you would consider the “new stuff” and still need to take time during the class before the exam to teach new material. Some teachers might hold off on teaching really challenging material on the first day to give some buffer room for students who add the class late or are on the wait list or switch classes or haven’t been able to get the textbook yet. It’s not as easy as just “moving all the material up one day.” At some point, you run out of days.
Also, if this is such a concern for you, why don’t you just work ahead? The syllabus typically lists what topics will be covered on which days, and if you know what will be covered in the class before the exam, then you can work ahead. Read the chapter, work through some problems, consult resources or videos online. Then during class, you’ll be better equipped to understand what the teacher is explaining and you’ll be able to ask any questions during class. You can also go to your professor’s office hours before the exam and ask questions you have about the new material. If your professor doesn’t have office hours, then you can make an appointment to meet or email them questions. You can form a study group where you all explain the new material to each other before the exam.
My point is that the world is not always going to work the way you want it to. You are (or are on the verge of) becoming an adult, and you need to learn to adapt to situations. There will be millions of things that you will think are unfair or that you will think could “easily” be improved. But you can’t bend the world to be what you want it to be. You know the situation beforehand (especially since this is your third midterm) and you can plan accordingly.
@baktrax who said anything about bending the world? Maybe sometimes, you just gotta wear a new pair of glasses.
You indicated that you wanted your teachers to change their classes to fit your particular learning style, which indicates a desire to change your environment to fit you, rather than changing the way you study or prepare for exams to fit your environment. Sometimes, changing your environment is possible, but many times, it’s unrealistic. That’s what I was referring to by “bending the world” (so really, you did indicate that you wanted the environment to change to fit you). You were saying that you didn’t understand why teachers don’t follow a plan that is better suited to your learning style, and I was trying to point out potential reasons why they may not want to. I was also pointing out that it is not always possible to change your environment, so another option is to change the way you approach things. You’ve already been through this process through two midterms. If it’s such a concern, why don’t you change how you study to compensate for it?
And on another note, for the life of me, I can’t figure out what you’re trying to say with “you just gotta wear a new pair of glasses.” Are you talking about me? Your teachers? The world? I’ve never heard that expression before.
It is normal for that to happen. I had college algebra last semester, and my professor would introduce a new section at the class period before the test. I always hated that, though, because if the section was completely new to me and difficult, then I would be a nervous wreck trying to learn the new stuff while studying the old stuff at the same time. Time is essential in college, and because most classes only meet on certain days instead of everyday like in high school, instructors cannot afford to fit in “review days” and stuff like that. Most of the time you learn a new section everyday, take the exam, and then repeat.
@baktrax yeah i was saying random stuff. it was 11 PM and i was doing my physics homework, and i was undergoing “that moment of delusion”. forget i wrote that comment.
@NewBeginnings3 yeah. do you know if any website sells time? i really need more time too.
I just learned some new stuff yesterday in calculus III that will be on my calculus III test tomorrow.
Yes, this is normal.
You say that they could just move everything forward one day, but could they? If you move everything forward one day, all of a sudden you have a lesson taking place prior to the start of the semester.
A single class period in college is equivalent to 2-3 high school class periods.
The first sections in a math book aren’t bs. Just because you feel that it doesn’t need to be covered, it does not mean you can assume that everyone else feels the same way. Some people need to have that structure with the basics. It’s important to develop ideas from the ground up.
@comfortablycurt just wondering. do you think calc 3 is easier than calc 2?
Yah, if you just wait a few weeks we’re going live with “TimeGenerator” in the second quarter of this year.
It’s such a simple quantum mechanical manipulation, I can’t believe it wasn’t invented earlier.
The bad news is that only the highest bidder has control of any one frame…
Calc III is quite a bit easier than Calc II so far.
I took Calc II last spring. Then I took differential equations and linear algebra in the fall, now I’m taking Calc III. So far it hasn’t really been difficult. We’ve mostly been covering vectors and vector calculus up to this point, which I’ve already been doing in physics for 2 years anyway.
@JustOneDad if you want, I can be your test subject.