Thursday 11 June 2009

Time Limited Exam and Speed of Handwriting

Everyone is trying to tell me to forget about the exam and move on, however I have very personal belief that you can learn better and avoid from the mistake that you made. When I look back on things I did, I can have ideas that I won't make same mistake again and what can I do to make different. Especially I still got exams to come in the future, if I don't solve the problem that I have now, when is the best time then??!!

With all the learning theories that we had learnt and told, I can understand why and how we learn and behave. In my person learning style, Piaget's theory comes in my head that he believe we learn from personal experience and as individual active learner. What happened in the exam, was that I spend too much time to think and constructure my answers although we kind of knew what areas that exam cover, but when the questions come out, I still want to answer to the question critically. There are so much knowledge in my lead, shouting to me, it want to get out, however my handwriting came in the way!! I didn't know that I am a slow writer until I heard that everyone had wrote so many pages in the exam.

That's why now that I am sitting in front of my desk and writing this post on my blog. I am disappointed with my exam, not because I havn't got the knowledge or didn't know how to answer the question, is becuase I run out the time. If education is made to suit everyone, is made to help people to have more knowledge, is made to make you learn more, then why create the exam which doesn't suit everyone, doesn't really give people chance to show what knowledge they got, doesn't help with the individual learning??

I don't have any disability so I can't have extra time which is fair, but what if I could get extra time because of I am a slow handwriting person. Some people would have extra time due to the difficulties with reading which slow them down in the exam. What about the people who can't physically write fast?? I WONDER!!

2 comments:

Jen said...

Hi Crystal, I think immediately after an exam when a group of peers get together and discuss what they wrote/how they tackled it, is always rounded off in a "oh well..It’s done now...can't change it" pragmatic-sort-of-a-way. It's a useful psychological tool because, you hear what other people say...and might think...oh sh!t - I never wrote that/I forgot that etc. By being pragmatic (we can't change it by worrying) we can move on...towards the results...not learning from any mistakes yet...because...without the results of the exam - how do you really know the mistakes you have made?
Now...I know that you know that you perhaps didn't write as much as you needed to/planned....did you mind map? I remember last year CT saying that in the event of people not finishing a question, she would look at the mindmap and consider this in her assessment?
Also, you cannot (nor should not) be worrying about how much people have written....they could have written 7 pages of repeating waffle....you may have written 2/3 pages of quality work. Quality NOT Quantity!
I think you have a valid point about the writing...perhaps as an English as a second language learner you should indeed be entitled to extra exam time? or maybe, be allowed to type your answers rather than write? ASK - it's a valid point!
Finally, I seriously think you need to stop beating yourself up about this....wait until the results are out - then perhaps a constructive meeting with Lin about areas of improvement/mistakes can be arranged? Currently as I see it - you are trying to correct/improve on mistakes you THINK you have made.....wait and see.
I hope this comment helps you. I am sure Crystal that you will achieve the success you strive towards....but give yourself a chance...don't be so critical of your abilities...you have come so far already ;-)

Crystal said...

hi, Jen
I would definately arrange meetings with Brian and Lin after the exam result are out. I need tutors to give me some advice on the learning, I had enough of them told me that I am fine, I am pass and don't worry, that isn't the way of learning. They had told us so many theories about how do children learn and how as workers should do to encourge the best outcome of children, these should be use on us as adult learners too. We need teachers to give us guidance on what can we do or try to get best achievement. By avoiding to give me the mark sheet or grade of my hard course work isn't a way that teacher should be.