Final Test Week is here for my school, and rapidly approaching for many faculty members. It includes a huge crunch of test-giving and test grading, plus many other end-of-the-semester tasks.
How do you avoid stress but stay organized, avoid procrastination and stay focused?
Great answers. Plan for finals and in doing so, have your exams prepared early, stay up on grading and ensure all of your student submission dates are spread over the last several weeks of the semester rather than on the last day.
- Don't park your car in your own bay.
- Unplug your phone.
- Disconnect instant messaging.
- Lock your door and do not answer it.
- Tell the School secretary to lie that you are not here.
- Enjoy the uninterrupted time to work.
- Take pride in getting it as right as you can, but no better.
- Look forward to the break afterwards, and make full use of it.
Based on my prior experience in middle/high school, the following strategies worked for me. Set deadlines for completing chucks of grading (e.g. by question or class). Check in with colleagues on their progress. Pacing yourself with highly efficient colleagues can be motivating. To reduce stress level, pace yourself with colleagues who make average progress. Do not entertain urgent request by students for consultations. Instead, have students sign up for slots you decide you can meet them and limit consultation duration.
Engaged in any activity that would make you relax and happy. Presently, I have a lot of scripts to mark and record the scores. These could be very stressful. thus, I need some times to relax so as to remain focus to achieve the target I set concerning the completion of these demanding tasks
Have your finals written prior to finals week. Grade them as they come in or you will be swamped. Have an absolute deadline on all "late work". Be ready for the stream of students with 12 dead or dying grandmothers, omg I'm only 159 point away from an A and other odd requests. Have a nice hot cup of tea while grading.
Great answers. Plan for finals and in doing so, have your exams prepared early, stay up on grading and ensure all of your student submission dates are spread over the last several weeks of the semester rather than on the last day.
Yes, do not allow finals to "sneak up" and as Greg said, be prepared for the students who have not attended the class since the first week of the semester and are only 500 points from passing asking to catch up over the last weekend of the semester.
I find so much humor in the week of finals. It is amazing how the level of concern increases on the part of the student as the days and hours count down toward finals and grade submission.
First, I begin each term with a prayer for all the grandmothers whose health will fail towards the end of the semester.
Second, I set a deadline for make-up work, extra credit assignments, etc., at a week before finals begin. And I keep to it. It actually helps quite a bit not to have these distractions.
Third, coffee. And lots of it.
Chunking is very healthy. Next week I'm up for checking finals, I will try to stay calm, stay focussed and chunk. Also I have set a deadline for all my other work. Firstly do my own examinattions (Med English) and next up do the remainder of the grading for the other classes, so that I can focuss on the finals. Good luck to all of you, if the students do well, grading is far more relaxed: fingers crossed for that.
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