How to gracefully fail an exam....

Last week was midterms week. I think that I failed an exam in my clinical decision making class - this class puts all your academic work into context and determines if you have a rhyme and reason to how you treat....and I think that I failed the exam. (Please note: I'm not one of those horrible people that say that I think that I failed an exam and get a 89. I stare down people like that.)

This post is not about how destroyed I feel but more about how to fail with grace. Because soooooo often I see students get really ugly when they do poorly on an exam and it actually works against them. Though, I can acknowledge that it feels good to complain for about 5 minutes but not longer than that.....here are my tips/thoughts.

1) Don't piss off the professor with your complaints. More than likely, he/she will be your professor again.

2) Don't use the words "not fair" to describe the exam to your professor. You sound like a child. Be a little more specific like... it wasn't covered in the 9/20 lecture or that was not my interpretation of the material, my interpretation was.... etc.

3) Think about how you could have prepared better. A test is as much about performance as it is about a learning. Learn from your mistakes. Nothing you can really do about your grade now but you can affect how you approach the next exam. Figure out what type of questions that the professor likes to write - critical thinking questions, short answer, lists, fact-based etc. and adjust your study habits.

4) Figure out what you got wrong and analyze what type of questions that you are not good at and adjust your study habits. Are you getting the fact based questions wrong, maybe you need to study with a partner and ask him/her to test your knowledge. Are you getting critical thinking questions wrong, maybe you need to go to office hours to see how you can get on track or talk through your answers with a classmate [make sure you are doing the talking].

5) Document the above so you see the pattern of questions that you are successful at and what you need to work on.

6) Don't gossip with your classmates. The walls have ears. And everyone hates a gossip. It also creates a negative sentiment amongst your class and then you-all become convinced that your professor has a personal vendetta against you. At that point, you will never be able to learn from that professor again.

7) Be proactive about the end of the semester review/feedback form. If the professor is truly to blame, he/she will only know what the problem is if someone writes about it.

With that said, I stewed last week but I'm back on track this week and figuring out how to do better on my final so I can pass the class..... Wish me luck!

Stink Eye Picture from Bookish Thoughts.
Crying Child Picture from Looks Like Good Design. 
Gossip Ruins People Picture from a Happy Lass.