Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Review Sessions

I wanted to open up a discussion about the review sessions. I have had issues with the early bird students having trouble getting out of class. It seems that many of the students are from 3-4 teachers and it thus has a huge impact on those classes. I thus have decided to shorten the review sessions to 20 minutes 7:35-7:55 instead of the 40 minutes they use to be. I have also decided to no longer have review sessions for quizzes and just have them for the big unit tests. Please provide me with feedback on this so I know how everyone feels about the change.

53 comments:

Anonymous said...

Being an Early Bird student, I think that this change is definitely for the better. I also thought that it might be a good alternative to turn to Cougar Time as a review session opportunity, to completely eliminate the Early Bird conflict.

Kiss Gravity said...

Currie,

For the Reviews, maybe break them into two 20 minute sessions? That way you could assign half the kids to one, and half to the other. Or if you don't want to have to assign kids, you could just have them sign up for either Session A or Session B. If two isn't enough, maybe go to three and have them be only fifteen minutes long?

I think that you shouldn't need to have sessions any longer than that, because kids should study on their own as well, and not just rely on you to have sessions.

Also, I think it is important (especially for the Honors kids) to be able to have a review for quizzes - because there are going to be more quizzes than tests and they can impact grades too.

Just a thought.
~Gravity

Anonymous said...

currie! I think we need review sessions for the quizzes, because Im sure Im speaking for more than myself by saying Im a little confused and those review sessions help A LOT! So yeah..thats just too bad if early bird teachers dont like it. I dont know what else to write..so I guess thats it!

Evil Spoon said...

Well, all of these long, smart-sounding responses are kind of intimidating... but I'd like to express my views on this problem, too.

I agree with what Phyllis said in some ways. In my eyes, the Early Bird class I have isn't as important as Biology and I'm not missing anything but games most of the time. But I think that's more speaking for myself since not too many kids have early bird classes that easy.

I think that Sally's idea of having reviews during Cougar Time is a good idea, and Gravity's idea for review quizzes is also excellent. You could host the reviews the day before the test after the bell rings or something, as well. (Although the last one isn't as good as Cougar Time, people have after-school activities to work around.)

I'm not really sure what else to say on this topic, so... Adios!
~Evil Spoon

Anonymous said...

I think this unfair for the people who are in honors and are not in early bird because we wake up early to get a better grade and it shouldnt be ruined for us. Theese study sessions help out for alot of people excpecially in honors

crazy8 said...

i think that all of students who take the time to be there in the morning should get the opportunity to do well on the test. i t was their choice to sign up for early bird and be in a bio class(maybe honors). i think we need reviews on the quizes and the tests because they both are included in the same section of our grade.maybe you could set up a website with review questions or use cougar time.maybe even an after school session the day before would help.basically i just want all of the reviews..

Anonymous said...

All though I'm not an early bird student I understand the conflict, but some people need the reveiws to do well. The people who are willing to take time out of their mornings to come to the sessions then they diserve to do well. The students who have early bird can miss out I mean they chose to take early bird and bio/honors bio. An alternative for the morning issue try switching the study sessions to Cougar Time. This would be a good choice because not many people do anything during that time anyway. This way everybody would get the review they need.

Anonymous said...

I think that study session are amazing, they help us to make sure we understand it. Because they come right before the quiz/test we should already have an idea on what the information is rather then when you teach it to us for the first time and it just goes wising past are brains. As far as shorting the time to 20minutes I think 20 minutes maybe to short but that the idea of shorting it the right idea because that way kids with early bird would only have miss like 20 minutes of class. Some one earlier said something about to sessions. That is basically like what you have know because on the last to you have gone over the information twice. Also I think that having it before quizzes it important especially when like tomorrow quiz it comes the day after you we finish the notes. There really isn’t any time for someone to come & get extra help if they are confused. Finally I think are early bird teacher would be much less angry if we gave them a 2-3 day warning! I know that we forgot to tell Ms. King until the morning of she was NOT happy at all! Which is understandable and wasn’t very considerate. I think that if we just clear us the fuzziness and work together that there is no reason why we can’t make them work for BOTH test and Quizzes.

~me11

Anonymous said...

currie,

i think the review session should be held even if we have early bird. but maybe you should have them seperated by classes like have honors bio on one day and regular bio on another day. and maybe have more than one.. just a thoughtt.

Anonymous said...

I am not an early bird student but I understand the problem as well. I really think that the review sessions are helpful. I agree with crazy8 on that there could be a website set up...that would be great. But I think that there should be review sessions anyways because that way we can still get it explained to us if we are confused. So thats my opinion...

-dwncrossskier7

Anonymous said...

you could do pod casts go over the general areas and post them on this blog for other people to watch so that they can watch them at their leisure and there is no arguementswith early bird teachers

Anonymous said...

Hi Currie. I have never done the review sessions, so I don't know how they go, but kids wouldn't do them if they weren't beneficial, right? I can understand why they would upset early bird teachers. Kids in my early bird didn't tell the teacher ahead of time and thought they were just going to leave, when in fact she had a test planned for that day.
If it worked out for you, you could have one 20 minute session before school for non-early bird kids, and athletes and people who couldn't make it after school, and then another 20 minute one for early bird kids. And for athletes in early bird.......well...... better pay attention. But you wouldn't want to be coming in early and then staying after school too, that would just be a huge pain in the butt. Yeah I know that doesn't help much. I don't know what to tell you. Hope you figure this whole disaster out without too many new gray hairs. (No offense intended) Cougar time would work except that it's not really very long and kids would be coming from all over the place, might not have any things they need with them, and wow that would be chaotic.

Anonymous said...

Currie, come on man! The study sessions were perfect the way they were. However, I can understand that they get a little crowded. So my suggestion is to have multiple study sessions, one for kids who have no problem escaping their current class and one for the other. I also liked having study sessions for the quiz. You're not getting lazy on us right? Whatever happens, all I know is that their better be a full review session for the FINAL!

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah........... FIRST HOUR RULES!

Anonymous said...

I think that you should do a reveiw session for both tests and quizes because the amount of quizes compared to tests impacts our grades alot. Also im a freshman so having this opurtunity to better understand the stuff that we are learning in class is really important to us freshmen because alot of this stuff is totally new to us and is pretty difficult. so i think that having study sessions for quizes would be really helpful.

Anonymous said...

Hey Currie!

Okayy, here is what I think you should do about the whole review thing.

For early bird students I think that you should hold an after school review for them. That way we won't have to skip class. Or have a review session during Cougar Time for Early Bird kids only because they are the ones with the conflict.

For the non-early birders, I think that they can still have the review sessions in the morning because the problem doesn't affect them.

I really really really like and need the extra reviews for BOTH quizzes and tests because those are both important to our grades.

umm... can't think of anything else but that's my view point.

La La La said...

Although it was a smart decision to cut back on the review sessions for the benefit of the Early Bird students, I also know how much of an impact they make on your test/ quiz score if you attend them. Although the idea of having review sessions during Cougar Time is a great solution, I tend to disagree because thats a disadvantage for the students who have biology first and second period; unless you are considering holding them the Cougar Time before the actual test/quiz date. One suggestion I have is to have two separate review sessions: one before early bird and one before first period. So yeah..... (:

Thanks!
La La La :)

Anonymous said...

okay about this whole early bird thing...im in early bird both semesters with the same teacher. i wont name names, but my teacher will absolutely not let us go to any of the review sessions. i think its really stupid on his part-especially since on one of the days we were playing a review game for a test i had already studied for & there was basically no point in me being there in the first place...and the answer is still no!
Anyways-for the last test on cells...i had my parents excuse me from early bird. I think this is a good idea for everyone having conflicts with their teachers not letting them out, because when you have a note to excuse you from a class, the teacher is not allowed to go back and question it, since its not in their authority. it worked for me and several other students in my class so it shouldn't be a problems for the other students.
Other ideas...ummm i guess i agree with some of the other people have said about putting review questions on the website, then we can quiz ourselves on our own time and see if we are prepared or not.
and also what someone said about the podcasts, yeah that would be kind of a cool idea if it could all come together, but it might be a little bit tough (just a thought).
So yeah, i guess the main thing is that you should for sure figure something out for a better review...and have it for BOTH TESTS & QUIZES!!!!! and one more thing, im in honors biology and i think we need like a lot more help with photosynthesis and the unit we're on, cause i talked to like over 20 people from honors and pretty much all of them are WAY confused and think they're probably gonna fail the quiz tomorrow! just a little heads up.
and plus its really hard cause it really does effect our grade a lot!
okay well bye!
p.s. i think it would be really nice of you to move our quiz to monday possibly :]

Anonymous said...

Currie.. i think you should keep the review sessions the way they are and for the students who are not able to get out of their early bird classes or would rather not miss it have one after school and if they have sports.. well school comes first.
Plus I am pretty sure my early bird teacher is one of the teachers you were taling about and i know she said she was mad because we didnt tell her about it until 2 minutes before class started and she would plan something so we could leave that day if she had known before and to tell her in advance in the future. You could have the early bird kids warn there teachers prior to the morning of so maybe they could all schedule around it such as my teacher suggested.
I agree that the cougar time sessions would be nice but what about the students who have bio 1st and 2nd hour? thats not really fair to them.

Anonymous said...

oh and also if you change the review sessions just for the early bird kids [such as myself] it wouldnt be fair to the other students who chose not to take early bird and can get there. and the students whose teachers let them out!

Anonymous said...

I am very disappointed that I will not be able to participate in the science review sessions. I found them to be very beneficial for learning the materials that you feel are the most important for the test. I understand that the earlybirds are not able to participate but I'm hoping that there is a solution other than axing them all together. That doesn't sound like a good plan to me at all.
Most of life is about decisions. Many of us aren't able to participate in activities because the timing isn't right or there is a conflict with something else. We have to deal with it.
I can bet you when we get to college that the teachers aren't going to give a rip if you have a conflict with another class. They are only worried about one an that is theirs. Sk you big sister or brother or parents.
Maybe you can give the ones not attending the session notes and continue the reviews as is. It would be a complete shame to let something this benefical be derailed. The reveiw sessions are not intended to be a crash course so you can cram for the test.
Hey Mr. Currie, could you considered a webinar? That way students will have some flexible time to review. They could post their questions for review. Just a thought. Please don't just cut them out. I think they are very important.

samsam609 said...

currie,

I think you should keep having the review sessions in the morning and having one 1-2 days before the quiz during cougar time so the 1st and 2nd hour kids with early bird don't get ripped off.

Anonymous said...

Currie!
I think that the review sessions are very helpful so I don't want them to be completly gone. Although I don't have early bird, many of my freinds do and they also like the review sessions so I don't think we should exclude early bird kids. We (ecspecially honor kids) should be studing for the test and quizes on our own instead of always relying on the review sessions. I also think cougar time would be a good time for the sessions but what if the test isn't on a cougar day and what about the students in 1st and 2nd hours. So I believe shortening the review sessions but still having them is a good idea.

confused said...

I REALLY THINK THA TTHE REVIEW SESSIONS NEED TO CONTINUE. i wake up early to go to them to get a good grade and i feel like there should still be sessions...also it would be AMAZING! if we could move the quiz to mon. because i feel like alot of people arent prepared since we didnt review and we just "learned" it today, but i reaaaally need more time to study and let the info sink in!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

As a student in your honors bio class i think the study things help. if the early bird teachers dont let us out we will need to find a way around it.

Anonymous said...

okay put it this way, either a shokingly large amount of students are going to "sleep in" or be "sick" or early bird teachers can give an excused absence to those students, either way they will go to the sessions. also since early bird is above and beyond the requirements, it can be concluded that earlybird students are high achievers, therefore it shouldnt be too hard to catch up after missing one day of one class. I say early Bird teachers plans for class dont even need to be disrupted

Anonymous said...

you need the study session

Bad Idea said...

I think this is a bad idea. I personally went to the review sessions and found them especially helpful. I am in early bird but I still think that it is worth it too have the sessions. I hope this idea is reconsidered because of how helpful it was and you should notice a difference in the test/quiz scores this chapter.
Thanks for listening to my opinion.

Anonymous said...

yo curdogg we should have some of the review during cougar time then have a twenty minute reveiw in the morning because the review sessions help alot.
peaceout girl scout!

Anonymous said...

Yo Curdogg!

I really like the review sessions and i think that they help alot. I like having them before school like normal because then all the information is still fresh in our brains. But i also agree with Sally and I think that we should also use Cougar Time as a extra review session for the early bird students so they don't have to miss their class and also for the students that don't have a ride that early in the morning so there not missing out. Peace out girl scout!!

Anonymous said...

Currie,
Im a EarlyBirder, as is most of the honors class. those review session help alot, im not sure what i would do w/o them ( except study more...) I think i understand that the EB teachers dont want us leaving there class... im in Mrs. Miller's class, and all we usaly do the last 20 mins of class is do the homework she assigned for the day, and i think a study session for a honors class is more importent then somehting we could do at home.
going along with wut sally said, i htink that studdy sessions at Cougar Time is a good idea, none ever does anything at that time anyways... so why not do something productive with the time? like bio... =) also a 5 min cram-review befor the test/quiz could be a good idea.

Anonymous said...

hey currie!,

I just wanted to say that i read some of your other comments and i think that kiss gravity's idea is very good! Split the review session into two and regular kids can go to the first 20 min or all 40 min and the early bird kids can go to the second 20 min! Also, open up the review session to courgar time too!

TTFN (ta ta for now!)
~OAT

Hypothesis said...

I know cougar time isn't very long. but maybe during cougar time if students could get passes to come to your classroom for review. Or maybe have two reviews both going over different parts of the test, have one in the morning from 7:35-7:55 and one during cougar time. Also, i know many other students have said this but I will say it to..i would definitely rethink the idea of no more quiz reviews. The reviews helped me a lot since I am really bad test taker. So I would advise you to keep them.

I hope you find some of this useful!

-Hypothesis

Anonymous said...

Currie,

I think that the review sessions are great. they really help me by understanding the concept of what we are studying about. It also prepares me for tests and helps me think more in depth.

Some of your students may find it difficult to attend the session in the morning so I think you should hold one during cougar time and after school too. That would help a lot of us.

Jhun 2x said...

Currie,

I think that the review sessions are great. they really help me by understanding the concept of what we are studying about. It also prepares me for tests and helps me think more in depth.

Some of your students may find it difficult to attend the session in the morning so I think you should hold one during cougar time and after school too. That would help a lot of us.

Anonymous said...

Hey Currie!!!

I think there should be the review sessions! I don't really ever go, i am just here for the EC!

-YoSoyCalvo

Anonymous said...

After reading many of the other student's suggestions, the best idea sounds like the double review session in the morning. there should be an earlier one(7:15-7:35) for students that aren't in early bird and a later one (7:40-7:55)for those of us that are. this way, the room wouldn't be so crammed with people (its really hard to hear)and the earlybirders would miss less class time. Cougar time, in my opinion, is a bad idea unless the study session is held the day BEFORE the test. there are still students who have bio class 1st and 2nd hour, so a cougar time session would be completely useless to these students. the study sessions for quizzes should not be dropped because, as kiss gravity said, there are still alot of points in quizzes, and they are often given right after notes, so the concepts aren't totally clear in our heads yet.don't get rid of the sessions. they are very helpful because they clarify what material is needed to be known for the test.
just a thought on the early bird teachers, there is no way that missing the last 15-20 minutes of ONE class period almost ONCE A MONTH is going to affect our grades or learning. that is an extremely small amount of class time that is, in my opinion, better spent reviewing for a large unit test.
just my thoughts...

Anonymous said...

currieeee muscule mann!!

yooo dogg i like the review sessions alot they HELLLPPP!!! otherwise i am brain farted and cant get a good score! and i agree with the other people saying we should have a 5 min review session beofore the test! i think we shoudl have review sessions for all tests and quizes as i said they help!!! sooo make the right decision to not to drugs and keep the review session!!

Anonymous said...

p.s peace out girl scout!

whaat said...

my earlybird teacher won't even let me out for review sessions, i think we should have after-school ones too maybe.

Anonymous said...

CURRRRRRRRRRIE !

k so people in early bird, voulnterred to be in it
no one told them they HADDDDDD to take it righttt ?!

so i mean if they volunterred for that then they should take what they signed up for. and if that means missing out on a study session then so be it. i mean honestly no one forced them to take early bird rightttt ?!

so why punish the pepole who didnt take ittt by cancelling/shortening/ or even getting rid of the studdy sessions as a wholee

and this whole thing about extra review sessions i mean comeone your already doing extra work by doiing oneee revieww now some people want you to do twoo?? threee ? personally i think thats just rediculous.

but i mean if you ur early bird teacher lets you outt
wahh hooo for you other than then thatt alls i got to say is life isnt fairrr

get over grow up and take the hits as they come. i mean honestley your not gonna always get what you want and life and this is highschool its suppsed to prepare you for the ' real world ' and in the real world everything doesnt change cuz your " busy " or what have you so i mean maybe its just me but i think that if you have early bird then you should do other things instead of making the world revolve arounf you. you couls ask you [ currie ] for some kind of review sheet, stay after classs, come in for cougar time and ask for help and what not, so i mean there are ways of getting around it other then having you teach a study session three times when your doing us a favor by teaching one. and if your in early bird well get a friend to take some notes for you, study off those.

jut because you [ the eb kids ] signed up for an extra morning class doesnt mean that us [ the kids not in early bird ] should have to drop what were doing by tending to your schedule..

just cuz some people arent in early bird, soesnt mean that they shuodlnt get the learning benefit.

yea im done :]]

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Hey Currie, i like the review sessions. Everyone says they helped them. I wouldnt know because i have never been to one, but i plan on going to one shortly. So i believe they are a good idea and keep them.

jeniqua said...

i think u should keep it at 40 minutes, if the earlybirders cant go for the whole thing well then maybe they shouldnt have taken earlybird. haha. still i think u should keep it at 40 minutes

Anonymous said...

i think this policy is horrible!!

Anonymous said...

i think that the sessions should continue because i would fail other wise.

shisominator said...

i want the extra credit

Anonymous said...

i really wish you could still have the study sessions before quizzes. they helped me so much. i am an early bird student and my teacher was a little upset at having to let me leave but it was worth it. i am doing really good in e.b. and need the study sessions to help keep my grade up!

tdizzlefoshizzle said...

what is up wit it vanilla face.
it's yo real o.g. on the west side homie. I'll se ya on da coast real soon gangsta g.

Anonymous said...

I am an early bird student yes, but the study sessions are unbelievably helpful to me. Yes, we all know that the early bird students chose to join early bird and (honors)bio, but just because we choose to do more for ourselves doesnt mean we should deserve a bad grade. I think the study sessions should continue. Maybe just change the times to after school or yes, cougar time. A 2-3 day warning for quizes would also help so we can get individual help if needed (which could also lead, maybe, to not needing to attend a study session if you are in early bird, and that would also make the early bird teachers generally happier.)
Thanks (:

Anonymous said...

curr-dog, u need to hav those review sessions!! Your honors bio is harder than Branlunds AP, and frankly im not quite gettin all of it. The review sessions are awsome for me becuz im in ur first hour so i can take the test rite after the review sessions. HaHa

Anonymous said...

O ya, and the music you turn on during class is for sissy girls. PEACE!

Anonymous said...

ya no this whole episode reminded me of my seventh grade humanities courses. The whole "everyone should be equal" thing. The problem with equality is that in order for it to occur the general population must be dragged to the same level as the few incapable of carrying out normal life. So naturally everyone sucked at everything. In my opinion, let the early bird kids be left behind, theres only a few of them and they already get the benefit of an education far "superior" to ours. MAKE SURE IT DOESN'T INTERFERE WITH OTHER CLASSES NEXT TIME NITWITS!