News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Exam week may send shivers down some undergraduates’ spines. On the other hand, graduates may say that students have it easy nowadays. But is this actually the case? Dr. Graham Kash, a professor at Tennessee Tech said the pressure remains the same.
Kash graduated from Vanderbilt in 1959. Kash said he believes the pressures of college exam week are the same as when he was an undergraduate.
“‘The more things change the more they stay the same.’ I think it’s all about the same. Some exams are a different style from others, ” Kash said. “I am most accustomed to giving and taking essay exams. I do expect that during the exams that the students will be able to recall and put in some detail. And I’ll mark them down if they don’t and naturally I prefer to mark them up if they do. ”
Although the pressure seems to remain, students still have to learn to deal with the pressure.
Lela Fine studies Chemical Engineering. Fine said exams carry a heavyweight.
“I feel the pressure that if I don’t get a good grade on my exam,” Fine said. “I’m not going to get a good job or something like that. ”
The pressure comes from not having the same support as high school, Fine said.
“There’s not someone to hold your hand and tell you what you need to know,” Fine said. “It’s up to you to figure out how you are going to know these things and to adequately prepare yourself. ”
Kash said he feels that some people worry too much and consequentially lose their focus.
“The way to reduce the pressure is to increase the preparation. Some people worry too much. They worry about worrying; they worry about whatever they can think about,” Kash said. “Of course we should have some concern. We should pay attention to what we are doing. We should say in studying and in other ways, ‘Well, am I really ready ?’ ‘Do I need to get ready some more?’ ”
During exam week, students can be found drilled to Tech’s library desks studying.
Fine said she spent most of her free time at the library.
“I study like a dog is chasing after me,” Fine said. “Actually, I was camped out in the library most of the day Sunday.”
Eleanor Seal, a political science major, said she has a special study habit.
“Usually, I like to check back to my syllabus and see what are the standards I need to study,” Seal said. “And I will usually make a Quizlet based off of that and share it with other peers in my class.”
Kash said he used to take his spare time to study.
“If I had a spare fifteen minutes and instead of worrying about the exam, spend that fifteen minutes studying for it, ” Kash said. “And it adds up. You may not have three or four hours you would like to have.”
When it comes down to the wire, Kash said success on the exams relies on knowing the material.
“Those who know the material usually do well, no matter what the type of exam,” Kash said. “And those who don’t will have trouble, no matter the type of exam. ”
Kash said that although the student must prepare his or herself, teacher and student communication makes a better environment.
“It is important for students and teachers to communicate. We are all supposed to be in the same project and working and learning something and helping each other,” Kash said. “The people who bother me are the ones who don’t talk to me.”
