The Finishing Stretch

As thoughts of the end of the year start to interfere with the work that remains to be done, teaching efforts can seem to unravel as students fall behind in assignments or lose concentration during the key weeks at the end of the semester.

An effective teacher will take time during the next few weeks to provide the kind of guidance that keeps students on track as we head into the final stretch. This week's tips offer ideas for providing the kinds of support that may help students use the week before finals more productively.

Study Guides

One way teachers can help students is to give them some ideas about how to focus their work over the next few weeks.

Outline. Provide students with an outline of the final section of the course. Often, the last part of the semester is crowded with ideas that are being covered rapidly. Help students highlight and organize what is important with a learning guide.

Schedule. Provide students with a schedule that details the last part of the course. List assignment due dates, special study sessions, and exams. Suggest a schedule which outlines when students should be studying specific material, reading assignments, or preparing written work. Show students how to organize their time in small, regular commitments.

Study Guide. Give students a study guide for final exams in plenty of time. Encourage students to begin reviewing the guide with colleagues now rather than waiting until the last minute.

Question Guide. Have students write questions they would like to see answered by the end of the semester. Type up the list with brief answers or references to readings or lectures. Or, use the list for a "scavenger hunt" for answers.

Closure Guides

Good teachers use the last part of the course to provide an overarching understanding of the semester's work. Incorporate some of the following ideas in your lessons to help students see the big picture.

Concept Map. Have students work in groups to develop a concept map for your course. Concept maps graphically detail the connections between main ideas as well as representing their links to subordinate concepts. If you don't have class time, assign this as homework or hand out a concept map that you have made.

Picture It. Have students draw pictures that portray what they have learned this semester. Students may share their pictures in small groups or you may ask those who draw better pictures to present to the class.

Summaries. Divide students into teams and assign each team the task of writing a summary for a section of the course. Summaries can be posted on an electronic bulletin board or you can have someone collect files into one document. For some fun, have students link their summaries together as a story of the "perfect" student's experience of the course.

Social Guides

Students may need some help dealing with the pressures at this time of year. The CIRT has a small booklet on stress and time management for academic administrators. Some suggestions:

Talk Stress. It is frequently helpful to let students acknowledge the stresses they are feeling. Help them examine the deeper causes -- often disorganized, unprioritized work or uncertain goals and unclear feedback. Focusing their thinking on underlying issues may help them look at more productive solutions than those offered by all-nighters.

Prioritize. Have students list the assignments and other duties that remain in the next few weeks. Have them place these in one of three categories: A) those due in 2-4 days; B) those due in 5-7 days; and C) those due 8-14 days. Suggest that they develop a schedule accordingly.

Identify Problem/Solutions. Help students identify their major time-wasting habits. Develop a set of solutions for each. Ask the CIRT for a sample that may provide a conversation starter for your students.

While you may not have time to provide extensive time management discussion in your classroom, consider taking a few minutes at the beginning or end of a class to make students aware of these issues and suggest that there are strategies that may help.

Final Comments

The end of the academic year is always a challenging time for students and teachers. Getting guidance, discovering a synthesizing overview, and addressing habits that contribute to stress are all strategies that can help a student be productive during this part of the year. Where possible, teachers should provide some advice that will help students stay on track.

This Teaching Tip was first published by Indiana State University’s, Center for Teaching and Learning on April 12, 1999.