Week 3

Assessments are coming....

Ahh, boi! Week 3 is where the rubber hits the road.

Typically you would have gotten your first assessment already! If not, you will likely get it at the start of week 4. Yay???!

In general, I don’t think anyone really welcomes assessments other than they indicate you are one step closer to the end of the semester. Definitely yay!

Some things to note about your first assessment:

• It will typically be the easiest of the set. You should put in maximum effort to earn maximum marks! The remaining assessments are likely to be more complex (since more material is covered), and it would be harder to get full marks then.

• Treat it like a mini-exam; it certainly will be based only on the topics covered so far (which are likely to be few)

• Use them for a reality check. This is really their true purpose. In general, assessments are designed to give you feedback on your progress. The upside of this feedback is you have time to change. If your feedback is not good, you still have about 9 weeks to take action and make a change. Compare this to if you wait till the end of the semester to use the overall coursework mark as feedback, at which point you only have days to take action.

Another secret is lecturers and TAs typically have more time before the first assessment is due since they do not have anything to mark. So make sure you do your best to schedule time with them to clarify topics, even as questions about your first assessment; if you know the topics to be tested, try a few chapter questions or past paper questions and bring these to them during office hours.

Checklist for week 3

• Find the topics/activity for your first assessment

• Review that material

• Actively seek out sample problems (Chapter questions or the library for past papers are a good place to start)

• Think about and observe your habits. As the saying goes, you are what you practice!

  A good place to start is with the Habit scoreboard and Habit Tracker by James Clear; if you have the time check out his book Atomic Habits! It's pretty awesome!

As always below are some videos to get you going! Onwards to victory!