Maybe I shouldn't have started this blog now, not with everything that's been going on.

So yesterday I had to catch up in all three classes to be on the same page for the exam on Friday. In my first (1030am) class I only had to discuss two constellations and wrap up the discussion on the phases of the moon.

In my second class (1250-220pm) I had to discuss six constellations along with the phases of the moon. I had forgotten how behind this class had been. But I had enough time to finish all of those things. There wasn't time for a proper recitation/review, so they had to be content with the three-question exercise that spanned (or more hopped through) the coverage of the exam.

I did realize belatedly though that there were some people from this class who did not go on the field trip and opted instead for the alternative research. Part of the problem of having prepared for most classes years in advance is that sometime I forget the little details of day to day teaching.

I was able to print the list of topics for my third class though (230pm). In this class I only had to discuss the phases of the moon, as it was this class' coverage in the constellations that I had decided for the exam. So I started out with asking those who were doing the alternative research to go to the front and look through the list of topics and sign beside the topic they choose.

Unfortunately there were only three of them. The rest were holding out for the Nov. 16 (Sunday) field trip. One, in fact, asked if he could do both the research and the field trip report. I, of course, turned it down.

To explain the subject, usually I don't have any idea what topics will be included in the next exam, only where we stop our discussion in class at the end of two weeks. That also prevents me from reusing the same exams, a pitfall of the departmental prerequisite subjects that have to cover a certain number of topics per exam.

This time, because of the field trip, I had to schedule the exam three weeks after the first quiz. Not that there were more topics covered, but because of the announcements about the field trip taking precedence, I had forgot to announce about this exam to all but the most inquisitive students until today.

So even though there is enough preparation on my part in scheduling the exam, for most of the students (who were not informed) it would seem sudden, occuring in the same week, especially to my 1250pm class, for whom it is next meeting already.

One solution, which I haven't tried, is to announce all the exam dates at the start of the term, which I don't know if the departmental subject teachers even do.