Hello everyone:

For some of you, midterm time has already arrived. For others, it may still be a couple of weeks away. Whenever it is for you, let’s take a moment or two and see where you stand.

How are your grades so far? One poorly-done exam will probably not destroy your grade for the class, but if you have not performed up to snuff, now is the time to step back and get a handle on things.

What upcoming projects do you have? Does your teacher offer free feedback at any point in time? (I offer free feedback to anyone who brings me a rough draft of a document one week before it is due. In my face-to-face classes, I will immediately look over the document and tell them what I think and how to improve the work. For online students, they can take advantage of Free Feedback Thursday, when a document is due the next Sunday.) Have you taken advantage of that opportunity? For my online students, I find only 3 students out of 25 will organize their time effectively enough to get the feedback. When they do use the free feedback, they usually get an A on the assignment, compared to a C when they “do their own thing.”  For face-to-face classes, one or two students out of 25 will use the free feedback offer.

Do you have any extra credit offers? If so, use them. You never know when you will have a bad day and will need the extra credit. Do not wait until the last week of class to ask for extra credit opportunities because I am busy grading all the final projects and you will not get it!

Hope this helps!

Dr. Sheri