When you sit down for that test, you shouldn't have a thing to worry about. Bring a handful of pencils, pens, erasers, your calculator, some scratch paper -- anything you could possibly need and then some more. Not only will being over-prepared relax you, but when problems do arise, you'll be ready! Have a pocketful of peppermints while you're at it. Studies have shown that taking a whiff of peppermint increases your concentration abilities, makes you more alert, and gives you a tiny boost that can make all the difference. So if the answer is eluding you, pop a peppermint and then take another crack at it. Since your test is timed, the last thing you want to be is preoccupied by the clock. Instead of that ticking getting louder and louder as you stare at the blank question, just skip it. Tackle all the ones you could do with your eyes closed and your hands tied behind your back and then get to the harder questions. Your mind will be primed with everything it definitely knows, making the rest a bit easier. When you've answered all of the easy ones, go for the ones that have the greatest point value. If you don't answer a question that's worth 10% of your grade, there's little hope for the rest of your test. So if you're in that position, weigh your options. If there's any chance you missed a question, misinterpreted a question, or just filled in the wrong circle, you'll know you've caught it if you check and double-check your answers (provided you have the time, of course). Also, remember to consider the most important of all -- did you write down your name? Avoid the temptation to change your answers. Often your gut instinct is the right one. If you find yourself checking your answers and wanting to change them, only do so if you've had a revelation you had forgotten about. You know the whole "fake it till you make it" mantra? That totally goes for test taking. Thinking positive and being confident can actually help you do better -- if for no other reason than it keeps you relaxed (and being relaxed helps your mind think straight). Walk in there with your head held high so you can walk out the same way. Turns out trusting yourself is a big part of the game. When you trust your memories, they strengthen and become concrete. So be confident in your brain! The more you rely on it, the more it can reward you with the right answers. In case you didn't know, your brain is pretty phenomenal!

Summary: If anything, be over-prepared. If you don't know the answer, skip it for now. Double-check your answers. Keep a positive attitude.

Have you ever had a test which was way too easy to fail or a final which was almost exclusively material covered in the last three days of class, rather than material covered over the whole semester? These experiences will help you understand why it's important to balance your tests. Draw material as is appropriate for the significance of the test and weight it such that it will not make or break a student's grade. Not everyone tests well. Standard tests can be a very inaccurate method of gauging student's mastery of the material. Very intelligent, successful students can be terrible at taking tests and students who otherwise absorb material very poorly can be excellent test takers. Devise alternative methods which do not put so much pressure on students to succeed in very specific ways. Consider educative evaluation, rather than auditive. Ask your students to devise a real world scenario in which they would use the skills they've learned and ask them to write a paper or prepare a presentation explaining how they would handle the situation. This reinforces their skills and gives them the opportunity to show that they not only understood the material itself but that they also understood the significance. Public speaking is an important skill, to be sure. However, not everyone learns this by being put on the spot. Work your students up to full-class presentations in order to not only evaluate the extent to which they've learned the material but also give them the ability to learn valuable public speaking skills. Once they've mastered these easier presentations, you can have full class presentations and see how they fare. You can have students give a presentation, individually, to just you, one by one while others are working on a written assignment that they can do without much help other than an introduction and example. This presentation can be conducted like an interview. Prompting will make them less self-conscious, which should allow them to build presentation skills much more efficiently than immersion into a comprehensive report. It will also give you the opportunity to ask key questions to gauge how well they've organized their understandings and learned to apply the material. You can also have them give presentations to their peers, later in the course. They can go one-on-one with peers, as they just did with you, or you can have them go in front of a small panel of their peers, in an organized group process. Have the class students come up with a list of questions beforehand, which will also serve as a learning experience and way for them to demonstrate that they understand the material and evaluate fellow students presentations.

Summary: Construct well balanced tests. Consider alternatives to standard tests. Put a spin on presentations.

Whoever makes the first shot from the foul line (a horizontal line running between first and third base) will get the ball. The player who got possession of the ball in Step 1 chooses a square to shoot from. The square chosen determines the number of bases awarded if the player makes the shot: singles get one base, doubles two, triples three. The bunt squares move runners ahead one base each, but they cannot go to home base on a bunt. Bunting also results in a "sacrifice out.". If your team has two outs already, you cannot make a bunt. You must stand within the shooting square while taking the shot. Stepping outside the square counts as an out. If you miss a shot -- meaning you fail to hit the basket or the backboard of the hoop -- it is counted as an out. A player counted "out" cannot shoot again for the remainder of the inning. If you make the shot, the number of bases is awarded based on the square you're shooting from. You cannot shoot from the same square twice. Once a shot has been taken from a square, a team cannot use it again for the rest of the inning. You may find it helpful to use small objects such as bean bags to mark used squares. If your shot does not enter the hoop but makes contact with the target, you may be able to use a "put back." In basketball, a "put back" occurs when a player is able to secure a rebound from his/her own team's missed shot. If you or a team-mate can "put back" the shot, you score. After a successful shot, players must run the bases just as in baseball. A shot scored from a single square would advance the runner one base, and so on. A unique feature of BASEketball is that each player must shoot a specific order in each inning. If a player shoots a single the first time, they must attempt a double the next time they are "up to bat," and a triple the next time. If the first shot is a home run, a single must be played on the next turn.
Summary: Get a basketball and have a shoot-off to see who gets possession first. Choose a shooting square. Make a shot. Run the bases. Complete a shooting cycle.