Exam Questions invented: 40 (for two different courses)
Advice from colleagues: priceless!
This is the time of year when many academics turn their attention to exams. While that season is blissfully distant for unsuspecting students, we are slaving away trying to create a challenging but do-able exam paper for our young charges to face in May or September. You might think I am protesting too much, but it’s actually really difficult devising an exam paper that brings out the best in the students. You don’t want to mislead or trick them, scare or depress them, but equally you want to encourage the best students to shine by thinking ‘outside the box’.
This is a job that I never had to do as an hourly-paid or part-time lecturer, it’s only now that I have a permanent position that I have had to think about creating exam questions. No training is offered in this, it is just assumed by the powers that be that you will somehow pick up this skill by the power of osmosis: you will have seen so many exam papers by the time you get to this level that you must be able to write one of your own…well that’s not necessarily true. So how to go about it?
The answer for me was to ask for help from more experienced colleagues. Some people find this difficult because academic life can be a lonely occupation where, for the most part, you are left to get on with your own work. Other people find it difficult to admit that they need advice, not wanting to seem weak in some way, but believe me, there’s no shame in asking for help, and realising that you never stop learning is part of the wisdom you acquire as you progress through life.
I have a colleague who is currently working part time in my university, having retired from running his own department at a neighbouring institution. His experience and advice has been invaluable to me in these first few months of my job. He is not my official mentor, but he has taught me lots. I only hope that I can offer as much support to younger scholars when I am in a more senior role. So, whether you are undergraduate or postgraduate, lecturer or professor make sure you take a moment to metaphorically raise your glass to mentors, official and unofficial, everywhere: thanks, Frank!
