Post-Exam Reflection Questions

Post-Exam Reflection Questions

studying

A few days ago, I asked 6 top performing students one simple question:

“Which questions to refect on do you ask yourself after an exam?”

What I ended up walking away with was a messy notepad full of notes, a completely new way of seeing the world, and 8 profound questions everyone (from first grade till Phd-student should ask themselves after having taken an exam.)

Let’s dive in:

Question #1: Focus on the right topics to study

What topics did the teacher emphasize? Did he test the topics he said he would test?

Question #2: Unexpected questions that came up

What unexpected things/topics/questions came up? How can I anticipate this in the future?

Question #3: Laying the foundation to start next time

What are the first 3 steps I will take next time (when starting to study a similar subject or a subject where I have the same teacher)?

Question #4: What I did well is as important as what didn't go well.

What did I do well in preparing for the exam? What will I continue doing?

Question #5: The Pareto Principle: Minimum investment with the maximum outcome.

What could I have focused less on? What has been the 20% investment that yielded 80% of the result?

Question #6: Material to bring to the exam.

Could my preparation for writing the exam have been improved? E.g., print out a summary, bring more pencils, and have a better internet connection.

Question #7: Mindset and how to give answers to questions.

Should I focus more on answering questions by feeling next time? Or write more memorized answers? Keep my answers shorter?

Question #8: Look at how the teacher grades and gives points.

How did the teacher evaluate me? What did she pay special attention to?

The next time you take a test with the same teacher or for a similar subject, you already know what to focus on. This saves a lot of energy and time.

https://www.stonehenge.wilts.sch.uk/uploads/Exam-reflection_002.pdf

Look at the studying section to get more powerful questions to ask yourself when studying for an exam.