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Ariadne · Joined: 16 Jul 2004 Posts: 960

I got a little irritated with my English Major students this week. I mean, really, how many times should I have to tell them where to put their names on their papers? When the written instructions say to circle the correct answer, why do they write the answer in the margin? Why do they always write on the papers I have asked them NOT to write on? OK, I'm the teacher so I'm willing to share the blame.. obviously I'm doing something wrong. These are 4th year students and they truly need to learn to follow basic written and oral instructions.

I've decided to spend part of a class giving a lesson on following directions. I remember once seeing a humorous 'quiz' about directions. The quiz said not to do anything until you have read all the directions. The last part said not to do anything at all, so all the folks who completed the various tasks got to the end and realized they shouldn't have done them. Does anyone have a copy of this quiz or know where I can find it on the internet?

Any other ideas or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

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7969 · Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 5782 Location: Coastal Guangdong

its easy to make your own test like this. just make a fill in the blanks test according to the following format:

1. 10-15 questions
2. give them 3-5 minutes to finish the quiz/test.
3. tell them to read all of the instructions on the quiz before answering any of the questions.
4. as one of the instructions, include one that says "read all of the questions before writing anything on the paper."
5. for the last question, simply write "do not answer any of the questions on this exam paper."

hand out the papers, tell them to read the instructions, begin the exam, wait a few minutes, then watch how many of them start erasing answers, trying to make it look like they had never written anything on the paper.

it works.

Lobster · Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 11:38 pm Post subject:

Here is the one I use. You can just copy and paste into MSWord. Make sure to bold the instructions and underline vital words "read all the questions" and "before answering any of the questions". Change the 'n' in question 4 to the pi symbol. You may discuss some questions as a vocabulary exercise after the quiz. Note that question 11 may catch even those who make it through the first part.

RED

POP QUIZ: FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS

Read the instructions before you start!

This is a test on following instructions. It is not a geography, English, or mathematics test. Be sure to read all the questions completely before answering any of the questions. Good luck!

1. The result of a multiplication question is called:
______ the sum
______ the product
______ the remainder
______ the quotient

2. How many provinces and territories are there in China?
_____ provinces
_____ territories

3. How many people live in China?
_____ people

4. Using the formula A = π r2, calculate the area of a circle with a diameter of 13.62 cm.
A = __________

5. Indicate whether these statements are True of False
_____ a cat is a quadruped
_____ Canada is the biggest country in the world
_____ chimpanzees are man�s closest relatives
_____ Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
_____ the popular cartoon character �Blue Cat� is a real cat

6. What is the longest river in China? ___________________________

7. Solve the following arithmetic problem
(24 x Cool

+ 16 � 9 � 3 = ________

8. Two trains leave different stations that are 128 km. apart and move toward each other. Train A goes 22 km/h. and Train B goes 34 km/h. How long will it take for the trains to meet? _______________ minutes

9. What is your name? ____________________

10. What are you doing now? ______________________

11. This is a test on following instructions. Do not answer any of the questions. Write your name at the top of the page, turn the page over, put down your pen and see who is trying to answer the questions.
______ everybody
______ nobody
______ a few people
______ just me

7969 · Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 5782 Location: Coastal Guangdong

thats a funny test lobby.... altho i'm not sure i could get #7 correct.

the key is to make the exam as you see above. give them explicit instructions to follow the instructions. make that clear as day. then give them questions that they find irresistable to answer. some very intriguing ones, or funny ones, or very easy ones. tell them beforehand that this exam is the most important one they may ever take. they;ll do whatever they can to pass and that usually means just jump headfirst into answering questions. you'll get a good laugh out of it in the end..... i'm gonna do this exam next week in class, altho i think my current students are pretty sharp and will see thru my attempt at trickery. i'll post the results on this thread next friday.

Ariadne · Joined: 16 Jul 2004 Posts: 960

Thank you 7969 and Lobster!! It was very kind of you both to give me just the kind of help I needed.

Ariadne

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Hendahu · Joined: 27 Apr 2006 Posts: 69

I have got a copy of that test.....and it is an effective tool to use to test comprehension....give me an e-mail address or a way to send it to you.

7969 · Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 5782 Location: Coastal Guangdong

i conducted this test with my students this week. i made it quite clear the aim of the test was to test their ability to follow instructions. most students, upon beginning the test, just started answering questions without even reading the instructions at the top, i was blown away. despite my telling them no less than three times before the exam to read and follow the instructions, almost none of them did that. the final results, the number of passes in my classes this week are as follows:

23/320

i asked the final class this week why most of them failed to follow the instructions. one student told me "that's the chinese way." LOL