Teaching is Theater
Often when I post resources onto Moodle, I just say “I’ve posted a model essay from one of your classmates on Moodle.” Some students snooze through these announcements and I decided that shouldn’t be the case with the exam study guide, so I made an agreement with one of my students.
Making the rounds at the end of class, I suddenly stopped –
“What’s this?” I asked, delicately picking up the paper.
“What?”
“Where did you get a copy of the exam?” I demanded. “Did you go into my desk?”
“What?”
“GO INTO THE HALL!” I bellowed.
“What?”
Leaving the door open, and began to give one of the greatest upbraidings ever (the student tried hard not to chuckle, but fortunately he was out of sight).
We returned to the classroom and I said quietly, “Actually, this wasn’t a copy of the exam. It’s just an exam study guide that I posted on Moodle. I’m sorry for the mistake, but it’s just that the study guide is so good that it’s like having the actual exam in front of you.”
