Here is some general information about the midterm exam, so that you can begin preparing for it. (This page may be further updated after class on W Oct 6.)
1. How the exam is structured
- Two different parts to the exam
- There will be a short-answer part and an essay part to this exam
- They will be separate "Tests & Quizzes" items in Sakai because they have different timing and deadlines
- Availability, deadline, and time limit
- The short-answer part will be available on Sakai during class time on F Oct 8
- Becomes available at 2:30 pm (EDT) on F Oct 8
- Must be completed by 3:25pm on F Oct 8
- You may take the short-answer part remotely, or you may bring your device to our classroom to take the exam (how's your battery? power outlets are finite!)
- The essay part will be available on Sakai from W Oct 6 through F Oct 8
- Becomes available at 11:00 pm (EDT) on W Oct 6
- Must be completed by 11:00 pm on F Oct 8
- Is available for two hours once you begin
- You will have a choice among 2 or 3 essay topics
- If your work is "saved" but not "submitted" by the deadline or time limit, Sakai will auto-submit what you have completed
- The short-answer part will be available on Sakai during class time on F Oct 8
- Software and technical information
- For the short-answer part, you may wish to compose each answer on your own computer first and paste it into Sakai when you are finished
- For the essay part, you will be asked to upload a file in Sakai T&Q
- This should work fine, but if you do have a problem with the upload,
you may email your file to JS at jlsmith
email.unc.edu
- This should work fine, but if you do have a problem with the upload,
you may email your file to JS at jlsmith
- Do not open multiple Sakai tabs in your browser while working on a T&Q,
or you may lose your work
- If you need to use something else on Sakai while you are taking the exam, just save your work, exit from the T&Q tool, do what you need to do, and come back to T&Q when you are ready
- Acceptable use of resources during the exam
- All class materials are open-"book" for this exam
- You may use the textbook, lecture outline slides, past check-in assignments and their feedback, your notes, slides from classmates' case-study presentations
- You may use web pages linked from course materials
- Use of other resources is not permitted (unless an exam question specifically directs you
to use something, of course)
- Collaboration with any other people is not allowed during the period when the
essay part of the exam is open
- Studying and reviewing with classmates before the exam opens is encouraged!
- Use of any non-class resources (other than those directly linked from class outlines or web sites), including books, articles, web sites, videos, etc., is not allowed
- Collaboration with any other people is not allowed during the period when the
essay part of the exam is open
- You will be asked to attest to the Honor Pledge on the exam
- All class materials are open-"book" for this exam
- How to get help during the exam if you have clarification questions
- For the short-answer part:
- I will be monitoring the class Zoom link; you can log in there to ask questions
- You can email me a question
at jlsmith
email.unc.edu - If you are in the classroom, you may raise your hand and ask a question
- For the essay part:
- You are welcome to email for clarification
at jlsmith
email.unc.edu - I am most likely to be checking email during these hours:
- Th Oct 7, 9am-11am | 12 noon-5pm | 9pm-11pm
- F Oct 8, 9:30am-10:45am | 12 noon - 5pm [incl. class time!] | 9pm-11pm
- You are welcome to email for clarification
at jlsmith
- For the short-answer part:
2. Structure of the short-answer part of the exam
A hint: The exam questions will be focused on important ideas, not tiny details. However, it would be useful to practice going from a summary of a research result (from the Kaplan reading) to an explanation of what questions it does (or doesn't!) provide an answer for.
- True/false or multiple-choice questions
- You may be asked to expand on or justify your choices
- Short-answer questions about textbook topics
- Brief definitions, explanations, or comparisons between two ideas or results
- Data and statistics questions
- Given a big-picture research question, be able to state a relevant measurable (quantitative) research question
- Given a measurable (quantitative) research question, be able to state the Null Hypothesis
- Given a data graphic (plus some explanatory text) from a research paper, be able to decode the graphic (explain the axes or categories) and interpret the graphic (tell the story of what the graphic is showing)
- Given p-values for experiment results, be able to identify which numerical values are statistically significant and which are not; understand what "statistical significance" means
Topics covered in this part of the course
- Ch 2 - Non-standard dialects
- Appendix - Introductory statistics and data graphics
- Ch 3 - Signed languages
- Ch 4 - Chimpanzees (etc.) and language
- Ch 5 - Children and first-language acquisition
- Ch 6 - Second-language acquisition