Coursework Evaluation
Some students believe that the more questions there, the greater chance of passing there is. there are other students who are poor test takers, very knoweable in the subject matter, but has test taking anxiety. How do we deal with that?
Noreen,
I start with the premise that I want to measure learning. I think there is a misconception that every item taught has to be tested on. For me, I use daily quizzes to assess day to day information. That's one kind of assessment. Then, my mid-term and final exams don't have to be comprehensive, just enough to ramdomly be reassured that if the student has learned all they need, I can ask questions and if they have learned the material, they will be able to answer. Also, I see nothing wrong with a pretest to get an idea where more study may be needed.
Barry Westling
Yes, I really like quizzes. Students are anxious enough when taking a test/exam. Somehow quizzes don't cause as much anxiety because smaller amount of information is covered.
Owena,
I use quizzes alot, both formal and informal. Not all are graded (questioning during a lecture or discussion), and students soon see that they can expect a lot of assessment. I want them feel the process can be fun and encouraging.
Barry Westling
First I have to deal with reality that some student are good in taking quiz's and some are not.
Just let them know that a quiz is part of the course and not the end of the world. They have to work a little harder on their weakness to gain confidence.
Nestor,
I like to give a lot of quizzes, mostly shorter ones, but frequent. This helps me get a continuous feel for the class a whole and their performance to date. I often drop the lowest quiz score as an bonus incentive, because everyone has an off day now and then.
Barry Westling
