Mandatory Open Book Exam
I have no choice but to give open book exams in Electrical Code classes. The text books even require "OPEN CODE BOOK' but the difference is that the actual text books used in class are not allowed to be used for the exam. The only book that the students are allowed to use for the exam is the "National Electrical Code". We are trying to prepare them to pass a "LICENSE" exam, in which understanding and how to use the code book is essential for passing and receiving their LICENSE. An "Open Book Exam" depends on the course and not opinions of OPEN BOOK in general.
Ideally, your assessment should mimic the state testing for licensing. This way the students will be familiar with what they should expect from the state.
Some subjects like Terrorism with odd names, etc, should be required to use the book or a class notes. I feel that the student been in class for 48 hours, when the Instructor was in classes for 3 months. Iknow that just learning to say the names and ideas of this course in very hard. On the other hand, the classes that dael with every day life, that no open book is required.
Hi AL:
Good point - perhaps a multi-layered approach with both open note/book exams and more traditional models might be considered the best approach.
Regards, Barry
