I agree, I would handle the quizzes as study guides to first see what they know on thier own, then allowing them to complete it to the full 100% and using that test as a reference for the final exam which would challenge thier application of the material.
I think this is a new way of learning. Actually, quizzing, here is more for teaching than evaluating, I think it is a very good one.
Good point on how you can actually learn from a quiz! - Jon
Corinne,
Multiple tries? Is that what happens in the companies where these students work? I don't think so. They why in college? In a company when you have an assignment you might get another try if your lucky. Three times? For sure your out the door.
Our teaching methods need to reflect something of the outside world in business or technology that is realistic to prepare students to be successful.
Multiple attemps at quizzes until a perfect score? How is this mastery of content? Or is it an exercise on how to take a quiz?
In the working world you do not get multiple attempts at an assignment. We need to focus on prepearing students for success and promotion in their jobs. Multiple attempts at quizzes does not accomplish that. Going over wrong answers with an explanation of the correct answers does.
Gardner,
I've seen multiple tries on quizzes as well, but generally only as the first of many assessments.
Jon
I like this approach. Even based on my experience within this workshop, I find myself getting really, really lazy with the quiz, knowing I can just retake it. Imagine a student going into a situation in the future (a job, another school) where the quiz really is a serious matter, one shot deal, where ranking is very important, but not knowing how to prepare for it because they have come to subconsciously rely on the retake model.
In an online school I teach at, the quiz has been removed, as it was too problematic as an assessment tool in an online classroom and that seems to be the way of a lot of online schools who are trying to develop more serious programs. We have to project a longer term view of making online programs stronger and more credible, in my opinion, and the retake quiz has overtones of a lack of rigor.
Christine,
Good points - I like to use one-shot quizzes to make sure the reading is done and students have a baseline of knowledge - from there we move on to harder work ...
Jon
I have used the strategy of multiple attempts on a quiz for mastery, and I counted the quiz towards the final grade. The number of attempts determined the students' scores with the percentage earned decreasing with each attempt. In the classes when I used this method, all students were able to achieve a passing score on the quiz. I don't often use quizzes and I use this method even less, but it did work well.
Rebecca
Corinne:
I worked at a University in which we allowed for students to take a quiz as many times as they wanted. What I found is that some would take the quiz and be satisfied with a 5 out of 10 and some would keep taking the quiz until they received a perfect score.
I never understood those that were satisfied with a 5 out of 10 when given the opportunity to re-take until they received a passing score.
When taking the quizzes we would "scramble" the questions each time, which seemed to help students actually learn the concepts rather than memorize the actual quiz.
Kim
Rebecca,
Thanks for sharing your experience!
Best,
Jon
Corinne,
Interesting, I hadn't thought of it that way - thanks for sharing!
Jon
I suppose as long as the quizzes do not count toward the student's grade then I do not see why they can't retake the quiz. Although once they have the answers it is pretty easy to score well next time without actually knowing the material. I would like to see the questions change.
I agree with this approach. I have taken an online A&P class in which there were many terms to memorize. After I successfully completed the class, I pondered over what would have made the learning process more worthwhile. I believe that the use of online flashcards, in which instructors "cover" all of the relevant material to be learned, allowing the students to repeat these until mastery, along with tests would be an incremental step in creating a more solid base for learning memorization intensive courses.
Thomas,
Good point, some content must just be memorized - even if that is not very engaging.
Jon
there should be restrictions. Computer savvy students can easily get away with answer searches.
Dahlia,
Good point - there need to be limits or a "B" version for the second try.
Jon
My students have 3 chances at the quizzes but the tests only have 1 chance. Believe it or not, even with 3 chances some students still do not do well. At first I thought giving them 3 chances was just going to result in guessing, but it seems that it has not done so.
I agree, maybe you even limit to 5. The students that want to take advantage of the process and really study the areas that they were weak on will use this as a learning tool. The students that try to manipulate the system in place will always do so - not to sound jaded, but you do have students out there like that.
Interesting thought, but unlimited quizzing does not make a better student and I think it gives the student a false evaluation of their skills and I don't think it improves their learning skills. I would maybe give them two tries at most to see if they grasped the material. Most students do learn from mistakes, but if they know that they have the ability to unlimited do overs what stops them from just trying and trying until they get it right. This does not mean they will go over the lecture they will just do the quiz over and over again until they get it right.
