Carol,
When that has happened, I printed new copies of the exam, and wrote
student's name on each. I did not give them the old exams, but I did give each
person his or her total score, written on the top of the blank exam. I told the
class that they had done very poorly, and that here was an opportunity to
improve their grade. They were to take the test home, and to retake it. They
could use their texts, but not their friends, dog, etc. I would regrade the exam
and add 60% of the increase in points. I graded the exams again, and on a
question by question basis, calculated the increase in points, and added 60% of
that number to their previous score. I ignored any questions on which they did
more poorly, thus the retake could only help them. The result is they had to
spend time with the material, and actually write answers.
The procedure seemed to go over well, and they learned the meaterial.
Joel
Joel S. Freund 216 Memorial Hall
Department of Psychology
Fayetteville, AR 72701-1201
Phone: (479) 575-4256
FAX: (479) 575-3219
E-MAIL: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Lord, give me patience, but I want it right now. - anonymous
Whoever is out of patience is out of possession of their soul. Francis Bacon
On Sun, 12 Oct 2008, DeVolder Carol L wrote:
:-)I recently gave an exam in my 300-level Brain and Behavior class, and my
students bombed it. I mean really bombed it--every last one of them. For
various reasons that don't matter, I do take the blame for it. I have been
distracted and not doing a good job of teaching the course. That doesn't excuse
the students from reading the text and knowing the material; it's basic but
important stuff such as action potentials, lobes and their function, etc., but
it can be difficult without help. My question is this: This particular exam is
worth 20% of their grade; they have 2 more exams, a paper, and activities, each
worth 20% of their grade (the activities sum to 20%). How can I correct for my
part of their lousy performance? I feel we need to move on (the semester is
nearing its midpoint), but I don't want them to go away from this course
without understanding the material. Should I repeat coverage of the material
and retest them? Should I give them a take-home assignment over it? Should I
discard this test and work the material into their activities? I've never
really had this happen before (thank goodness) and I don't want the students to
suffer from my lousy job of teaching. What would others do?
:-)Thanks,
:-)Carol
:-)
:-)
:-)
:-)
:-)
:-)
:-)Carol L. DeVolder, Ph.D.
:-)Professor of Psychology
:-)Chair, Department of Psychology
:-)St. Ambrose University
:-)518 West Locust Street
:-)Davenport, Iowa 52803
:-)
:-)Phone: 563-333-6482
:-)e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
:-)web: http://web.sau.edu/psychology/psychfaculty/cdevolder.htm
:-)
:-)The contents of this message are confidential and may not be shared with
anyone without permission of the sender.
:-)
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