2 stage exams: assessments of, for and as learning

IAD Course Organisers Forum – Edinburgh, Oct 2015

Two-stage exams!assessments of, for and as learning !

Simon.Bates@ubc.ca@simonpbatesbit.ly/batestalks

Disclaimers!  •  Not ours; not new

•  Similar to elements of well-established pedagogy e.g. TBL

•  But….. Significant due to ease, effectiveness and take-up

Overview  •  Define two-stage exams (UBC style)

•  Discuss advantages and disadvantages of two-stage exams

•  Take your questions on logistics of administering them

•  Describe some research done with two-stage exams at UBC

Group  ac3vi3es?  

•  How often do you use group activities in your classes? •  Have you used collaborative assessments with your students

before? •  Have you used group exams?

Group  ac3vi3es?  

•  How often do you use group activities in your classes? •  Have you used collaborative assessments with your students

before? •  Have you used group / 2-stage / collaborative exams?

Two-­‐stage  Exams  The basics: Summative assessments During the exam (midterms / final / in-class test) – Students complete then hand in individual exam – Get into groups of 4 to work on a group exam (for about ½

the time of the individual portion)

What they look (and sound!) like http://www.cwsei.ubc.ca/resources/SEI_video.html

Two-­‐stage  exams  •  The Group Exam is identical to the individual exam

(+/- one or two “difficult” questions)

•  Students work on the group exam collaboratively Consensus

•  The group only gets one exam sheet!

Two-­‐stage  exams  at  UBC  At UBC: now well over 100 courses

Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Math, Statistics, Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Computer Science, Forestry, Pharmacy, Psychology, and Land and Food Systems

Many class formats / assessment types

900 student final exams (that was me J ) 450 student 1st year lectures 20 person laboratories 20 student 4th year seminars 5 student graduate classes

Advantages  

Advantages  Your list: • Nearly instant feedback / reflection • More collaboration •  Engagement •  Responsibility • Different perspectives • Happier students learn better •  Develops group work skills •  Lower achieving students get extra explanation •  Reduces anxiety

Advantages  •  Higher achieving students benefit from explaining and

reinforcing knowledge •  ALL students participate! •  Quieter students get a chance to contribute even in large

classes •  Students like it and believe it helps their learning

Some  Student  Comments  Phys  250  and  EOSC  114  

“Some problems, its a good way to find out what you did wrong on the individual exam

almost immediately.”

“Great idea! The group exams give you a chance to go over your answers to the exam

while you still care about the questions.”

Some  Student  Comments  Phys  250  and  EOSC  114  

“Discussion over tricky questions facilitate learning immediately and the answer/

concept is stuck in your brain FOREVER!”

“You actually learn what you got wrong right away from a student

perspective”

Disadvantages  Your list

Possible  Disadvantages  •  “Only certain subjects” •  Social loafing •  Dominant group members •  Sidetracked by process •  Assigning marks •  A & D •  Student inexperience with groups! •  Time! Shorter exams •  Getting “convinced” of wrong answers •  Incompatible with curving as standard

Some  Student  Comments  Phys  250  and  EOSC  114  

“… That said, there was the issue of excessive discussion in the group exam. That is, there were

several times where a part of a question was contentious within our group and the ensuing debate, frequently ended only by calling over

<instructor>, often took up so much time that doing the last few questions was hurried and messy.”

Feedback  from  EOSC  114  “Group Exams are…”

Posi3ve  ‘because…’  comments      

Discussion 48 Learn why you were wrong 37 New perspectives 29 Better grades 21 Instant feedback 16 Review 10 Build confidence 8 Understand questions better 6 Learn techniques from others 6 Other 27 Total 208

Nega3ve  ‘because…’  comments  

Coming to consensus 21 Time consuming 13 Unbalanced knowledge in group 6 Convinced of wrong answer 3 Realize did poorly individually 3 Worth too much 2 Other 8 Total 56

Your  ques3ons  on  logis3cs?  

How  Groups  Choose  (EOSC  111)  

Research  evidence  for  effec3veness  

Gilley, B.H. and Clarkston, B. (2014) Collaborative Testing: Evidence of Learning in a Controlled In-Class Study of Undergraduate Students Journal of College Science Teaching Vol. 43 No. 3

Resources    •  Journal articles: – Gilley & Clarkston (2014) Journal of College Science

Teaching Vol. 43 No. 3 – Rieger & Heiner (2014) Journal of College Science

Teaching Vol. 43 No. 4 – Wieman, Rieger & Heiner (2014) Phys. Teach. Vol 52

•  For more information and videos visit: http://blogs.ubc.ca/eoassei/two-stage-exams/ • Misc articles:

http://www.macleans.ca/education/multiple-choice-multiple-students/ http://blogs.ubc.ca/catherinerawn/2014/07/22/two-stage-exam-introduction-and-resources/ https://teachingcommons.stanford.edu/teaching-talk/turn-exam-learning-experience-two-stage-exams http://www.artsrn.ualberta.ca/mengel/huco5002014/?p=356