Transcript Enhancing Student Learning Through Error Analysis

Joan Zoellner
[email protected]
S085
Why give quizzes in
class?
Why not give quizzes in
class?
Do you allow quiz or
exam corrections?
Why give quizzes in class?
Myself, as a new instructor:
“Aren’t quizzes just part of
teaching?”
“Gives me an idea of what
students are understanding.”
Why give quizzes in class?
“Incentive for students to keep
up to date.”
“Give students experience taking
tests.”
“Remind students they should be
doing homework, even if it isn’t
collected.”
Why not give quizzes in
class?
“I don’t want to use class time for
quizzes.”
“Many students are stressed out
by quizzes.”
“There is little correlation
between performance on
quizzes and exams.”
Why not allow corrections?
“Students will pass the class due
to artificially elevated grades and
will not be prepared for their next
class.”
“Students will get in the habit of
not studying before a quiz
because they know they can
complete corrections.”
Motivating Question
Is it possible to implement a quiz
and quiz correction procedure
that is a valuable use of in-class
time that promotes greater
student learning, including a
higher level of self-assessment
and error analysis, but doesn’t
inflate grades?
I think the answer is yes.
I have adopted a quiz and exam
correction procedure created by
Lawrence Morales at Seattle
Central Community College,
developed based on a model
used in a study done at the City
University of New York.
Objectives
Minimal in-class time
requirement
Minimize test-anxiety
Students identify and correct
their misconceptions
Objectives
Students learn to self-assess
their strategies and work
Students revisit incorrect work
Students keep up with the
course material
What does the process look
like for quizzes?
Problem Selection
Select two problems that
students frequently get wrong on
assessments.
Inform students why these
problems were chosen – they
can make the error now and
correct it, rather than on a highstakes exam.
Problem Selection
Two problems that should take
no more than 10 minutes total, if
students grasp the concept.
This can help students gauge
how fast they will to work on
exams.
What does the correction
process look like for quizzes?
What does the correction
process look like for quizzes?
What feedback to give?
Minimal marking of specific
errors.
Students learn how to analyze
their work and find their own
mistakes.
You have to tell them this, or
they will complain.
What feedback to give?
Make them find a similar
problem.
This helps students learn how
to classify what problems are
similar to each other and
require similar strategies.
How to assign credit?
Even if they get one problem
correct, they get no credit until
they correct the other problem.
Motivates them to do
corrections.
How to assign credit?
If their first attempt at a correction
is wrong, they have to do it again.
I usually ask students to come
see me in my office if their first
correction is wrong.
Examples of student work
Original Work (Algebra 1):
Examples of student work
Corrected Work:
Examples of student work
Original Work (Elementary Algebra):
Examples of student work
Corrected Work:
Examples of student work
Original Work (Calculus 2):
Examples of student work
Corrected Work:
Examples of student work
Original Work (Calculus 2):
Examples of student work
First Attempt Corrected Work:
Examples of student work
Corrected Work:
Benefits of this process:
Students learn how to identify
their own errors.
Students learn to classify types
of problems by looking for similar
problems to the ones they got
wrong.
Benefits of this process:
Students address
misconceptions before taking the
exam.
Students become more reflective
about their learning process.
What does the process look
like for exams?
Examples of student work
Original Work (Algebra 1):
Examples of student work
Corrected Work:
Examples of student work
Corrected Work:
Examples of student work
Corrected Work (Algebra 1):
Examples of student work
Exam Corrections (Intermediate Algebra):
Student observations
“I thought I had prepared enough by
looking over the homework and the
quizzes, however those did not cover
all of the material on the exam. I
should have been reading through the
book and also doing practice
problems in the book. This is
something I will be implementing for
the next exam.”
Student observations
“I didn’t mention it much [earlier], but
my study habits are clearly not up to
par. I’m only just now at that point in
school where I can’t just absorb
something right away and then throw
logic and intuition at it. It’s becoming
more and more crucial to legitimately
study and practice the material.”
What about the concerns?
 Students will pass the class due to
artificially elevated grades and will not be
prepared for their next class.
 Students taking classes using the quiz
and exam correction procedure are no
more likely to pass (or fail) the course
than in a regular section. Students are
as likely to pass their next class as their
peers from a regular section.
What about the concerns?
“Students will get in the habit of not
studying before a quiz because they
know they can complete corrections.”
“A very useful part of the class were
the quizzes we had because the
hellish process of correcting them
made us want to get a perfect score
even more.”
Student observations
“I found [the quiz and test corrections]
helpful because it gave me a chance
to look over the problems that I
missed and really gain a good
understanding of where I went wrong.
I think it helped out a lot because in
previous classes I just look at the quiz
or test and set it down somewhere
and forget about it.”
Student observations
“I think that [correcting my errors]
made me know what areas I needed
to study more on and when I did the
correction the correct way to solve the
problem stuck more in my head.”
“Not only did they improve my grade,
but they actually helped me learn!”
Take Away
Think of a class in which you
would like to try this quiz and
quiz correction format.
What questions would you ask?
Do they elicit common mistakes?
Are they time appropriate?
What feedback would you give?
Are there any
questions?
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