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Designing an Exam Preparation
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Teaching
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By Emil Volcheck
from the Teaching department
Posted Tue Nov 18, 2003 at 11:28:44 PM PDT
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In his MAA FOCUS article
"Happy Abstract Algebra Courses",
John Fraleigh describes
a preparation that he gives his students
before each exam. I describe a variation
of this idea that allows greater flexibility
but still
achieves Fraleigh's goals.
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In his MAA FOCUS article
"Happy Abstract Algebra Courses",
John Fraleigh describes
a preparation that he gives his students
before each exam. I describe a variation
of this idea that allows greater flexibility
but still
achieves Fraleigh's goals.
Fraleigh writes
A week or more before each test and the final exam,
I handed out a preparation. The students were told
that the definitions and proofs requested on this
preparation would be exactly the same on the
actual test, but that data and structures would be
altered in other questions.
Fraleigh found that he could give longer exams
(covering more material), while his students
were more relaxed and got better scores.
I decided to experiment with this approach in
the abstract algebra course that I am teaching
this Fall 2003 at Loyola College. Rather
than write a preparation that mirrors the
actual exam, question for question, my
preparation lists a selection of possible
questions that could appear on the exam.
For instance,
instead of stating exactly what definitions
would be requested, the preparation would
list several terms and state that two
would be chosen from this list to appear
on the exam.
This approach still makes it much easier for
the students to prepare for their exams
but allows me greater flexibility and
coverage of material. For examples
of the preparations for my two midterm exams,
visit the website for the course,
AbstractAlgebra.net.
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