Fear Factor with Tests
Discuss the fear factor associated with quizzes/tests and the inappropriateness of using the threat of a quiz as a discipline control technique.
I believe that exposure to quizzes can offer desensitizing the fear factor. "We are having a pop quiz" becomes as easy on the ears as "please pass the salt"
I utilize "Quizlet" and encourage my students to use it as often as they can. With this tool They are able to control some of the course.
I like this idea of using flash cards. I will have each student write a question on the card at the beginning of class and pass it forward. Chances are most than one student will have the same question. I answer that question and relate it to a test question that will be seen again at a later date.
I do some of the same things you do. I like the students to have studied the night before, but know that I will answer questions they may have before the test. Quite often, with my own kids, I see them stress because the may not know an answer on the review, but have no chance to talk to the teacher before the test or the teacher won't allow it.
kathy, can you attribute this fear to anything specific? Have you tried to change the wording of how you mentally prepare students such as calling an open book quiz a research project or scavenger hunt? While they are having fun doing the exercise you can introduce the concept that what they are doing now is not much different from a live quiz and begin to change their thinking process all together. I am interested in your thoughts or others about this topic.
James Jackson
I find that my students can do very well with homework assignments and in class assignments but alot of times they pannick when taking tests even open book tests.
michael, what actions do you take to make students feel comfortable, welcomed and safe to learn in your classroom? Thanks for anything you can share.
James Jackson
Jeanne, unconventional is GOOD as our students today and very unconventional. I also like the idea of taking students a little out of their comfort zone. I do not know the source but I was tinkering around the Internet one day and came across a very cool diagram where there are two circles One small circle is labeled "Your Comfort Zone" and another large circle separate and to the left was labeled "Where the magic happens" and it really hit home with me and was a great description of where much of the research on teaching and learning has taken us today.
James Jackson
april, how is the quiz presented? Do students know it is practice before then begin or are they under any impression that the quiz will count towards their course grade? Thanks for anything you can share.
James Jackson
Test anxiety is a mjor factor to why some students dont succeed. They loose every ounce of information they obtained simply due to the fear of the unknown.
Earle, well stated. Assessments are intended as part of the learning process and should be used to move students forward and not backward.
James Jackson
This may sound a bit unconventional, I believe that the fear factor with quizzes and tests, or anything really, including job interviews, presentations, can be somewhat alleviated by changing our attitude and even our body posture before we go into a test (or other scary situation). Kind of a "Fake it till ya make it" approach. I show my students a lecture on Power Posing by Social Psychologist Amy Cuddy, in which she talks about how merely changing your posture can directly affect the outcome of you test, interview, etc. As a class, we have practiced "power posing" before and exam, and I have even seen in them doing it in the courtyard outside that classroom before an exam. In the past I have done a lot of review just prior to an exam, but I have found that students were not studying and relying solely on the review to prepare for the exam, so while I still review, it's not quite as in depth.
Vicki, thanks for sharing this great technique. Do you also discuss what caused students to select the wrong answers? Sometimes this can be easily overlooked but is a critical part of the learning process.
James Jackson
I like to give a practice quiz at the beginning of the rotation just to give the students an idea of what the class will involve and to give them a chance to see where they stand.
As the course implied students fear tests based upon their own security regarding the subject matter. Breaking things into smaller pieces with shorter evaluations can be effective. If you use exams or quizzes as a threat then you remove their purpose which is to evaluate not to punish. Anyone can create an impossible exam but what is gained in the process?
I also like to go over the questions in a different format then the exam. Having students come up to the board and write the answer in a fill in question I have written is one thing my classes enjoy.
Jason, great use of technology in the classroom. Yes, Online resources can be considered as technology in the classroom and has proven to be a very useful tool. Offering additional resources Online also allows you to measure how engaged your students are to the learning process. A student that never uses your Online resources and is not doing well in classes can become more motivated to use the Online tools by discussing with them how they are falling behind because they are not doing the additional work to learn the materials. Of course it is important to make sure students have access to your Online resources but it is more rare today that students do not have access to the Internet at home or at a friends house.
James Jackson
Thomas, assessments can be just as powerful as learning tools as they are for measurement. It is all in how you are creative in their use. The focus needs to be on engagement and getting students excited about the activity and keeping their attention levels high. Simply lecturing to students is simply an outdated technique that is being replaced with more active learning methods. Keep up the great work.
James Jackson
Lamarr, good job and what a great way to be innovative. Students appreciate those instructors that are obviously working to be different and capture their attention. Anything that stands out of the norm tends to yield great dividends with regards to achieving desired learning outcomes.
James Jackson
Michael, what are some of the techniques you use to improve the test taking skills of your students? Do you offer other methods of assessing their knowledge of the subject matter that does not involved a traditional test or exam? Thanks for anything you can share.
James Jackson
