September 28, 2003
Quiz Grader...Note Taker
I use quizzes as ways to not only spot check that students are doing the work, but to organize a class conversation or lecture. In my Art of Film course last Wednesday, I quizzed the students over the readings and pulled a surprise on everyone....
When I give objective quizzes (simple matching/true-false/multiple choice tests), I typically have everyone "pass to the right" and then as we go over the answers as a class, the students end up grading their neighbor's quiz. (Caveat: I tell them that if I later see that they misgraded a question, points will be deducted from their own score). I like this method because it allows the quiz to structure class discussion in many ways as we work our way through the material.
Last week, I integrated a full-blown lecture into the structure of the quiz, pausing for long sessions of dialogue between questions. The "surprise" I pulled was that I asked the quiz graders to take notes on the back of the quiz during the class. "That's right," I suggested, "You'll be responsible if they fail the midterm!" A few folks gasped. Everyone turned studious. It seemed (from my perspective) to be the best class so far of the term.
My desire to have them take responsibility for another person's notes served a hidden agenda: I think note taking really processes the material "live" and does very little for studying later.
Taking notes helps you follow the structure of the lecture/conversation as it's happening... the record that exists afterward is really just a mnemonic device, if anything. So if you're taking notes with serious intent (so you won't let another person down) you'll pay closer attention and actually absorb the information while you scribble away on notepaper. Of course, it doesn't hurt, either, to be exposed to other people's note-taking strategies (esp if they're better than your own). And I've heard of the "Cornell method" which allows you to use notetaking to generate study guides.
Anyway: this seemed to work and I'll likely try it again. The trick is to plan the lecture when designing and organizing the quiz.
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Comments
I liked your example and also the creativity of using a quiz to structure a class. I also looked at the link on the Cornell method. The problem with it is that students just won't look at their notes until the day before a test. I know from my undergraduate years that regular review of my notes made studying a breeze. The night before a test I usually went to a movie to relax. But I came to my approach in my junior or senior year. I had a couple of people offer guidelines to studying in earlier years, but it took me a while to believe in it.
Interesting method. I will have to try this one someday. :)