Funded by the Basic Skills Initiative s1

Report #5

FIPP Activity Report Funded by the Basic Skills Initiative

Name Kate McLaughlin Date December 18, 2009

FIPP Partner Jim Noyes

Section #6238

Activity /Strategy Essay Questions Assignment

Category IV - Feedback and Evaluation

Briefly describe the activity/strategy.

1. Introduction I wanted an activity that would encourage students to study for exams in a way that goes beyond rote memorization, provides incentive for studying and gets them writing. To do all that, I decided that I would substitute one of my regular homework assignments with an essay question assignment. Prior to the midterm and the final, I would assign a homework in which students had to come up with two essay questions they thought might be on the test and then answer them fully.

2. Set up & Supplies Homework assignment sheet outlining the requirements.

3. Directions Write up the assignment sheet and hand it out with the due date.

4. Conclusion This was an extremely helpful exercise. Not only did I accomplish the above itemized objectives, I also had a chance to let students know what I expected in an in-class essay. I let them know what worked and what didn't using specific examples.

What worked well? Incentivizing study time with homework points got students to crack the book and engage int eh material. Requiring them to come up with questions got them thinking about what would possible be on the test and having them write out their answers was a great way for them to think about what they were saying, rather than just doing flashcards and memorizing facts and dates.

What would you change? I'm thinking about giving more specific requirements on the type of questions they should come up with. too often people came up with really short questions that were more short-answer type of questiions. I think I'll also spend more time going over what an essay question is and use examples to show them so they know what I'm looking for. Would you use the activity/strategy again? Why or why not? Yes, I definitely will. It's a great tool.

Please describe any student learning outcomes/changes that you observed after the implementation of the activity/strategy. There were a lot of really great essay question an swers on the test.