Agenda Pedagogical ideas How the text examination is executed What the students say Items to discuss

Pedagogical ideas According to pedagogic research we tend to learn more efficiently if we: are trying to answer questions, solve problems or acquire skills that we find interesting, intriguing or important are able to do so in a challenging yet supportive environment can work collaboratively with other learners struggling with the same problems believe that our work will be considered fairly and honestly can try, fail, and receive feedback in advance of and separate from any summative judgment of our efforts know what the learning objectives are, how the environment is organized and what is expected of us believe that the work we are expected to do will help us to reach the learning objectives believe that we are in control of our own learning Bain (2004), Elmgren & Henriksson (2014), Kember & McNaught (2007), Ramsden (2003)

Pedagogical ideas According to pedagogic research we tend to learn more efficiently if we: are trying to answer questions, solve problems or acquire skills that we find interesting, intriguing or important are able to do so in a challenging yet supportive environment can work collaboratively with other learners struggling with the same problems believe that our work will be considered fairly and honestly can try, fail, and receive feedback in advance of and separate from any assessment of our efforts know what the learning objectives are, how the environment is organized and what is expected of us believe that the work we are expected to do will help us to reach the learning objectives believe that we are in control of our own learning Bain (2004), Elmgren & Henriksson (2014), Kember & McNaught (2007), Ramsden (2003)

The idea of a test examination In course questionnaires, students say the perceive exams as stressful An older collegue has tested the influence of feedback time on deep learning We practice many things in life – why not practice sitting an exam?

How the test examination is executed The test examination is an opportunity to practice taking an examination. The circumstances around the test examination are set to mimic the real examination, i.e. the same time allowed, the same helping aids, and (for some test examinations), even the same examination rooms were used.

How the test examination is executed The test examination is an actual examination from an earlier year (complete with a written solution). Hence little time is used to create and perform a test examination. The feedback to the students is given by handing out the written solution and having the students comparing it to their solutions. This is done directly after the test examination has ended. A discussion session was set up for the students to be able to discuss their solutions. The session was scheduled the same day or the day after the test examination.

What the students say: Based on answers from 33 students (76 students in the group) The test examination is offered both as a class room activity and an online activity. What do you prefer? About 46 % prefer the class room activity About 36 % prefer the online activity About 18 % have no preference

What the students say Scheduled test examination? About 55 % prefer it scheduled About 18 % prefer it non-scheduled About 27 % have no preference

What the students say Did TE change the way you prepare? About 33 % says it did About 67 % says it didn’t

What the students say Do you think the TE affected your result on the exam? About 56 % think it did (positively) About 20 % think it didn’t About 24 % don’t know

What the students say Do you think the TE affected your result on the exam? About 56 % think it did (positively) About 20 % think it didn’t About 24 % don’t know

What the students say What was the best thing with the TE? Test the exam stress (without a solution) Train under ”real” exam conditions The discussion session – identifying simple mistakes before the exam

What the students say What was the best thing with the TE? ”Självklart var det bra att man pluggade tidigare och fick ett extra tillfälle att lösa uppgifter under mer examinations-liknande förhållanden. Men jag tror inte man ska förringa att en viktig effekt som hela provapåKSkarusellen har är att vi känner att läraren är engagerad och ger oss tid och vill att vi ska få så bra stöd som möjligt. Bara det är viktigt i sig, för då blir man mer motiverad själv.”

Items to discuss Students study only old exams… is this a problem? Can I evaluate if the test examination lead to increased learning? How? Would I gain additional learning effects if students are made to correct each other’s test exams and discuss among themselves?

Further Reading Bain, K. (2004). What the Best College Teachers Do. Cambridge: Harvard University Press (see also - accessed ). Elmgren, M. & Henriksson, A-S. (2014). Academic Teaching. Stockholm: Studentlitteratur. Kember, K. & McNaught, C. (2007). Enhancing University Teaching: Lessons from Research into Award-Winning Teachers. Abingdon: Routledge. Ramsden, P. (2003). Learning to Teach in Higher Education. New York: RoutledgeFalmer.