Adjusting Student Test Preparation Through Their Own Self-assessment

Brian M. Wade; Robert J. Rabb; R. Clayton McVay; Peter Hanlon

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Conference: 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Publication Date: June 10, 2012
Start Date: June 10, 2012
End Date: June 13, 2012
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Best of the NEE
Tagged Division: New Engineering Educators
Page Count: 14
Page Numbers: 25.134.1 - 25.134.14
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--20894
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/20894
Download Count: 602

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Paper Authors

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Brian M. Wade U.S. Military Academy

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Brian Wade graduated from the U.S.Military Academy (USMA) with a bachelor's of science in mechanical engineering in 2001. He earned a master's of science degree in aeronautical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2009. He is a rated Army aviator and has served in various command and staff positions during his Army career. During his tenure at USMA, he has course directed the introductory thermodynamic and fluid dynamics course.

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Abstract

Adjusting Student Test Preparation Through Their Own Self-Assessment This paper presents a means to directly assess student test preparation in both a seniorlevel control engineering course as well as an introductory thermodynamics course. Studentsmust prepare for life-long learning. Student performance shows that certain study materials andactivities are more effective for success in a given course. In the study, students are involved indocumenting and recording their own test preparation, both the activity and the duration. Theyare then shown an anonymous graph of the overall class grades as a function of the testpreparation activity. An example of this is shown below in figure 1. This allows them to adjusttheir test preparation activities throughout the semester, rather than waiting until the end of thesemester. Their exposure to these more frequent and smaller point scale tests allow foradjustments before their grades become difficult to change. The assessment is returned to the student with the test so they can evaluate theirpreparation and its effectiveness. The students compare their study habits and grades with theirpeers to determine if other study tactics resulted in better grades. Initially used as a direct meansfor students to take ownership of the learning process, the students’ individual preparations sheetindirectly provides useful information to the instructors on the efficacy of instructional methods.The specific activities used and their duration allow the instructors to see areas where thestudent’s felt they needed more work. This allows individual instructors to adjust their teachingactivities before the next test or for the following term. The initial assessments of our approach have been very positive. Reminding students ofdifferent preparation activities and having them record specific information and the activityduration allowed the students to adjust their preparation for different tests. The overallassessment of the individuals’ preparation includes course surveys from the students, the scoreson the tests and final exams. Professors have a large number of requirements and not enoughtime to fully assess their pedagogy as thoroughly as they should. Part of improving theeducation process lies with students taking back the responsibility for their own learning.Figure 1 Test Preparation Activity for each letter grade

Citation
Format

Wade, B. M., & Rabb, R. J., & McVay, R. C., & Hanlon, P. (2012, June), Adjusting Student Test Preparation Through Their Own Self-assessment Paper presented at 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, San Antonio, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--20894

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -                      Adjusting Student Test Preparation Through                             Their Own Self-Assessment        This paper presents a means to directly assess student test preparation in both a seniorlevel control engineering course as well as an introductory thermodynamics course. Studentsmust prepare for life-long learning. Student performance shows that certain study materials andactivities are more effective for success in a given course. In the study, students are involved indocumenting and recording their own test preparation, both the activity and the duration. Theyare then shown an anonymous graph of the overall class grades as a function of the testpreparation activity. An example of this is shown below in figure 1. This allows them to adjusttheir test preparation activities throughout the semester, rather than waiting until the end of thesemester. Their exposure to these more frequent and smaller point scale tests allow foradjustments before their grades become difficult to change.        The assessment is returned to the student with the test so they can evaluate theirpreparation and its effectiveness. The students compare their study habits and grades with theirpeers to determine if other study tactics resulted in better grades. Initially used as a direct meansfor students to take ownership of the learning process, the students’ individual preparations sheetindirectly provides useful information to the instructors on the efficacy of instructional methods.The specific activities used and their duration allow the instructors to see areas where thestudent’s felt they needed more work. This allows individual instructors to adjust their teachingactivities before the next test or for the following term.        The initial assessments of our approach have been very positive. Reminding students ofdifferent preparation activities and having them record specific information and the activityduration allowed the students to adjust their preparation for different tests. The overallassessment of the individuals’ preparation includes course surveys from the students, the scoreson the tests and final exams. Professors have a large number of requirements and not enoughtime to fully assess their pedagogy as thoroughly as they should. Part of improving theeducation process lies with students taking back the responsibility for their own learning.Figure 1 Test Preparation Activity for each letter grade
AU  - Brian M. Wade
AU  - Robert J. Rabb
AU  - R. Clayton McVay
AU  - Peter Hanlon
CY  - San Antonio, Texas
DA  - 2012/06/10
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Adjusting Student Test Preparation Through Their Own Self-assessment 
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/20894
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--20894
ER  -