Tip For Helping Your Students Improve Their Test Grades

Last week I gave a midterm exam in my Organizational Behavior class.  They were disappointed in their grades and so was I.  I gave them 20 minutes to look over their exams last night in class so that they could determine which areas they had had problems with.  I then asked them to write a one page paper on what they could do to improve and suggestions for me as to what I could do to help them be more successful in the class.  I told them that each student whose grade was higher on the comprehensive final than it was on the midterm would receive five bonus points.

Below is my response to the students' comments that I have posted today on their classblog. I first tied the assignment to various motivation theories that we had been studying.  I then present their comments and suggestions and my responses (in bold). 

APPLYING THEORIES TO CLASS PREPARATION:

Goal setting theory:  Involve students in setting their own goals and steps to reach these.  Have students write these down on paper and make sure the steps are specific, challenging, and provide feedback.

Expectancy theory:  Have a goal/reward that students want and the expectancy or perception that reaching that goal is doable.

Theory Y:  Assume students want to do well in class as they believe that this translates to doing well in their chosen major and career.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:  Assume students are motivated by self-esteem and esteem of others as well as self-actualization needs.

Herzberg’s Motivation/Hygiene Theory:  Assume students are motivated by achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility.

Adam’s Equity Theory:  Ensure perception that students will all be treated fairly and equitably.

BELOW ARE YOUR COMMENTS AND MY RESPONSES (IN BOLD).

Your game plans for increasing your success on the final and in this class:

• "Study with my team mates/quiz each other on various theories and terms."  As Anthony noted, “Bouncing information off of each other could open up discussions that will hopefully enhance the understanding of terms.”  Great idea.
• "Type up class notes to help remember these and to see if have any questions or gaps in information."
• "Spend more time studying."
• Afram noted that he “thought a lot of the test would have been common sense as most management classes are.”  Yes, the concepts may seem fairly common sense although not everyone HAS common sense.  But knowing the terminology is important to us as managers and some of these terms will not be obvious at first. 
• "Study more of the material from the book."  A couple people noted they felt the midterm exam questions came more from the book than from the class notes.  This is not true.  I look over my notes when putting together the exam questions and see the book as more of a backup to class.  Exceptions would be when I specifically mention pages, diagrams, models, etc in class.  However, as Anna pointed out, the textbook does go into some more detail and examples of theories I have discussed so it would be useful to look these over to help remember them.
• "I noted that the questions I missed I had either incomplete notes or no notes at all.  Also, make sure I get class notes from my team members if I have to miss the class."
• "Use flash cards to study terms."
• "Make sure I go back over the exam and that I have the answers I want on the correct line."  You can write on your exam.  You might want to answer all questions there first and then transfer these to the answer sheet.
• "Come to class for the final in a more relaxed frame of mind."  Erik notes that he plans to skip work the day of the final.  Hmm….probably not a bad idea but not one I can endorse without a lot of employers calling me <grin>
• "Read through the questions more thoroughly as I missed some of the easy ones.  Especially read the essay questions carefully to see what these are asking."
• "Put more priority on class as I am currently making my job the top priority."  Life is a series of choices.  I understand that you all have multiple priorities.  I just want to help you do well in this class as I think it will then translate to doing well in your chosen career.

Suggestions you have for me so that I can help you be successful:

• "Slow down a little as tend to talk a little fast."  I will attempt to slow down although I do talk fast.  Please ask me to repeat or to slow down anytime you do not understand something or need a clarification.
• "Remove the word bank questions."  Some people like these as they are pretty straight forward definitions.  Others prefer essay questions or multiple choice.  I obviously can’t please everyone.  There will still be some of these.
• "Break down the word bank questions.  For example, have ten words that could be answers for five questions."  I will consider this.  However, if you really knew the answer, you wouldn’t need the word bank at all.  My suggestion might be to try to answer the fill in the blank questions without looking at the word bank at all.  Then go see if your answers are there.  I think some students get overwhelmed by the list of terms there.
• "Use both first and last names of researchers when asking questions about their theories."  OK.
• "I really enjoy the in-class activities that help to illustrate and enforce the theories such as the roleplays and the self-evaluations.  Can we do more of these?" OK.  Also, I would ask that you bring in your own examples that apply to what we are studying.  Stories do help us to remember theories and concepts.
• "I like that you use computer links to websites so we can see visuals of the theories.  This fits in with my learning style."  I will continue to do this when appropriate.
• "Use terms on word bank only once."  Hmm….not sure this really measures then whether you really understand the term.  Also, if you eliminate a term incorrectly which really fits another question, you miss two questions instead of one.
• "I need to sleep the night before the exam."  Yep.
• "Allow rest room breaks."  This semester is the first time I have had the policy that if you leave the classroom, you must turn in your exam.  The reason for this is I gave a final last fall where six people (out of 36) left the room during the 90 minute or so exam.  I don’t think that they were cheating (notes in rest room, talking to friends in hallway) but the perception is that they could have been and I need to be fair to all.  Thus, I need to ask you to attend to restroom breaks before class and assume that as an adult you can make it through the exam.  If you have a medical condition, you need to talk to me about reasonable accommodations.
• "Have more review time." I usually go over the previous week’s notes at the beginning of class, usually as a competition between teams in class.  As we have limited class time, it is not possible to spend more time reviewing.  However, I have recently taken a training session on putting quizzes on Blackboard.  How about I put together a short practice exam on Blackboard that you can take the week before the final?
• "Give a number of sample essay questions."  I will consider this. 
• "Make the final easier."  Hmmm….<grin>  How about I make it the same level of difficulty and format but provide you with a study sheet so that you can focus on what I think are the most important concepts?

I was very pleased with how seriously the students took this assignment.  Instead of blaming the teacher for their poor performance (external locus of control), they accepted responsibility and made plans to improve (internal locus of control--another theory we studied).

I would be interested in hearing from others who have tried or considering trying a similiar approach.

Comments

[Mame]

I, too, use feedback after every test. I ask the students for three things they could have done differently to improve their learning and test scores, and three things that I could have done differently. I find that they are very thoughtful about this, and sometimes they give me great ideas to use for their class, as well as future classes. Of course, each class has a different dynamic, so sometimes I have to backtrack and do things the way I used to do them to please a current class. I find it very helpful, though, to help cater the class to this particular group of students and their learning styles.

[Delaney Kirk]

Thanks for your comment. I think this shows the students that we really do care about their success in the class but are not going to just give them points as that doesn't help them in the long run.