SUBJECT: Essay questions on exams
DATE: 9/96
...But what I really wanted o ask you about was essay tests. Up 'til now,
the 600-student enrollment in our majors' general biology course has
limited me to administering strictly computer-graded, multiple-choice
tests. Extra resources (a miracle in this day and age) have allowed me to
incorporate two essays into tests, which still feature multiple-choice
items, but a reduced number of them.
I provide students with an extensive study guide six days before the test.
The two essays are drawn from material in the study guide. My question is:
Am I giving students enough to go on by providing only the study guide?
Is
it expecting too much that students be able to write a couple of essays
on
any and all material from the study guide? Should I give students a little
more direction?
These are the questions I asked:
1. A cell from the lining of a mammalian trachea (windpipe) undergoes an
event that scrambles the DNA code for both alpha and beta tubulins. Name
the cellular component that will, consequently, no longer be able to be
manufactured. Distinguish this component from the other components of the
same system. Describe at least three cellular processes that this cell
will be unable to perform as a result of this event. Be sure to explain
how this cellular component is involved in each of these processes.
2. Describe three ways that the process of meiosis differs from the process
of mitosis. Then, explain how each of the differences in process makes the
daughter cells resulting from meiosis different from the daughter cells
resulting from mitosis.
Would I be molly-coddling them if I told them that they can expect, say,
one essay on the cytoskeletal system and another on nuclear division? I
once had a prof in general biology who told us that we would have to write
on "any two of these ten questions." The prof gave us the ten
questions
ahead of time. I wrote AND MEMORIZED the answers to all ten essays.
During the test, I mindlessly transcribed what I had memorized. Neither
did I really understand what I had originally written; just looked it up
in
the textbook. I don't see much value in that. What do y'all do?
Yours,
Michael Dini, Ph.D.
Texas Tech University
y3mld@ttu.edu
Hi, labbers:
I don't see any reason to tell students
in advance any more than that they'll have essay questions. As a practical
matter, I find it helps to be pretty specific in the instructions (as you
did in the questions you provided) to increase the likelihood that students
will actually answer the question asked and do so in an effective way.
I've tried giving various degrees of guidance (ranging from study guides
through "the essay will be on one of these topics" all the way
to "you can
expect *this question* on the test"); I've never noticed that the degree
of
advanced warning makes any difference in the responses.
Oh -- although I use study guides myself, most of my colleagues think that
alone is mollycodding :)
Good luck!
Kerry
p.s. -- would you mind sharing exactly what kinds of resources you got that
allow essays in a 600-student class???
Kerry S. Kilburn
ODU Biological Sciences
kkilburn@infi.net
I have given essay questions when I have taught freshman biology. I will
give the students a couple examples of essay questions (similar to the ones
that Mike gave as his examples) in class and what I am looking for in the
answers. On the actual exam I have always given them a choice (answer 2
of
three, four of five, 4 of six, etc.) and they do not know the questions
ahead of time. However, I will often provide them with a study guide,
which is usually just a list of questions for which I expect them to know
the answers. I tell them that some of the study guide questions may be
used as either part or all of the essay questions.
Weldon
*****************************************************************************
C. Weldon Jones, Ph.D. email: w-jones@bethel.edu
Professor and Chair of Biology Tel.: (612) 638-6312
Bethel College Fax: (612) 638-6001
3900 Bethel Drive
St. Paul, MN 55112
Hi Michael! The type of essay questions I give at the end of the
quarter (to smaller classes!) may sound strange, but I find they really
work. I list, in random order, 20 or so main topics that have been
addressed throughout the quarter. Then I group them (4-8 topics/group),
give
the list to the students, and tell them they may select one list on their
own and I will select one list for them. The directions: Write a
one-page essay for each list explaining how the topics in the list relate
to
one
another. The students get the list at least a week ahead of time and are
encouraged to work together to look for relationships. It is very
obvious form their answers who worked together with whom and who knows
what they are talking about and who doesn't. And, of course, the
students come up with a number of interesting interconnections that are
correct but that I would have never thought of! Last quarter's examples:
the nature of science
cell structure
oxidative respiration
photosynthesis
the origin of species
biomes
microevolution
Darwin
DNA and RNA
transport of molecules across membranes
Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
interspecific interactions
human impact on the environment
water and chemical bonding
endosymbiosis
glycolysis
mitosis & meiosis
macroevolution
coevolution
carbohydrates, proteins, fats
cell membranes
oxidation/reduction
inheritance
protein synthesis
mutation, migration, genetic drift
the origin of life and cells
enzymes
natural selection
the origin of species
population growth
biogeochemical cycles
biomes
From: baxterl@CWU.EDU
Michael,
Comments regarding the essay topics
1) How much detail and length is required. As it is an in-class essay,
with other questions on the exam, it would have to be a fairly short answer.
What is the difference between a short definition/explanation of a topic
and an essay? I usually put a choice of a few definitons on exams for the
students to write a paragraph on. As long as there is a choice of topics
(i.e., 3 of 5) there should be no complaints.
2) You are to be commended for putting in the extra effort to produce the
study guide, but do the students really need it? Although it may be
considered to be "molly-coddling", is it really necessary, assuming
these
areas have been lectured on and are described in the text. If the material
has been thoroughly explained in lectures and is in the text is this not
just a form of course-notes for the students (which they should be doing
on
their own - the good ones probably already do this and the others would
benefit from doing it).
3) Could you not replace the study guide with a list of essay topics given
to the students before the exam, and have the students do the prep work
themselves. A study guide is only as good as the amount it is used;
preparing a draft outline for essay topics would probably be of greater
benefit to the student in learning the material than simply reading a study
guide.
I do agree that if you have the resources an essay question is a
more relevant means of evaluation than multiple choice (guess?) questions.
Anything that forces them to construct a logical argument (even a few
sentences in the form of a definition) will also force them to really think
about the subject, and not just regurgitate memorized facts.
Cheers,
Mike Weber
Carleton University
mweber@ccs.carleton.ca
Michael Weber
Department of Biology
Carleton University
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
K1S 5B6
mweber@ccs.carleton.ca
613-520-2600 (4493)
My colleagues in the English department tell me that if you expect
students to write decent essays in a subject, you should have them
practice writing in that subject. That is, you can't simply expect
students who gets A's in English to be able to write clearly on
anything- they need to practice working out their ideas. If they are
unclear on the subject matter, it will take down all of their writing
skills with it and the result will be incomprehensible. The English
pros therefore suggest that if you are going to expect students to
write on exams you should give them writing assignments before the
exam to get them started.
My experience corresponds with this. When I give students
"journalling" assignments in which they write essays summarizing
their class notes and reading, their essay exams are much better. Of
course for a huge class this really compounds the problems- I've only
done it with class sizes of 20 or less.
As far as letting them know what they'll be writing about ahead of
time, I'm all for it. I routinely tell students what to expect, and
if they go home and write a response and memorize it for the test,
then I figure they've learned something, at least to the extent that
I am able to test it. I don't know how I could claim that someone
doesn't "understand" something if they know the answers to the
questions I ask; unless, of course, there's something wrong with my
questions. ("Understanding" is a pretty hard objective to evaluate
if
you ask me.)
John Dickerman
Northern Illinois University
T80JWD1@WPO.CSO.NIU.EDU
Mike and other biolabbers,
My experience is that our first (and often second) year students do
not know how to write a good essay. Like some of you, I give them examples
ahead of time. I ask them to write out answers for the next class, then
I
get them into groups to share answers. They usually see fairly quickly the
characteristics of a good answer, but just in case they don't, we discuss
them in class. I may then give them a sample of an inadequate answer and
ask them, as a group, to correct it. It sounds like this takes a lot of
class time, but I figure that we are going to have these students for four
years, so the time is well spent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gail Schiffer
Department of Biological and Physical Sciences
Kennesaw State University
1000 Chastain Road
Kennesaw, GA 30144
Good topic for discussion. We too have tried a variety of pretest devices
to get students to prepare more effectively for exams so that information
will be learned and not immediately forgotten. We may again try giving out
a specific set of essays saying that some may appear on the exam (or similar
ones) in hopes of getting them to focus on the concepts most important.
More fundamentally, though, we have backed off on the carrot and stick
devises and in the last few years have put some effort into helping the
students learn how to STUDY to LEARNand UNDERSTAND. It is virtually
guaranteed that many students bomb the first intro exam because they have
tried to memorize everything, or they used their tried and true HS method
of
rereading their notes and text chapters (yellow highlights of course) and
getting those page images (blurry) back in the brains one more time. When
they come in to express their shock and disappointment we calm them down
and
then talk in depth about how to study effectively. This usually shows
immediate results for most students. A couple years ago, one of our
creative UTAs suggested that the UTAs should host a study skills discussion
for the big intro course where they would offer pointers on studying based
upon what has worked for them. The UTAs are all great students and know
effective study habits, so they pass along a lot of variations on common
themes of how to study to learn and apply information. These sessions (no
faculty allowed) have been well received by the students and the UTAs really
enjoy doing them.
>
I second Dickerman's comments about writing often if you want students to
write well. Writing coherently, especially in an exam situation , takes
lots of practice.
>Greg
>
Greg Anderson
Department of Biology
44 Campus Ave
Bates College
Lewiston, ME 04240
ganderso@abacus.bates.edu
(207)786-6110
My end of the semester essay approach is similar to L. Baxter's. I hand
out a sheet entitled "overview review." I tell the class that
on the final
exam there will be an essay question, based on the review sheet,
requiring them to relate together topics and concepts which had been
parts of different chapters and different lectures, but which are
nevertheless related. In fact, my syllabus also indicates that such
synthesis of material is a course objective.
The "overview review" sheet asks, for example, "What is
photosynthesis in terms of: metabolic pathways, energy changes,
nutrients and energy in ecosystems, evolution, taxonomy, biological
molecules, and cellular organelles?"
I have six such overview questions, and I ask one of them as part of the
final exam. If anyone would like a copy of my review sheet, please ask.
Hildy Sanders f-sander@wpmsgsvr.vjc.edu
Villa Julie College, Stevenson, MD 21153
410-602-7303 Fax: 410-486-3552