[SPEAKER_00]
Chapter
six,
demonstrating
knowledge
and
skills.
This is your moment to shine.
Embrace it.
John Smith.
Does learning increase when PowerPoint slides are based on multimedia learning principles?
Medical students participated in a lecture on shock as part of their curriculum.
Ninety-one students participated in the revised PowerPoint condition where the PowerPoint slides were developed based on multimedia research.
A total of thirty-nine students participated in the lecture where the original PowerPoint slides were used.
The revised PowerPoint condition used the multimedia principle, used images rather than words, the signaling principle, drawing attention to main points, and the coherence principle, only including essential content.
Pre-tests were given prior to the lecture so that groups could be compared on prior knowledge.
One hour after the lecture, a post-test was administered to assess learning that took place during the fifty-minute lecture.
Both groups had similar levels of background knowledge, and both groups had experienced significant learning as a result of the lecture.
However, the students in the revised PowerPoint condition outperformed the students in the original PowerPoint condition on a post-test measuring how well they remembered the lecture content.
, these findings show that the multimedia principles identified by Mayer really do work in the classroom setting.
When creating PowerPoint slides or using multimedia, it is important to only put the essential information on the slides and to use images rather than words whenever appropriate to do so.
Eliminating distractions such as animations can also increase learning.
This research reminds us of the importance of visual images and that PowerPoint slides are visual aids, not documents on slides.
Before you turn in any work for a course, it is important to understand academic integrity.
You will want to become familiar with what it means to engage in academically honest work and the college policies related to academic integrity.
Learning about academic integrity will make it less likely for you to unintentionally engage in dishonest actions.
Academic integrity refers to engaging in academically honest behaviors.
It involves doing your work without using unapproved aids and creating your own academic product, such as a paper or presentation, while giving appropriate credit to those who shaped and influenced your work.
Giving credit to these sources for their contributions is a must and involves using in-text citations and a reference or works cited page.
Academic dishonesty can be intentional or unintentional, but either way it can have significant negative consequences.
One of the best ways to avoid unintentional dishonest actions is to fully understand plagiarism and cheating.
Chu found that students often have misperceptions about academic integrity and dishonesty.
Academic integrity benefits everyone at college.
It is important for others in the community to have a positive image of your college or university so that the work you and others do there is valued.
Negative mindsets about your institution or program that stem from dishonest actions can be detrimental to both current and future students.
For example, negative views about your institution may result in fewer outside learning opportunities for students such as yourself or reduced employment options for graduates.
Local businesses and other community services are less likely to partner with an institution with a questionable image.
Being honest matters not only in school but also in your personal and professional life.
Guerrero did found that the students who engaged in dishonest behaviors in school were more likely to engage in unethical actions in the work environment.
Integrity is highly valued by employers.
Everyone needs to do their part to encourage a culture of honest behaviors.
McCabe found that peers had a major influence on whether students cheated
Specifically, they found that students were less likely to cheat when they thought their peers were being honest and would not approve of cheating behavior.
You can help promote a positive culture on your campus by caring about academic integrity and talking about the importance of it with your peers.
Your character and learning matters much more than the grades you earn.
The goal of assignments such as papers and presentations is for you to learn content and develop skills.
When students are dishonest, they lose out on valuable learning that will help them perform well in their career.
Although a degree may be the minimum requirement for a position, employers are much more interested in the learning that was connected to completing the degree.
There are several ways you can avoid engaging in dishonest academic actions.
Perhaps most importantly, focus on learning.
Students who care about learning are more likely to engage in honest behaviors.
Preparing well for tests and using good time management on assignments also makes it less likely that you will be tempted to be dishonest.
Learning about academic integrity and how to effectively cite sources can help you avoid unintentional dishonesty.
Finally, do not forget to seek out help from others when needed.
Sometimes students engage in dishonest actions when tasks are challenging.
The better approach is to seek the help you need so that you can learn the knowledge and skills associated with the task while also being honest.
Citing sources is important regardless of the product you are creating.
Most students know that they need to document the source when writing a paper, but they may not realize that citations are also needed in all other academic products too.
Providing proper credit for images, videos, or other media tools is essential.
If you do not cite the source, this is considered plagiarism.
Therefore, it is important that you learn when and how to cite sources appropriately.
To avoid plagiarism, cite all ideas unless they are purely your own or considered common knowledge, which means that most people would know the information.
If you're using someone else's exact words, use quotes, which clearly indicate that this is the direct work of someone else.
Because your professor wants to hear your ideas, use quotes from others sparingly.
Always cite the source whenever you are paraphrasing someone else's thoughts or ideas.
How you cite sources depends on the format and style your professor expects.
Different disciplines use different styles.
The Modern Language Association and the American Psychological Association are two of the most common citation styles used in college settings.
With both styles, it is essential that you
reference citations in the body of the text, and then provide complete citations in the Works Cited or References page.
There are many internet resources that can help you get your source information into the correct format.
You'll find the link to Purdue OWL, the online writing lab, in your Canvas.
Keeping track of your sources helps you cite them appropriately.
Whenever you take notes from a book, article, or website, write down the entire citation next to the content.
In most library databases, you will see a citation tab where the citation appears in a variety of formats.
You can then copy and paste the citation into your notes, making it easier for you to cite your sources when you are finalizing your paper or presentation.
There are also citation management tools that may be helpful to you, especially if you are working on a paper or project with numerous citations.
It is important to note, though, that these tools are not always completely accurate, so double-check the formatting of citations you get from online tools.
When it comes to paraphrasing ideas from others, researchers have found that students are not always paraphrasing effectively.
Howard found that most students focused on sentences versus key points from the entire source.
Paraphrasing is about summarizing ideas in your own words, so you should be paraphrasing ideas from an entire document, not just ideas from a sentence within the document.
Students in this study, conducted by Howard, relied on changing a few words and inserting synonyms, which is not enough.
When students only change a few words, this may be due to students not fully reading or comprehending the source material.
Paraphrasing is a skill that gets better with practice.
It is most difficult to paraphrase when you do not understand the content.
In these instances, get help from a tutor, librarian, or professor.
Accessing help not only helps you avoid plagiarism, but it also helps you learn the content.
Learning how to paraphrase well also reduces the likelihood that you will unintentionally plagiarize.
One of the best ways to practice paraphrasing is to read an article, chapter, or report, and then close the book or minimize the window on your computer while you write a summary of what you just read.
If you use this strategy, you will not be tempted to copy words used in the original work or only change a couple of words.
Research has found that when students summarize content without referring to the text, they are more likely to paraphrase better than if they refer to the text while writing.
Assignments and tests are opportunities for you to demonstrate how much you've learned and what skills you have developed.
In college, your professors will likely ask you to complete a variety of assignments and learning tasks.
you will probably be asked to complete traditional assessments, such as exams and papers.
But your professors may also ask you to complete other types of assessments, such as performances, multimedia projects, and reflection journals.
Regardless the type of task, you want to show off all that you have learned and earn a grade that helps you achieve your goals.
Being able to effectively communicate in writing is a skill that will serve you well, personally and professionally.
In fact, communication is one of the most desired skills by employers.
Papers are great opportunities to build your information literacy, critical thinking and writing skills.
Begin by focusing on your outcome or destination.
Why did your professor assign this paper to you?
What is the goal or purpose of the paper?
Consider writing down the assignment in your own words to ensure you fully understand the task.
Having a very clear understanding of the professor's expectations will assist you in knowing what you need to accomplish.
If provided, carefully review rubrics which are detailed explanations of how assignments will be graded and ask your professor for clarification if needed.
As you work on the project, it is a good idea to periodically review the assignment and its purpose.
If you have the freedom to choose the focus for the paper, the next step will be to select a topic.
Students often underestimate what is involved in this process and the importance of choosing well.
Identifying a topic that is too broad seems to be the most common
student mistake suppose you choose stress management as a topic for a presentation you may soon become lost in the vast amount of information available on stress management and as a result your paper will be generic in nature and may not provide the level of depth and detail expected at the college level one way to help you narrow your search is to focus on specific populations
, for example, you could focus on stress management in children, college students, individuals about to have surgery, or individuals who recently became unemployed.
In addition to narrowing your search by population, you could also zoom in on one aspect of the topic.
Perhaps you want to learn about a particular stress management technique, such as progressive muscle relaxation, or you want to know more about the connection between stress and heart disease.
You could even combine these approaches by looking at the connection between stress and heart disease in individuals who are unemployed.
After you engage in this process, you will have a clear, concise topic that provides you with focus and direction, making it much easier to write a fabulous paper.
Choosing a clearly defined topic helps you set the stage for your success.
You will then need to use your information literacy skills to determine what type of information you will need to complete the assignment, find the needed information, and evaluate the credibility of the information found.
In most cases, you will find more information than you will need.
As you know, there are a variety of sources for information, including journals, books, newspapers, and the internet.
Where you look for the information will depend on the task at hand and whether your professor has any specific requirements about sources.
Learning to navigate the massive amount of information available is a skill and you will get better at this with time and practice.
The best place to go for assistance with finding the information you need is the library.
Visiting the library in person is ideal because you can easily ask the reference librarians for assistance as needed.
But many college students rely on the online databases that can be accessed from anywhere there is an internet connection.
If you need help while working online, you'll be happy to know that many college libraries offer telephone and internet-based support.
In fact, you may even have online access
via tools like chat available.
Accessing help from the information experts will help you build information skills needed now and in your future career.
As you find sources, it is helpful to do an annotated bibliography for each source.
An annotated bibliography involves writing down the citation, summarizing the key takeaways or points, and thinking about how this source might be used in this paper.
Escorcia found that taking notes before writing a paper was associated with better written products.
, although annotated bibliographies do take time to complete, this approach saves you time in the long run.
It can take a significant amount of time to read the original sources you plan to use in your paper.
By writing down the summary immediately after reading it, you are processing the information more deeply and creating a much shorter synopsis that you can use when it's time to write your paper.
, researchers have found that rereading the source during the writing process is extremely time-consuming, so you avoid the need to do this when you complete annotated bibliographies.
Students have reported that annotated bibliographies help with time management.
After you have completed annotated bibliographies on the sources you plan to use, a synthesis matrix can help you organize your content.
Creating a synthesis matrix involves creating a table where the sources you found go in the first column and then key themes are listed on the top of subsequent columns.
This is a visual tool where you package all the content you have gathered from your sources.
Your professors will expect you to synthesize your content.
This means you will need to share what you have learned from all the sources combined, rather than reporting information from one source after another.
The themes that emerge in the synthesis matrix can provide an organizational structure for your paper.
Good organization is an essential element of papers and presentations.
Students often start writing without first mapping out the organizational structure of the paper.
This is not advisable.
Would you go on a trip to a place you've never visited without directions, a map or GPS?
Probably not.
Knowing where you are headed and how you plan to get there is also important when writing papers.
Researchers have found that the actions you take prior to writing can lead to better outcomes.
You can use a variety of organizational tools such as outlines or concept maps.
Many students report not using an outline
because of the time it takes to do so.
This is unfortunate because outlining is a good investment of your time and will help you write a higher quality paper.
Researchers have found that using tools such as graphic organizers improve writing skills and decrease mental effort.
List the main concepts you want to address in the paper as the major headings in an outline or as large circles in a concept map.
Then add subtopics and details.
Think about how the topics are connected and which concepts are most important.
Research has shown that outlines are most effective when students focus on both content and organization.
When students learn how to effectively outline, they are more likely to do so.
After you've mapped out an organizational plan for your paper, it's time to start writing.
Remember, this is just a first draft, so focus on getting your thoughts and ideas documented.
Getsmith noted that students will likely find this stage more challenging if they did not devote enough time to the pre-writing tasks of reading and outlining.
to get started take the ideas you outlined and expand on them describing concepts in more depth and providing more detailed explanations there is plenty of time later to make modifications and edits here are some suggestions for when you write your paper
Begin with a strong opening.
Your opening should clearly address the purpose of the paper and your main idea.
You should also gain the reader's attention and interest.
After reading your first paragraph, your professor should have a clear understanding of the purpose and scope of the paper and should be excited to read it.
Keep your outline or concept mat in front of you.
As you work, review it regularly.
This can help ensure that you address all of your key points.
You may find that you need to modify your original plan as you start working and discover that there were additional points that you would like to include.
Your paper will likely grow and develop as you continue to work on it.
Revisit the actual assignment periodically to be sure that you have met all the expectations set forth by your instructor.
Begin each paragraph with a key sentence.
The key sentence, often referred to as a topic sentence, describes the focus for the paragraph.
Sticking to one main idea per paragraph is advisable.
Supporting details for each main idea are provided in the body of the paragraph.
and with a strong conclusion that summarizes the key points.
The conclusion or summary is your opportunity to remind the reader of the main ideas presented in your paper.
It refocuses the reader back to your most important points.
This last part of the paper is often what is best remembered, so make the most of this section.
Revising your work.
First drafts are not final products.
After you have completed a draft, the critical process of revising begins.
Column noted, no one writes their best, most coherent thoughts in a first draft.
No one.
Revising a paper involves adding, deleting, and modifying the information in your first draft for the purpose of improvement.
Before reviewing and revising your work, it is often a good idea to give yourself a little space from the project.
In other words, do not expect to plan, write, and review your assignment in one day.
Instead, allow yourself time to reflect on what you've done before you begin revising it.
You're often tired by the time you reach the end of the first draft.
Take a day or so to rest and reenergize, and you'll find that this results in being able to revise and proofread more effectively.
When revising your work, first look at the big picture and then focus on the details.
Wallace conducted an interesting research study where college students were asked to revise a written document.
Half of the students were simply told to revise it, while the other half were first given an eight-minute lesson on how to effectively revise work.
The lesson focused on the importance of reading the entire written work before making any revisions, considering the document as a whole, and emphasizing global factors such as the intended audience, purpose, and general organizational structure.
Students who participated in the brief revision training created documents that were judged to be of higher quality compared to the students who were simply told to revise the work.
Escortia also found that students who revised their work were more likely to create higher-level products.
As you review and revise, focus on whether your primary message was clearly communicated.
The purpose of each section or paragraph should be easy to identify.
Investigate whether your main ideas were supported by details and examples and backed up with citations.
Did you provide the reader with enough information and examples to get your point across?
It is also important to explore whether it will be easy for the reader to see the connections between topics you discussed.
, and then revise it again.
To produce high quality work, you will want to write several drafts.
By carefully engaging in this review process, you will enhance your work to create a polished product that reflects your knowledge and skills.
Researchers have found that engaging in the revision process is connected to higher levels of confidence in writing.
The final step in the process of writing an academic paper is proofreading.
When you proofread your work, you check for accuracy and the presence of grammatical or spelling errors.
This is when you shift from the global focus to the more specific focus.
Take advantage of resources that can help with this step.
Your computer, for instance, has many built-in tools that can help you with the proofreading process.
The most obvious ones are the spelling and grammar checks that are often turned on automatically.
Experiment with other tools like outline, view, and word documents to check out their organizational structure.
Use other resources such as a text from your English class to help you with the proofreading process.
This is also a great time to go back over your written work and be sure that you have not unintentionally plagiarized.
Ask yourself the following questions.
Did I provide in-text citations according to MLA, APA, or other professor expectations?
Did I always cite information that was not my own idea or general knowledge?
Did I use quotes and citations when using the words of another?
Did I include a work cited or reference page with complete citation information using MLA or APA style?
Remember, you can also seek tutoring or writing support.
Tutors do not typically proofread or edit your paper for you, but they will assist you with becoming good at these tasks yourself.
Research has found that consulting with a tutor can contribute to improved performance on writing tasks,
Effectively communicating information verbally is also important in college and careers.
Professors and employees and employers will ask you to present on a variety of topics.
As you know, presentations could be in person or be done virtually.
Either way, there are several strategies that you can use to manage performance anxiety and deliver effective presentations.
, when many students hear the word presentation, they often start to feel anxious.
Performance anxiety is normal.
Some anxiety is desirable because it motivates us to perform our best.
Mahali found that high-performing students had a moderate amount of anxiety.
However, for some students, anxiety can spiral and become debilitating.
When anxiety becomes debilitating, your performance is negatively impacted.
The best way to manage performance anxiety is through preparation.
It is easier to feel confident and less anxious when you know you have adequately prepared for the task ahead of you.
For example, Menzel and Carroll found that the amount of time spent preparing for a speech was significantly linked to how well students performed on the presentation.
Specifically, they found that all the following were positively connected to high-level performances.
total time preparing for the speech, total time spent practicing, amount of time spent on preparing the visual aid, total number of rehearsals, time rehearsing silently, and time rehearsing out loud.
You can use a variety of rehearsal methods when preparing.
For instance, you can rehearse in front of a mirror, in front of family members or friends, or in front of anyone else who's willing to listen.
.
Another effective strategy is to record yourself giving the presentation and then watch the recording.
Technology tools make this easy to do.
In a research study conducted by Taleb and Marsh, students who video recorded themselves giving a practice speech were more confident and less nervous during the presentation.
If you present to others, ask for feedback from those who just watched the presentation.
In addition to overall feedback, try asking content-based questions to see if the members of your audience understood the material you presented.
This is a great way to assess your effectiveness.
You can also encourage audience members to ask questions of you so that you can become comfortable responding to questions before the actual presentation.
There is a concept in the world of public speaking called the golden rule that involves telling the audience what you're going to say, saying it, and then telling the audience what you just said.
Using a strong opening and conclusion are very important.
The opening sets the stage for the audience by preparing them for what's to come.
Priming or talking about what's coming next gets the audience ready to take in or encode the information that you'll be presenting.
Effective presentations begin with a strong opening that grabs the attention of your audience and draws them into your presentation.
After just the first few minutes, your audience members should have a clear understanding of what you'll be discussing.
Understand why you...
, and be interested in hearing more.
There are several opening strategies, also often referred to as hooks, you can utilize.
Here are some examples of hooks.
Interesting statistics that speak to the importance of the topic.
Stories that help the audience connect to the material on an emotional level.
Audience involvement through questioning techniques or activities.
And humor when used appropriately.
After you're finished presenting your content, go back and summarize the key points from your presentation.
A strong conclusion is essential.
Audience members can often get overwhelmed by the amount of information presented, especially when presented in a short period of time.
By drawing their attention back to the main points, you increase the likelihood that they walk away with the most important content.
Audience members are most likely to remember the first and last part of your presentation.
This is referred to as the primacy and recency effect.
Be sure to start and end strong.
Audience engagement refers to the involvement and attentiveness of your audience members.
There are many strategies you can use to increase audience engagement.
For example, maintaining good eye contact is a great way to stay connected to your audience.
Practice and preparation play a key role here because it's very difficult, if not impossible, to have good eye contact when you're not well prepared.
The more comfortable you are with the material, the less likely you'll feel a need to look at your notes or the PowerPoint slides when presenting.
Speaking with enthusiasm and confidence can also engage your audience.
When your passion and excitement for the topic is evident, others are more likely to attend and may also get excited.
On the other hand, it is very difficult for an audience to stay engaged if the presenter is speaking in a monotone voice or reading the presentation.
Using active learning strategies throughout your presentation will also help you keep the attention of your audience and make it more likely they will remember the concepts.
As a presenter, you want to help your audience members focus on what is most important.
When students are listening to numerous presentations in one class period, or professionals are listening to several presentation pitches in a row, they may have difficulty remembering key takeaways from each one.
share stories related to the material, and use visual tools like charts or graphs.
Active learning techniques move the learner from a passive to an active role.
Although student presentations are usually short in duration, you can still find quick ways to engage your audience.
Many strategies take only a minute or two, but can significantly help the audience process and remember the information you are sharing with them.
Here are some active learning strategies you can use.
Give a brief one or two question quiz.
Poll the audience using a show of hands or a polling tool about their opinion or experiences.
Pause for questions or brief comments.
Ask members to engage in an independent written self-reflection activity, such as what have you learned from the previous?
What questions do you have?
This is often called a one-minute paper.
Encourage the audience to do a turn and talk.
and summarizing what they've learned from the presentation.
Breakup rooms can be used for this purpose during virtual presentations.
Knowing how to best utilize multimedia can help you create high-quality presentations.
Mayor has conducted numerous experimental studies investigating best practices in multimedia.
Creating a visual aid that consists primarily of an image can increase learning.
In an interesting study conducted by Mullen, students in a class where only images were on slides outperformed students in a class where slides consisted of both images and text.
Interestingly, students thought they learned more when both pictures and text were used, but exam scores were higher when only pictures were used.
When it is difficult to find an image that conveys the main point or when some words are essential, you can consider using SmartArt.
SmartArt is a tool that visually packages key words.
Another tool within PowerPoint that can help you create visually effective slides is the Design Ideas tool.
This tool will show you several options for conveying the information effectively on your slides.
When slides have complex graphs or text, it can be helpful to engage in signaling, which means you are drawing the viewer's attention to the part of the slide that relates to the content being discussed.
Arrows, inking, or highlighting are ways to use signaling.
Based on a review of numerous slides, Alpizar has found that signaling is connected to higher levels of learning.
Some presentation formats are more effective than others.
The Pecha Kucha method, an alternative to a traditional PowerPoint of text points and images, requires students to conduct a presentation with twenty slides consistent with only images.
Each slide auto-advances after twenty seconds.
Ouarmos found many positive outcomes associated with the Pecha Kucha presentation style.
Specifically, students in classes where this approach was used reported being more engaged, creative, and collaborative as compared to students in classes where traditional presentation formats were used.
After you finish your presentation, reflect on your performance to maximize learning and enhance your skill development.
, researchers found that students who watched and reflected on videos of their presentations produced higher quality presentations as compared to students who did not watch and reflect on their initial performance.
This reflective practice also resulted in higher levels of confidence.
Specifically, Sterling found that students who engaged in these reflective practices felt more confident in their ability to prepare and conduct presentations as well as being more able to differentiate
between effective and ineffective presentations.
Tests are powerful learning tools.
First, tests provide you with motivation to engage with and study the material after class.
The studying actions you take will increase the likelihood that you will remember the content.
Second, the act of retrieving the content helps strengthen memories.
Therefore, tests or exams are great learning opportunities.
A test is also a way for you to demonstrate what you have learned.
There are some test-taking techniques that can help you perform your best.
Unfortunately, student performance on assessments such as tests is often undermined because of stereotype threat.
stereotype threat refers to when a member of a group performs lower because of their awareness of a stereotype.
The pressure to not confirm a stereotype leads to anxiety that results in lower performance.
For example, Steele shared research illustrating how white individuals performed more poorly on sports tasks, women performed more poorly on a math assessment, and black students performed more poorly on a task believed to measure intellectual ability, despite all these individuals having high ability in these areas.
Fortunately, there's a significant body of research showing that the impact of stereotype threat can be reduced and even eliminated when individuals performing the task are explicitly told that gender or race do not impact the results of the assessment.
Learning about stereotype threat can help you recognize it when it happens and perform better on assessments.
Research has shown that engaging in self-affirmations where you acknowledge your achievements and abilities can reduce the impact of stereotype threat.
Nelson and Knight conducted an interesting study where they found that students who were instructed to think and write about a successful experience before taking a quiz had less anxiety and better performance when compared to students who were instructed to write about their morning.
Recalling a successful experience before taking an exam can also help you perform well.
According to research, all the following multiple choice test taking strategies are connected to better exam performance.
Anticipating answers.
Read the question and come up with an answer before looking at the possible choices.
, you will be less likely to fall victim to the distractor items when you use the strategy.
Distractor items have been specifically designed to take you off track, but if you are clear on the question and have formulated your own answer, you will be more likely to answer correctly.
Reading all choices.
You have probably had an experience where you thought your answer was correct, but your professor indicated that another choice was a better option.
If you do not read all the choices, you will not be able to consider all options and determine which is best.
Eliminating wrong choices helps to visually remove options you are no longer considering.
This can save you time because you will not be tempted to re-read and rethink answer options that you know are incorrect.
Skipping difficult questions.
If you spend too much time on a difficult question, you may not have enough time to answer questions that might be much easier for you.
Before you move on, make your best guess based on the time and cognitive investment you have already made in case you do not have time to return to it later.
Skipping difficult questions can also help reduce anxiety.
Spending time on difficult questions brings attention to what you do not know.
making you more anxious.
Skip the difficult questions and find the ones you know to increase your confidence and decrease your anxiety.
You may also come across questions later in the exam that trigger a memory, helping you correctly answer the original difficult question.
Changing your answer if you have good reason.
You have probably heard the advice, stick to your gut and go with your first answer.
If you've heard this advice before, you may be surprised to find out the research suggests that changing your answer is often a good, not bad idea.
Students make more wrong to right switches than right to wrong switches when changing their answers.
Schatz and Best also found that answer changing can have a more positive than negative impact on academic performance if there is a good reason for making the change.
Individuals who changed their answer because they misread the question or because of a clue discovered later in the exam made a wrong to right change in seventy two percent of the cases.
Based on this research, change your answer whenever you have a good reason.
Short answer and essay exams give you the opportunity to articulate and apply your knowledge.
You are generally not confined to focusing on one piece of information as you might be in a multiple choice test question.
Instead, you can use your overall knowledge about the topic to produce a good response.
This is likely one of the reasons why students prefer short answer exams over multiple choice ones.
Use the following steps to write a good essay response.
planning, writing and proofreading.
All good products start with a plan.
Unfortunately, students often forget this important step when answering short answer or essay questions and start to dive into the response without first thinking about how to best respond.
The first step is to fully understand the question.
Read the question carefully, underlining key words to keep focused on what the question is asking.
For example, if it says compare and contrast, you need to discuss both similarities and differences between the concepts.
Despite how thoroughly you discuss the similarities, if you forgot to address the differences, it could result in losing half the points.
Spend approximately one fifth of the time you have for the question on this planning stage.
Think about what you want to say and how you plan to organize your thoughts.
Consider making a quick outline or concept map before you start writing.
Start by jotting down the main points you would like to cover and then add details that support these points.
Most of your time will be spent on writing the response.
Begin with a strong opening that directly relates to the question.
This is often referred to as a topic sentence.
This allows the reader to know where you stand with the issue or what you believe is most important.
Each subsequent paragraph should also have a clear opening sentence that tells the reader about the focus for that paragraph.
Add more specific information about the topic through examples and supporting details.
Writing an organized response is important.
Ending with a strong conclusion is an effective way to reiterate or emphasize your main point.
, be sure you use this opportunity to leave the reader with a clear understanding of what you perceive to be most important.
It is what the professor will remember most when grading your exam.
So show what you know.
After you finish writing your response, there is one more very critical step you must do before you hand in your exam.
Proofreading your work.
You should give yourself approximately one fifth of the time you have to complete the question for this important step.
Begin the proofreading process by re-reading the question, carefully focusing on what is being asked.
It is not uncommon for students to get off track when answering a question, writing about concepts that were not directly asked about in the question.
Also, make sure that you have answered all the subparts of the question.
Check off each subquestion as you review your response so that you are certain you gave a complete response.
If you miss something, it could negatively impact your test score.
Finally, check your organizational structure, spelling, and grammar.
Take home and online exams, although sometimes similar in format, can be a very different experience from in-class exams.
Although many students often report less anxiety when taking tests outside of the classroom setting, it is important that you still prepare well.
Take home and online exams can be quite challenging in nature, and students often underestimate how much studying and preparation is needed.
This can result in poor performance.
In addition to being challenging, take-home or online exams may also be more time-consuming than traditional tests.
It is therefore essential that you carve out enough time to successfully prepare for and complete the exam.
Look at your syllabus or ask your professor for details about the testing process so that you can plan accordingly.
Knowing what to expect with these different test formats is important.
Online testing can vary quite a bit from class to class.
Know the technology requirements and be sure you are using a computer and web browser that provides you with what is needed.
You may also want to inquire about what you should do if you have a technology problem when completing the test.
Before an online test, ask how the test will be set up.
Sometimes you may only be allowed one attempt at the test
, but in other cases you may be allowed to take the quiz or test more than once.
You may be able to go back and change your answers, but this may not always be the case.
Some online quizzes or tests may be timed, while others may be untimed.
When tests are timed, a clock may be running on the computer screen, or you may have to watch the time yourself.
Many online testing programs will immediately grade your test upon completion.
Students really appreciate the immediate feedback associated with online tests.
Learning from your mistakes is a great way to increase your knowledge.
As with all testing, it is essential that you uphold the academic integrity of the course and engage in appropriate test-taking behaviors when completing take-home and online exams.
Be sure you are clear about what materials, if any, you are permitted to use.
To avoid the temptation to engage in academically dishonest behaviors, practice good studying skills and focus on the goal, learning.
Strong preparation leads to successful outcomes no matter what the test format.
After you get feedback on your test performance, it is a good idea to engage in reflection.
Determine what you did well and where improvements are needed.
This reflection will help you improve performance in the future.
Exam wrappers are reflective assignments that students complete after an exam.
In a study by Hodges, students answered the following questions.
Did you feel prepared for the exam?
What did you do to prepare for the exam?
For example, read before class, come to class,
thinking, answering questions, or doing practice problems?
Did you use certain assignments or resources as learning tools or just get them done as fast as possible?
How many problems or questions did you complete before the exam?
Did you miss questions due to not reading carefully?
What was the main reason for missing exam questions?
What type of question did you miss the most?
Did you know how to get help in the course?
Do you feel that you have made a good assessment of your learning habits and know how to adjust your approach?
Results showed that students in several different science courses had higher overall course grades when they completed exam wrappers.
Edlund also found that exam wrappers led to improved course performance for students taking psychology courses.
Thus engaging in this reflective process after an exam will help you perform better on future learning tasks.