I have recently successfully tested two-stage exam s as part of the Analytical Chemistry course that I teach at Concordia. I chose the long 2 1/2 hour evening section to have enough time for teach step:
- Individual exam (1hr 15 min)
- Group exam (30 min)
- Discussion of solutions (15 min)
Feedback was overwhelmingly positive and I now work on expanding this assessment to all of the courses I teach, including the 1hr 15 min day sections, where I will most probably opt for a 40 min individual exam, followed by a 25 min group exam.
Hi, Prof Kos, I was wondering about the “discussion of solutions” part. Are you solving the problems in front of the class ?
Thanks,
Christian Drouin
Sorry for the very late reply — your comment ended up in the Spam folder. The short answer is that I demonstrate a small number of representative problems on the board in front of class. Most of the time I work with problem solving in groups and discuss solutions pathways briefly as I move from group to group. Students submit answers through clickers and if need be I discuss the solution in front of class (mostly using the board), but usually I can clarify most questions during the group discussion phase.