At 09:58 AM 4/26/01 -0500, Herman Rubin wrote:
>For the important part, it is ALWAYS appropriate. An
>argument against open book is that they spend too much
>time looking things up, but I always allow crib sheets.
>This way they know that they will get no credit for
>memorizing definitions and formulas.
i would put a different spin on this ... if students use the crib sheet
(which i let them have too) AND have to depend on it TO remember important
formulas/definitions ... then this works against them since, they will then
be spending time on "consulting" their card ... and hoping to find
something ... when they could be using that time to work on other problems
or items ... or give more time to problems that are a bit more complex
crib sheets are like the college degree that some athletes get (so they
say) ... it is a fall back position ...
the allowance to use or not ... and the benefit from use, if crib sheet use
is allowed ... is an interesting area of inquiry that has essentially been
ignored in the literature ...
i hypothesize that ... crib sheet use CAN have a + impact NOW and THEN ...
but, it is essentially a random effect ... and, if it does help ... the
help will be minimal for any given test
i think that more often than not, it mainly "eases" ones mind ...
but, it can have a down side too ... if one spends too much time on MAKING
a crib sheet and not enough time on understanding the content ... then over
reliance on the use of a card can be detrimental
in any case, it would make for some interesting data fodder to have a close
look at such things as:
1. what is ON crib sheets ... and relate types of content on cards TO test
performance
2. look at how OFTEN students actually access their cards
3. look at how much TIME is spent looking at their cards compared to total
test time
4. do some comparisons (nice highly controlled experiment of course)
between classes where crib sheet use is or is not allowed ... and how use
changes (if any) what they do to prepare for tests ...
i know in my classes, when i just causally observe students working on
tests and using their cards ... it is interesting ...
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