Dawn M. Wiggins, a faculty member in the Mathematics Department at Illinois Valley Community College, argues that exam debriefs can help students see how self-defeating behaviors can negatively affect their results on an exam. However, the debrief she describes (including the questions she asked (see: https://oncourseworkshop.com/self-awareness/exam-debrief/)) goes beyond providing students with the correct answer on the test.
Why use an exam debrief?
Favero & Hendricks, H. (2016) explain that exam debriefs offer faculty the opportunity to confront study strategy issues as well as garner an understanding of misconceptions students may hold about the content. Wiggins shares, “I think there is a window of opportunity immediately following an exam to help students identify the things they did to prepare for the exam and the things that they could do better the next time”. Further, exam debriefs offer students the opportunity to think critically about their experience on the exam, as well as gain a better understanding of their learning process.
What is the process for debriefing an exam?
Weimer (2018) has summarized Favero & Hendricks he exam debriefing (ED) process:
Part 1: Students looked carefully at the questions they missed and tried to determine why each question was missed.Part 2: Students then examined the questions to see if there was a pattern emerging. Did they miss questions for the same reason?Part 3: Students prepared a brief description of how they studied for the exam, including the amount of time devoted to studying.Part 4: Based on the information gleaned so far, students identified what changes they thought they could make that might help them better prepare for the next exam. They were given a list of areas where changes could be made:
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- time on task,
- attending to detail,
- using active learning strategies, and
- general study habits.
- (Examples were given in each of these areas; see additional questions in the example linked above).
In the ED process students selected the behavior changes they believed they needed to make. All selected options from the active learning category in part, the authors believe, because those activities were demonstrated, modeled, and used in class. For example, many students reported using flashcards but only as devices that helped them memorize details like definitions. In class, Favero used an activity with flashcards in their human anatomy course that showed students how flashcards can be used more fruitfully to show relationships between, in this case, anatomical structure and function.
Suggestions from implementing an exam debrief (from McGill University)
- Include a debrief questionnaire on the last page of the exam.
- Distribute a debrief questionnaire when corrected exams are returned.
- Allow class time to fill out a debrief questionnaire.
- Make the debrief questionnaire an online assignment.
Additional Resources:
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