Tag: final exam

Final Exam Strategies

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If you’re interested in learning creative methods (some might call them “professor hacks”) to administer and assess final exams, tune in to the Virtual FLC this Thursday at 10 a.m. We will ask faculty to share their own innovative techniques for remote final exam and projects. As always, TLP staff will be in the room to help us bring ideas to life. Below are a few strategies to consider to help you and your students thrive during the next couple weeks.

  • Use Kaltura Mashups, Turnitin, or VoiceTyping in Google Docs to offer audio or video feedback
  • Give options for the final exam (e.g. 5-page essay on takeaways from the course, online test, complete a project).
  • When grading papers, do not spend time offering written feedback unless you expect a revision.
    • or ask students if they want your feedback and offer it only to those individuals
    • or offer feedback and recommendations to the class as a whole rather than to every student
  • Be clear with students about due dates and timelines for final projects and exams
  • Offer longer-than-normal durations to take an exam and be less rigid with deadlines (this gives you more flexibility with grading too)

Be Innovative with Your Final

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Given the unprecedented end-of-semester challenges from the Camp Fire, it’s ok to ask yourself “Do I really need to administer a traditional final exam?” If the answer is yes because it’s a required high-stakes exam for a certificate or a gateway exam to the next course in the sequence, then by all means, administer it. If, however, you plan to give a written final exam purely because that’s just what professors have always done, then consider a few possible alternatives for students to demonstrate their learning.

  • Ask students to apply what they’ve learned by connecting your course material to other classes they’ve had, or to the current social, economic, scientific, or political context
  • Enhance inclusivity by allowing students to develop some of the final exam questions or essay prompts
  • Have students present their work to each other in a poster session, portfolio reveal, gallery walk, or some other event

The university requires that classes meet at the designated time during finals week. I encourage you to explore innovative possibilities to make that a meaningful, worthwhile, and perhaps even enjoyable culminating experience for students. Provost Larson’s 11/30 e-mail noted that there may be exceptions to the required final exam policy, especially this semester, so you have some latitude to be intellectually creative with your assessments.