Tip for students: As almost all colleges have moved to on-line instruction, a lot of you will be facing open-book exams. Here's how I write them and what it means for you. #TeachJMC #AcademicTwitter #Thread
2/ Let's get this out of the way first: open-book tests are NOT easier. They are often, but not always, harder.
3/ Some faculty are reluctantly offering open-book tests because they have realized that detecting/deterring cheating in an at-home test is a bit of a fool's errand. Even with a webcam and lockdown browser, y'all can be creative and determined.
4/ For these faculty who may give the same test they'd give in class, the trap is YOU. This is when you assume that you don't need to review for the test because all the answers are going to be right there while you take it.
5/ The answers ARE right there in the book(s), but it turns out that it's a lot harder to read and understand 4 weeks of material in 70 minutes than it is in 4 weeks. The index probably won't save you, either. They aren't always good.
6/ I write different questions for open-book tests. They focus on not just knowing and repeating things from class, but on showing you understand the relationships between things and big ideas. Here's a few hints for preparing.
7/ A study guide is a great start, and you should know everything on it. For open-book, mark where those things are in the book and your notes, if allowed. That's step one.
8/ Step two is to take that study guide back to that list of course objectives you should see at the top of your course syllabus. (If you don't, the course description in the catalog might help).
9/ How do the things you've learned for the test (the study guide) relate back to those big ideas? How do they relate to each other? If you can get a study group together over video chat, these are GREAT things to talk about.
10/ If you can't, try explaining to your Mom. Or your cat. When you practice verbalizing these big connections, you are getting more comfortable using the ideas you have learned, and it will help you get them together quickly on the test.
*Bonus/ If you don't have a study guide, you can make one. Write to a friend or two in the class and all of you make a list of the subjects you've studied since the last test. Use something like a Google Doc to make a master list you can share.
