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Some pedagogical reflections on a Final Exam by Twitter…
First, let’s talk about goals: What is the purpose of a final exam?
1) (Extrinsically?) Motivate students to learn
2) Determine student grades and ranks
3) Assess professor’s performance
4) (Bonus) Teach students something new through the process of taking the exam
1) (Extrinsically?) Motivate students to learn
2) Determine student grades and ranks
3) Assess professor’s performance
4) (Bonus) Teach students something new through the process of taking the exam
In all my classes, I care most about Goal 1 and aspire to Goal 4. I care less and less about Goal 2, especially in elective classes, and think there are better ways to assess my performance than through final exam scores.
So, Goals 1 and 4.
1) Did my Twitter Exam motivate students to learn? Did they read more papers more closely because they had to Tweet about some of them?
1) Did my Twitter Exam motivate students to learn? Did they read more papers more closely because they had to Tweet about some of them?
YES. I felt a higher level of engagement, and they said it was because of the Twitter Exam.
At first they were afraid of earning a bad grade, but as they became familiar with the field and its authors, they were more motivated to do well because they wanted to impress YOU.
At first they were afraid of earning a bad grade, but as they became familiar with the field and its authors, they were more motivated to do well because they wanted to impress YOU.
More than one student said: “I really want to do well on my Twitter threads because I want Professor X to notice me and remember when I apply for a job.”
[Ok, they didn’t say it that formally. Literal quote: “@OwenOzier is a baller. How can I get a job with him? Do you think Twitter can help?”]
Most exams target Extrinsic Motivation. I was hoping this Twitter Exam would inspire Intrinsic Motivation, and it worked better than I had hoped.
They wanted to join our community. They wanted to join YOU.
This was a huge pedagogical win.
They wanted to join our community. They wanted to join YOU.
This was a huge pedagogical win.
Goal 4: Did my students learn something new through to process of taking the Twitter Exam? YES, again more than I had hoped.
I was a little ambivalent about teaching them “to Twitter.” Twitter is a unique platform, one that may not exist when I teach this class again (half-year sabbatical next year).
What’s the point of teaching them “to Twitter” well when they may never do it again?
What’s the point of teaching them “to Twitter” well when they may never do it again?
Tweeting well requires generalizable skills: a) keep your audience squarely in mind, b) break info into bite sized pieces, c) use numbers, charts, cartoons, and gifs to keep your audience engaged. They may never tweet again, but they did practice writing well in the 21st century.
.@rglenner was right. Tweeting taught them the power of brevity, pictures/figures, and gifs. Oh, the gifs.
One nuts and bolts thing: Some were concerned about muddling their online professional personas (seniors going into industry) while others were anxious about Tweeting to potential employers under their own names.
They were allowed to use fake names; I should have required it.
They were allowed to use fake names; I should have required it.
I will do this again, and I wish I could to it in my experimental/behavioral class next year.
[Plea: Why oh why aren’t more experimental/behavioral economists on Twitter? Please can we fix this?]
[Plea: Why oh why aren’t more experimental/behavioral economists on Twitter? Please can we fix this?]
Big thanks to all who offered advice when I first tweeted about this idea (@cblatts, @etjernst, @m_clem, @cubegrl, @marymacnp, @Christine_Filer), to @nmadj1s for tweeting about how to tweet, and to @real_eric_ohrn and @_alice_evans for fantastic example threads.
Bigger thanks to the authors who liked my students’ threads (@tedmiguel, @jhaushofer).
BIGGEST thanks to @tukopamoja for retweeting @hannah_bollen’s thread on transfers and sin goods.
I wish you could have seen their faces in class the next day.
“That’s so cool! He actually talked to you!”
I wish you could have seen their faces in class the next day.
“That’s so cool! He actually talked to you!”
Full syllabus here: dropbox.com/s/9zawg23evsja…
The bits specific to the Twitter Exam are in pictures below.
The bits specific to the Twitter Exam are in pictures below.
@cblatts @etjernst @m_clem @cubegrl @marymacnp @Christine_Filer @real_eric_ohrn @_alice_evans Oops, meant to tag/thank @nomadj1s!
