Exam Debrief

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:

  • time on task, 

    1. attending to detail, 

    2. using active learning strategies, and 

    3. 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:

2023 State of Student Success and Engagement in Higher Education

Instructure, the company that created Canvas, has released the report: The 2023 State of Student Success and Engagement in Higher Education. They worked with Hanover Research to field a survey in 17 countries, asking for the perspectives of 6,100 current students, administrators, and faculty from 2-year, 4-year, public, and private higher education institutions in order to answer the following questions:

  • Are students satisfied with the existing skills-based learning opportunities for lifelong learning?

  • What tools best support student success and engagement and how can they be leveraged across the education landscape?

  • With technology being so immersed in the student experience, how can institutions address barriers to access and provide educators with the support they need inside and outside the classroom

  • How are faculty across the globe being supported through changes in their industry?

The key takeaways are:

 

Skills-based learning is becoming the most valued for its practical application in the workforce. 

As the workforce shifts and more jobs go remote, the need for students to demonstrate proof of skills to potential employers increases. Career advancement and the desire to learn new skills are most likely to influence students to pursue a skills-based learning opportunity, along with cost and program flexibility. Students increasingly desire courses and programs that undoubtedly prepare them for the workforce and expect educators to make more personalized courses, offer hands-on, practical learning opportunities, and support on-the-go learners.

Certificates and apprenticeship programs are becoming highly valued by both students and employers for their demonstrable proof of workplace skills, and upskilling/ reskilling for lifelong learners.

Longer life expectancy, education costs, and changes in the workplace are driving a fundamental shift toward lifelong learning. As more students seek skills-based learning opportunities to supplement their traditional degrees and ensure return on their educational investment, colleges and universities can adapt their offerings to meet this need. Of the skills-based learning opportunities institutions currently offer for lifelong learning, students are most likely to consider certificates and apprenticeships. Viewed positively by three-quarters of respondents, certificates and apprenticeships can serve as viable vehicles for the practical skills learners need for career readiness and advancement.

Schools need to provide consistent guidelines and training around generative AI for educators and students or risk a growing divide in skill development.

While technology played a vital role in getting students and educators through

the pandemic, AI has introduced a growing divide in the adoption of tech tools in the classroom. Through guidelines and training for generative AI, colleges and universities have an opportunity to aid educators in driving consistency for learners. Despite the building interest in generative AI, these tools have yet to be used consistently across institutions, with only one-quarter of educators currently using them. The top concerns educators have about using AI in classrooms are cheating/plagiarism and decreased creativity/critical thinking among students – who also use AI for research, writing and test preparation. Instead of hyper-focusing on cheating, educators should shift their focus to new assessment methods and productive uses of generative AI tools. Otherwise, they risk losing tech-native students and an opportunity to prepare them for future jobs that will leverage advanced technology.

Access to technology has the greatest impact on student success and engagement, but we haven’t solved the accessibility gap for many learners.

One of the silver linings of the pandemic was the increase in accessibility delivered through technology. However, as technology and education evolve, institutions risk widening the gap in accessibility for students with little or no access to technology, edtech tools, and reliable Wi-Fi or broadband connections. Learning management systems are among the most used edtech solutions, which most students and educators say are being used to increase accessibility. Although institutions provide technology equipment to students who cannot access it, offer hybrid learning options, and provide mobile app access to the LMS, accessing technology remains one of the biggest roadblocks for many students.

Students and educators value mental health resources, but really want time off.

Psychological well-being and access to mental health resources greatly impact student engagement and faculty support. Many institutions provide mental health resources that can be accessed through LMS integrations and partnerships, but a good portion of students are unaware of or unable to leverage these resources. Today, the top mental health resource offered by institutions is in-person/virtual counseling, but what students and educators want most are personal/ mental health days off to recharge.

Educators feel most empowered when they are given autonomy, respect, and holistic support.

Today’s educators are dealing with bigger classes, more regulation, and demands for greater flexibility from students in how they want to learn. They would like most for their institutions to offer additional personal development, acknowledge/award their achievements, and provide them with opportunities to give feedback. Educators feel most empowered by their institution when they are given autonomy and respect in their position and feel as though their physical and mental health is cared for. Currently, the top professional development opportunities available to educators through institutions are technology training and diversity, equity and

inclusion (DEI) training

Related Resource:

 

Quick Tip: Course Map Guides

A course map is a visual representation of the ways in which your course instruction and assignments align with the learning objectives. Mapping your course allows you to identify where students are learning key concepts and skills, and to make decisions about formative and summative assessments. This Online Course Mapping Guide https://www.coursemapguide.com/ developed at UC San Diego, provides faculty with resources and templates for online course development, beginning with a curriculum analysis and resulting in a course map that displays the alignment of all components of a course.

Incorporating metacognitive practices into your class

Dr. Sandra McGuire https://faculty.lsu.edu/smcgui1/ is an expert in supporting faculty in helping students learn how to learn in their class. She argues that most students come to college underprepared. Specifically, she advocates for metacognitive equity, or closing the gap between students who use metacognition (effective thinking and learning strategies) and those who do not. (https://digital.library.txst.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/0516466a-bf01-4aff-a0ba-9c326f59d464/content). She argues that this the gap in metacognitive strategies contributes most to the persistent achievement gap and that all students must be taught how to learn. A 2017 Hechinger Report https://hechingerreport.org/colleges-enroll-students-arent-prepared-higher-education/, shares “data from 911 two- and four-year colleges revealed that 96 percent of schools enrolled students who required remediation in the 2014-15 academic year, the most comprehensive recent numbers. At least 209 schools placed more than half of incoming students in at least one remedial course”. 

Dr. McGuire counseled several students to have a back-up plan for medical school after failing an organic chemistry test in her course. She went through faculty professional development which encouraged her to incorporate metacognitive learning strategies into her teaching practice. The improvement she saw in students helped her come to the belief that most students do not know how to learn. She argues that in many cases, metacognitive learning was not a prerequisite for good grades in their previous educational experiences. “Many received As and Bs without the need to learn the subject matter in a great deal of depth”.  An example she shares to illustrate this point is supporting a student who stated he had “valedictorian syndrome””, which he explained by stating, “Well, I was valedictorian of my high school class but I’m flunking everything at [college].” 

If you think of these same students as scientists, she argues, “They’ve collected, interpreted and made predictions regarding data they have collected for all of their lives! If they skipped classes or barely opened their textbooks in previous educational experiences, yet successfully graduated in a top percentage of their class and ended up in college, we can understand that based on their personal “lab” experience, the same behaviors should result in the same success in college.”

This led her to the conclusion: It is often not a student’s lack of innate ability or talent, but rather a lack of effective learning strategies, that can make the difference in academic success. (Growth mindset)

What are the benefits of using metacognitive strategies in your classroom?

When instructors assist students to develop strong metacognitive abilities, students develop a deeper awareness of the learning process and gain control over their own learning. This leads to:

  • enhanced personal capacity for self-regulation

  • increased ability to manage one’s own motivation

  • students becoming more independent learners.

 

Examples of metacognitive strategies you can incorporate into your course:

From Cornell University: 


https://teaching.cornell.edu/teaching-resources/teaching-cornell-guide/teaching-strategies/metacognitive-strategies-how-people

  • Use a pre-class survey, homework assignment, polling questions in class, or a short reflective writing piece as a way for students to explore their existing knowledge about a topic.

  • Ask students to prepare for class by reviewing the week’s syllabus topic and reading. Use the Canvas online quiz tool, in-class polling, or index cards to learn how students understand the goals for the class meeting, how they think they should prepare, and what they learned from the reading.

    • Some potential questions:

      • What is one question you still have about the reading?

      • What is one thing you are curious about?

      • How can you best prepare for class?

      • What can you do in class to help yourself learn?

 

Additional strategies include: 

  • Verbalize the thought processes used to consider, analyze and solve problems. This may be as simple as ‘thinking aloud’.

  • Encourage students to ask themselves the following while studying or completing homework assignments:

    • What should I do first?

    • Is something confusing me?

    • Could I explain this to someone else?

    • Do I need help to understand this?

    • Where did I go wrong?

    • Does this relate to other situations or prior knowledge?

    • How can I do it better?

 

In Teach Students How to Learn: Strategies You Can Incorporate Into Any Course to Improve Student Metacognition, Study Skills, and Motivation (p. 85) (Available at IU libraries https://iucat.iu.edu/catalog/18412847) Dr. McGuire provides details on how you can incorporate the following practices in your course:

  1. Previewing

  2. Preparing for active reading

  3. Paraphrasing

  4. Reading actively

  5. Using the textbook even if it is not required

  6. Going to class and taking notes by hand

  7. Doing homework without using solved examples as a guide

  8. Teaching material to a real or imagined audience

  9. Working in pairs or groups

  10. Creating practice exams