Replacing Reading Quizzes

gilroy0 — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 13:23:57 +0000

As mentioned in class, I am no more fond of giving reading quizzes as you are of taking them. They consume class time, my time to write and to grade, and your time to prepare. All that being said, they do serve a purpose: They associate a direct cost with failing to do the reading. If students do not do the reading, then a seminar course cannot function and we are all wasting our time. Although I would love to think that you will do the reading just because you find it interesting, I am realistic enough to know that this will not be the case for everyone. Hence, the reading quiz.

I am very open to evaluating the reading in a different manner but I am at a loss as to what would be effective. Your input would be very much appreciated. Please use the comment section on this post to offer suggestions.

Your mechanism must help me distinguish among

students who have done the reading well, engaging with it
students who have done the reading superficially but not in depth
students who have not done the reading

Your mechanism should not involve excessive work on the part of students or me. The point is to encourage and reward engaging with the articles, so as to enrich class discussions and deepen student understanding.

As an incentive, I will offer between 1 and 5 bonus points for participating in this exercise. The more you offer up, or the more you comment on other people’s ideas, the more of the points you will earn. The comment period will end on Wed Feb 18 at 11:59 PM.

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Replacing Reading Quizzes