SETS TOM SRAM RSENS, RP ION Se A ET UNSW SY I RRS ASN!

sional off days. However, most students remembered
that this part of the grade was significant, and so made an
extra effort to attend and contribute.

Through all three class requirements—reading jour-
nals, creative portfolio, and attendance and participa-
tion—I was able to measure the effort and time the
students put into the course, as well as measure their
improvement in writing and critical thinking. Further, I
know the class was a success because a number of
students have gone on to explore black literature on their
own, and some have taken up creative writing and are
submitting poems and stories to the college literary
magazine. | also know that I intend to teach the class as
often as I can.

So what does all this mean? First, a nontraditional
literature course should have different goals than a
traditional literature course. Rather than filling up the
students with esoteric knowledge (who wrote what and
when), the emphasis should be placed on “turning
students on” to literature. The goal should be inspiring
them to enjoy reading during the course of the semester
and, with any luck, to continue to read after the semester
has ended. Second, the success I had with Major Black

Writers has led me to change my approach to teaching
traditional literature courses. Although the earlier
problems I raised (e.g., a need for the class to be virtually
identical to similar classes at other schools) are still valid,
the sheer success of the Major Black Writers course calls
for some of its points to be considered for use in tradi-
tional literature courses, too. Currently, I am experiment-
ing with the idea of requiring my students in such
courses to keep reading journals; I am also intrigued with
the idea of having them write creatively—perhaps they
could use the Elizabethan sonnet form to explore their
own personal traumas and heartaches. In my case, why
should I object if my course not only teaches my students
the esoteric knowledge that is so essential, but also
inspires them to read outside of class and write on their
own?

‘ie

Jim McWilliams, Instructor, English

For further information, contact the author at
Madisonville Community College, 536 W. Center,
Madisonville, KY 42431.

©, 2% o%e 0%
ee ~~ ~~

The Joys of an All-Essay Comprehensive Final

In my sophomore-level economics courses, my
students are allowed to “drop” one of the scores of the
five tests taken over the semester; but, if happy with
the first four test scores, they can skip the final. How-
ever, the student who drops one of the first four test
scores must show some knowledge of that section of
the course on the final.

The first four tests combine multiple-choice and
essay questions; and until recently, the final exam had
been multiple-choice questions, primarily because they
could be graded quickly. But, it had been my experi-
ence that the best students were not taking the final
exam, that the overall scores were not very good, and
that I submitted my grade sheets with a vague feeling
of disappointment.

For those reasons, now the final exams consist solely
of essay questions. I provide students with seven or
eight questions the week before the scheduled exam;
they come the day of the test and answer any five.

I have been pleased with the results. Fewer than
half of the students now take the final; that, plus the

fact that their answers are brief but good, makes the
exams easy to grade. More importantly, the scores are
generally high.

Is the final exam too easy? | think not. Students
have had a week or more to prepare their answers, so I
grade the essays rather harshly. The final exam is my
last chance to see that students learn something, and I
am convinced that they must make a more serious
effort to prepare for an all-essay test than they would
for a multiple-choice.

When my students perform well on an all-essay
comprehensive final, I take joy in knowing that (1) I
have done my job as a teacher and (2) they, too, will
have a legitimate sense of accomplishment.

Danny Taylor, Assistant Professor, Economics
For further information, contact the author at New

Mexico State University at Alamogordo, P.O. Box 477,
Alamogordo, NM 88310.

 

 

Suanne D. Roueche, Editor

November 6, 1992, Vol. XIV, No. 27

©The University of Texas at Austin, 1992
Further duplication is permitted by MEMBER
institutions for their own personnel.

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS is a publication of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD),
Department of Educational Administration, College of Education, EDB 348, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
78712, (512) 471-7545. Funding in part by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the Sid W. Richardson Foundation. Issued weekly
when classes are in session during fall and spring terms. ISSN 0199-106X.