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gue INNOVATION ABSTRACTS ie
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ILA Published by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development
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With support from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and Sid W. Richardson Foundation

 

 

 

AN ALTERNATIVE TO MID-TERM EXAMS

Community college instructors often search for an alternative to mid-term exams, especially for classes
which meet only once a week. Since a mid-term exam often means that three hours of instruction time are lost,
the following alternative was found to be most successtul and would help to advance the goal of writing across
the curriculum.

When the class meets each week, the first activity is a writing activity. One essay question is presented on
the content of the previous week's class activities and/or reading assignment. The question is placed on an over-
head transparency and made visible to the class at the very minute class is due to start—for example, 7:00 p.m.
The students are told at the beginning of the fourteen-week session that they must complete at least ten of the
essay questions for a maximum of three points for each question. A total of thirty points then is given for the
mid-term exam.

The students are given the first fifteen minutes of each class to write a short essay answer to the weekly
question. If a student arrives late, he has whatever portion of that time remaining to answer the question. The
composition serves a dual function: encouraging students to arrive on time and having all students in place and
ready when the instruction begins.

Each week the graded essays from the previous week are returned to the students while they are writing.
When the fifteen minutes have elapsed and the essavs have been collected, a model student essay from the pre-
vious week is read aloud. Students look at their own answers and compare them with the student response that
the instructor thought was close to ideal. Each week a different student's paper is read so that the positive rein-
forcement is spread among the class members. Students note an improvement in their own writing styles as
they have multiple opportunities to actively write on a weekly basis and to compare their responses with
models.

This writing activity has proved to be a successful alternative to a mid-term exam, a reinforcement of writ-
ing skills, and an instructional process which improves the conduct of the class.

 

DOUGLAS COLLEGE
Donna A. Nickel
Valencia Community College \RCHIVES

 

 

 

For further information, contact the author at Valencia Community College, P. O. Box 3028, Orlando, FL 32802-
9961.

 

 

OF Community College Leadership Program, The University of Texas at Austin, EDB 348, Austin, Texas 78712