I don’t give nearly as many tests and quizzes as you might think, as they are costlier than commonly appreciated. Not only do I have to write them and score them, I have to dedicate precious, precious class time to them. Lots of class time, because we have to wait for everyone to finish, and in my classes some students will always take forever. More than that, even, because if I give anything that smells like formal assessment, I’m required to send students with accommodations to a special testing room where they can get extra help and time. So not only do I have to work out the logistics on that, some of my most needy students might be missing from my class for an extra day.
My testing minimalism raises some eyebrows. I get away with it because my students consistently beat expectations on the tests people care about the most.
You’re absolutely right, though, about assessments acting as an additional review. I do give some regular “take-home quizzes” in the form of vocab/terminology matching sheets or crosswords just to have something to put in the grade book.
Also, that team-based review game we play on the interactive whiteboard has very high overlap with my Anki deck. This did help keep some vocab words that were languishing on the bottom of the Anki deck in circulation. Not every class has the same leeches and due cards on a given day, though, so it’s not really practical to tweak the game that precisely.
By the way, gwern, let me thank you directly for your web page about spaced repetition. This experiment never would have happened without it. My “heartfelt presentation” is basically the CliffsNotes version of your research, and I attribute you at the end of it.
I’m pleased to hear that. I’ve always felt that the classroom (or equivalents such as MOOCs) is ultimately where spaced repetition needs to happen the most. There’s only so many gains from using it on one’s own, in isolation.
I don’t give nearly as many tests and quizzes as you might think, as they are costlier than commonly appreciated. Not only do I have to write them and score them, I have to dedicate precious, precious class time to them. Lots of class time, because we have to wait for everyone to finish, and in my classes some students will always take forever. More than that, even, because if I give anything that smells like formal assessment, I’m required to send students with accommodations to a special testing room where they can get extra help and time. So not only do I have to work out the logistics on that, some of my most needy students might be missing from my class for an extra day.
My testing minimalism raises some eyebrows. I get away with it because my students consistently beat expectations on the tests people care about the most.
You’re absolutely right, though, about assessments acting as an additional review. I do give some regular “take-home quizzes” in the form of vocab/terminology matching sheets or crosswords just to have something to put in the grade book.
Also, that team-based review game we play on the interactive whiteboard has very high overlap with my Anki deck. This did help keep some vocab words that were languishing on the bottom of the Anki deck in circulation. Not every class has the same leeches and due cards on a given day, though, so it’s not really practical to tweak the game that precisely.
By the way, gwern, let me thank you directly for your web page about spaced repetition. This experiment never would have happened without it. My “heartfelt presentation” is basically the CliffsNotes version of your research, and I attribute you at the end of it.
I’m pleased to hear that. I’ve always felt that the classroom (or equivalents such as MOOCs) is ultimately where spaced repetition needs to happen the most. There’s only so many gains from using it on one’s own, in isolation.