Adjusting Student Test Preparation Through Their Own Self-assessment

Abstract

Students must prepare for life-long learning. This paper presents a means to directly assess student test preparation in an introductory thermodynamics course. Student performance shows that certain study materials and activities are more effective for success in a given course. In this study, students document and record their own test preparation to include both the activity and the duration. They are then shown an anonymous graph of the overall class grades as a function of the test preparation activity. The students compare their study habits and grades with their peers to determine if other study tactics resulted in better grades. This allows students to adjust their test preparation activities throughout the semester. Their exposure to these more frequent and smaller point scale tests allow for adjustments before their grades become too difficult to change. The overall assessment of the study’s effectiveness includes course surveys from the students, the scores on the tests, and final exams. The results show that students’ test preparation activities can be influenced and that the students learn to study more efficiently. This increased efficiency actually leads to increased learning.