Two-stage Exams Research Articles

A Qualitative Study of the Experiences and Perceptions of Korean Undergraduates Regarding Two-Stage Examinations

Researchers have recognized collaborative problem-solving as a key competency for addressing sustainability challenges through creative and holistic approaches. Nevertheless, transforming traditional individual assessments into collaborative examinations to improve collaborative problem-solving is challenging. This study examines the experiences and perceptions of Korean undergraduates regarding two-stage examinations comprising individual and team components. Semi-structured interviews with nine students yielded results in eighteen subthemes categorized into four themes: process, positive aspects, negative aspects, and action items for support. Participants experienced a dynamic, collaborative problem-solving process through two-stage examinations; reported positive aspects, such as improved grades, learning opportunities, immediate feedback, and reduced test anxiety; and negative aspects, such as the burden of teamwork. As the first qualitative study of students’ perceptions of two-stage exams, this research explores transformative assessment practices that enhance collaborative problem-solving skills crucial for addressing global sustainability challenges. Furthermore, to promote collaborative assessments, this study discusses implications for educators planning to use two-stage examinations and offers suggestions for future research.

Forming Groups in a Large-Enrollment Biology Class: Group Permanence Matters More than Group Size.

Active-learning pedagogies often require group work. We tested aspects of forming groups in a nonmajors Biology class. We asked whether large or small groups affected student learning outcomes and attitudes towards working in groups. We placed students in groups of three or six and students stayed in their groups for the term. We measured learning outcomes using a pre/postassessment as well as two-stage exams. Attitudes towards working in groups were measured using a previously published pre/post survey and an exit survey. We found that students in large groups did better on group exams and large groups had higher highest scores on the individual part of two-stage exams. Group size had no effect on students' postassessment scores or attitudes towards working in groups. We next assigned students to permanent or nonpermanent groups. We used the same metrics as the group size experiment. Students in permanent groups had higher group exam scores and better attitudes towards working in groups. Group permanence had no effect on students' postassessment scores. Students preferred working in permanent groups due to positive group interactions that developed over the quarter. Optimal group size and permanence are likely context-specific and dependent on the types of group work used in class.

The Influence of Two-Stage Collaborative Testing on Peer Relationships: A Study of First-Year University Student Perceptions

Two-stage testing is a form of collaborative assessment that creates an active learning environment during test taking. In two-stage testing, students first complete an exam individually, and then complete a subset of the same questions as part of a learning team with the ultimate exam score being a weighted average of the individual and team portions. In the second (team-based) part of the exam, students are encouraged to discuss solutions until a consensus among team members is achieved, thus actively engaging students with course material and each other during the exam. A short open-ended survey was administered to students at the end of the semester, and the responses coded by thematic analysis, with themes generated using inductive coding based on the principles of grounded theory. The most important conclusion was that students overwhelmingly preferred two-stage tests for the development of positive peer relationships in class. The most common themes that emerged from student responses involved positive feelings from forced interaction with their peers, the benefits of meeting and socializing with other students, sharing of knowledge with others, and solidarity or positive affect towards the process of working as part of a team. Finally, students also expressed an overall preference for two-stage exams when compared to solely individual, one-stage exams.

Collaborative Two-Stage Exams Benefit Students in a Biology Laboratory Course.

Collaborative two-stage exams provide an effective mechanism to incorporate group work into summative course assessments. We implemented these exams in an upper-level biology laboratory course over two terms, one with online exams and one with in-person exams. We compared student exam performance and perceptions of two-stage exams and group work across terms and demographic groups. Quantitative analyses revealed that across three exams per term, students in groups outperformed students who took the exams individually, and on average the group exam benefited all students, in particular students from groups recognized as persons historically excluded from science because of their ethnicity or race (PEERs). Student responses to both closed and open-ended questions indicated overall positive perceptions of both two-stage exams and group work. We found no significant differences in student perceptions based on PEER student status, gender, or the number of exams helped by group exams, but we found differences related to term and group exam approaches. These findings build upon the literature supporting student learning and perceptions from two-stage exams and provide novel insights for a role of group work in decreasing inequities in course assessments.

Active Learning Techniques to Enhance Conceptual Learning in Greek Mythology

Students in large-enrollment humanities courses need each other and frequent instructor feedback to learn complex concepts. This article details active learning techniques and assessments that we used to increase student communication, engagement, and learning in a large-enrollment, university-level Greek mythology course. We first inventory these techniques, including polling, structured-analysis activities, and two-stage exams, before demonstrating them at work with a concept central to our course, the oral palimpsest. We then assess their effect on student learning and show how expanded opportunities for communication and practice increased student comprehension of a difficult mythological concept.

Transitioning Two-Stage Exams to an Online Class

Students often find biology courses to be very difficult and isolating, particularly if they identify as part of a group that has been historically excluded from STEM. Some of this anxiety and isolation comes from high-stakes exams. We decided to use the collaborative structure of two-stage exams to try to overcome the isolation of assessment. In two-stage exams, students take an individual exam, and then immediately get into groups and take the exam again, discussing the questions and the rationale behind the answers. Their exam scores are a combination of the two attempts. Our move to emergency online learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic forced us to try our two-stage exams online. In this Teaching Tools and Strategies essay, we discuss our process of offering two-stage exams online at two different institutions: a two-year Community College and four-year Research University. We share feedback from the students and discuss our iterative improvements to two-stage exam use. <em>Primary Image:</em> Online two-stage exams: students work together on second 15 exam to encourage collaboration.

Reference and Inspiration on Teaching of Chemistry Courses Based on “TBL + Two-Stage Exam” from UBC University in Canada

Reference and Inspiration on Teaching of Chemistry Courses Based on “TBL + Two-Stage Exam” from UBC University in Canada

Making internal feedback explicit: harnessing the comparisons students make during two-stage exams

In two-stage exams, students complete some academic work individually then immediately complete the same work again in small groups. Prior research shows that students perceive the dialogue they engage in at the group stage aids their individual learning. Outcome studies also suggest that engaging in dialogue benefits individual student learning. This investigation takes a different perspective. Learning during two-stage exams is conceptualised as deriving from internal feedback processes, with comparison seen as the mechanism that fuels these processes. To investigate this interpretation, students were asked to write a feedback commentary on their own learning during a two-stage exam. The intention was to make explicit the internal feedback that at would naturally occur during the group stage, as they students compare their earlier individual performance against the group dialogue and the unfolding group output. Analysis showed that students not only generated content and process feedback but also self-regulatory feedback, and that this feedback was of a higher quality than, and went beyond, the comments the teacher provided. This investigation yields new insights into the nature, scope and power of internal feedback processes, and into how to improve students’ learning during such two-stage sequences.

Comparison of the Skill of Emergency Medical Technicians in Terms of Advanced Airway Management Using Endotracheal Tube vs Laryngeal Mask Airway in an OSCE Using a Mannequin

Background: Supraglottic airway management tools such as the laryngeal mask airway (LMA) have recently emerged as the first choice in pre-hospital and hospital airway management guidelines as well as an alternative strategy after endotracheal tube (ETT) placement failure. However, the pros and cons of the LMA compared to endotracheal intubation are still debated. Given that no study has been conducted to date on the skills of emergency medical technician (EMT) in airway management using LMA compared to endotracheal intubation, we decided to do a study in this regard. Methods: In this objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), EMTs who had a degree of associate or bachelor were participated. The examiner asked the examinees the required information and entered it in the pre-prepared checklists. The participants took part in a two-stage exam. In the first stage, the airway management of the simulated trauma patient was performed by endotracheal intubation, and in the second stage, the same scenario was performed with LMA. At each stage, the examiner evaluated the examinee's performance in 4 fields of Preparation, Pre-oxygenation, Position and Placement, and Post-intubation management using a standard checklist. In addition, the duration of the procedure from the beginning to the time of fixing the ETT or LMA was recorded and compared. Results: Totally, 105 EMTs participated in this study, of whom, 102 were male (97.1%). The mean age of the subjects was 36.4± 7.3 years old. Of the total participants, 72 passed both practical exams successfully, and they generally insert the LMA faster; so that the duration of intubation and LMA insertion in 1.4% and 30.6% were &lt;1 min, respectively (p&lt; 0.001). However, no significant difference was observed in terms of the mean time (p= 0.427). Conclusion: In the present study, the skills of the technicians participating in the study in performing advanced airway procedures were moderate, and also, it was found that their skills in LMA insertion were less than endotracheal tube insertion.

Two-Stage Collaborative Exams have Little Impact on Subsequent Exam Performance in Undergraduate Mathematics

In this paper, I investigate whether two-stage exams aid learning in undergraduate mathematics, as measured by students’ performance on subsequent exams. In a two-stage exam, students complete the exam individually then form into groups to solve it again, with grades based on a combination of the two stages. Previous research in other disciplines has found mixed results about their effect on subsequent performance, and little is known about their use in undergraduate mathematics. Here, I report on three studies which investigate the use of two-stage exams in different undergraduate mathematics contexts. The first two studies replicate observational methods from previous research, and find indications of a positive impact from group collaboration. The third study is experimental and finds that, in a delayed post-test, there is no difference in performance between students who answered related questions in a two-stage exam format and a control group which had no collaborative second stage. The findings suggest that two-stage exams may have little impact on longer-term learning of mathematics, but instructors may still wish to use them to emphasise a collaborative classroom pedagogy.

Improving student assessment feedback in an introductory accounting course through two-stage collaborative assessment

Student feedback is an important part of the formative assessment process. Previous research shows that there is room for improvement in student feedback on accounting education. Various benefits, especially those associated with the development of certain pervasive skills through cooperative learning, have been established through research. The two-stage group examination offers students the opportunity to become active participants in the feedback process, while harvesting the benefits of teamwork. This study involving 24 students enrolled for an introductory accounting course evaluated the efficacy of the two-stage examination as an intervention to improve feedback. Students perceived that examination retakes in a team environment were helpful to establish where they made mistakes and showed them how they could improve their future performance. They could further establish how they performed compared to their peers. The examination retakes also helped to improve their understanding of the work and how they could improve their learning. The intervention was well received by students despite reports of free riding. This study adds to the limited body of research on two-stage exams in accounting education.

An objective structured clinical examination to assess the communication skills of students

Abstract Background Communicative competence is one of the important components of professional competence that needs to be developed in the process of training future doctors. Methods At the end of the study of the “General Practice” module, students of the 5th year of the specialty General Medicine must pass a two-stage exam consisting of comprehensive testing and acceptance of practical skills of an objective structured clinical exam (OSKE) with the participation of volunteers. Students, who passed the exam, anonymously filled out the questionnaire on the evaluation of the organization of the OSKE with volunteers and their communication skills. Results The analysis of the questionnaires showed that 4% of the students noted the unfriendliness of the volunteers, 27% wrote that it was difficult to engage with the volunteers in the collection of the anamnesis, 2% of the students, unfortunately, had never before encountered a similar situation. 12% of students who passed the exam wished to improve the communication skills of the volunteers themselves, for example, they advised to speak louder, not to ask unnecessary and unnecessary questions, to get more real in the role of the patient. Only 10% of examinees decided that OSKE did not develop their communication skills; 24% noted individual stations, which caused them some difficulties. However, the students themselves acknowledged their poor preparedness, including during communication with standardized patients. Conclusions The analysis of the questionnaires showed that the students themselves are self-critical of their communication skills and recognize the need for their continuous improvement. Key messages The student’s communicative competence can be assessed by conducting an objective structured clinical examination. Conducting an objective structured clinical examination with volunteers can improve the communicative competence of students.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT PERCEPTION OF COLLABORATIVE GROUP EXAMS IN A FIRST-YEAR ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY COURSE

Two-stage collaborative exams have previously been shown to improve students’ understanding and long-term retention of material, while helping to develop collaborative skills. Very little work has been done, however, on the impact of this practice on international students, who may be faced with particular challenges or contexts.. Building on previous work, the perception of first-year international students in an engineering chemistry course offered as part of the Vantage College Applied Science program at UBC regarding the practice of two-stage exams was assessed before and after participating in one for the first time. Although the experience was overall very positive, and the anticipated difficulties of the midterm seemed to be overestimated, several key challenges must be addressed before deciding whether to continue with this practice as part of this program, namely communication barriers preventing the effective participation of all group members, and a structural competitiveness that may discourage collaboration, both of which are inherent to the Vantage APSC program, as well as frustration associated with mixed technical proficiencies of group members, which is a more typical concern associated with this type of assessment.

A Controlled Experiment on Two-Stage Exams in an Introductory Statistics Course

A Controlled Experiment on Two-Stage Exams in an Introductory Statistics Course

Highly effective active learning in a one-year biochemistry series with limited resources.

We investigate the effectiveness of an active learning curriculum designed for an upper division Biochemistry series at a large, public research university. The goal was to determine how effective this format was when compared to a parallel conventional course, and to see if the active learning series can be run with limited resources (one instructor, one teaching assistant). The study involved 160 students in the first quarter and 92 students in the second quarter. The active learning curriculum consists of learning goals for each chapter, online quizzes, in-class questions targeting the problematic areas, small group (3-4 students) discussions during class in which students presented their assumptions and arguments in support of their responses to online and in-class questions, and two-stage exams involving the ability to "re-answer" as a group following a discussion). The in-class questions involved the use of a student response system (i > clicker) (multiple choice) and short answer formats. Students in the active learning course and a control, conventional lecture course, took identical midterms and finals for the first, and second quarters. We found that students enrolled in the active learning curriculum had consistently better performance, with statistically significant higher scores on all tests for both quarters. The effect sizes of the improvements are medium to large and are independent of prior GPA and grades in prerequisites. This model curriculum redesign offers promise for improved student learning with less monetary investment than a flipped course model relying on, for example, an extensive collection of instructor-produced videos. © 2018 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 47(1):7-15, 2018.

Implementation and Student Assessment of a Two-stage Midterm Exam in a First-year Physical Chemistry Course for International Engineering Students

Group exams have been shown to improve student performance, retention of material, and teamwork and communication skills. This paper assesses the opinion of students regarding group exams, and their perception of potential benefits and impacts on their learning, before and after having participated in one. Both a traditional and two-stage exam were performed in first-year physical chemistry courses in the engineering stream of Vantage College at UBC, which means the participating cohort is entirely composed of international students with a range of English-language communication skills.The overall experience of students with group exams, based on survey responses, was positive, and the large majority of students indicated they would like to continue using this format of exam in the future. The perception of group exams improved before and after having written one, with the students initially overestimating the difficulty, stress, and level of conflict associated with this process. Some students indicated less confidence that peer learning helped them improve their performance after having written the exam, but further study to elucidate the significance and the causes of this result.

A Quantitative Framework for the Analysis of Two-Stage Exams

Two-stage exams have gained traction in education as a means of creating collaborative active-learning experiences in the classroom in a manner that advances learning, positively increases student engagement, and reduces test anxiety. Published analyses have focused almost exclusively on the increase in student scores from the first individual stage to the second collaboration stage and have shown clear positive effects on gains in student scores. Missing from these analyses is a comprehensive evaluation of the effects of individual preparation, the characteristics of questions, and small group composition on the outcomes two-stage exams. I developed a simple quantitative framework that provides a flexible approach for estimating and evaluating the effects of individuals, questions, and groups on student performance. Additionally, the framework yields statistics appropriate for making inferences about productive collaboration, consensus-building, and counter-productive interaction that happens within small groups. Analyses of 12 exams across two courses and 2 years using the quantitative framework revealed considerable variation for all three of these effects within and among exams. Overall, the results highlight the value of quantitative estimation of two-stage exams for gaining perspective on the effects of individuals, questions, and groups on student performance, and facilitates data-driven revision of assessments, curricula, and teaching strategies towards achieving gains in students' collaborative skills.

Two-Stage Exams: A Powerful Tool for Reducing the Achievement Gap in Undergraduate Oceanography and Geology Classes

Two-Stage Exams: A Powerful Tool for Reducing the Achievement Gap in Undergraduate Oceanography and Geology Classes

SUCCESSES WITH TWO-STAGE EXAMS IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Two-stage exams consist of a traditionalpencil-and-paper examination written in class byindividual students, followed immediately by a secondsitting in which the students retake the same exam inteams (i.e. a collaborative test). The team test providesan immediate opportunity for students to discuss, debate,teach, and receive feedback on the subject matter. Itdraws on principles of goal-directed practice, timelytargeted feedback, and collaborative learning.The practice of two-stage testing is a defining featureof the Team-Based Learning approach, and is used forintroductory reading quizzes that begin each coursemodule. These have been part of the instructionalapproach in Mechanical Engineering at the University ofBritish Columbia for over a decade. In 2014, we haveextended two-stage testing to include midterm and finalexaminations. To accommodate the team portion, examswere shortened by approximately one third and questionswere reformatted to be easier to complete in teams.Students report a strong preference this approach(72% in favour) and report a resulting improvement intheir understanding of the course material (75%). Examperformance gains have also been observed. In almost allcases, teams outperform their strongest member, and it isnot uncommon that the weakest team outperforms thestrongest individual in the class. As an added benefit, therevised question structure that makes it easier for studentsto collaborate on exam writing has also simplified andexpedited the marking process.

Two-Stage Exams Improve Student Learning in an Introductory Geology Course: Logistics, Attendance, and Grades

ABSTRACTTwo-stage exams—where students complete part one of an exam closed book and independently and part two is completed open book and independently (two-stage independent, or TS-I) or collaboratively (two-stage collaborative, or TS-C)—provide a means to include collaborative learning in summative assessments. Collaborative learning has been shown to have positive benefits, including increased student engagement and learning. To try to improve student learning, as measured by improvement in exam scores, two sections of introductory geology were taught using two-stage exams. It was hypothesized that class scores would be higher for semesters using two-stage exams—whether part two was TS-C or TS-I—than for semesters using traditional (T) exams. The median attendance rate was approximately 67% for all testing methods and was significantly greater when exams were TS-C (69%) rather than TS-I (53%). The class score was significantly greater during semesters when exams were TS-C (81%) but was not significantly different between T and TS-I semesters. To assess individual student learning over time, part one of the first exam and part one of the comprehensive final exam were compared. Across the F and D grade ranges, improvement on individual exam scores was significantly greater for the TS-C semester than for the TS-I and T semesters. Student learning, as measured by individual exam scores, improved due to the use of TS-C exams. The improvement in class scores due to the collaborative portion of two-stage exams was independent of increased attendance rates, greater for the lower-achieving students, and not observable if part two of the exam was completed as a take-home exam (TS-I).