Report #5
FIPP Activity Report
Funded by the Basic Skills Initiative
Name Nancilyn Burruss
Date 10/14/09
FIPP Partner Traci Granger
Section #6025
Activity /Strategy Syllabus Pop Quiz
Category III: Setting Classroom Expectations
Briefly describe the activity/strategy.
1. Introduction Students often are overwhelmed at the beginning of the semester
when they are getting information about all their different classes. Within the
first week of school they have heard several instructors speak for hours about
rules and expectations for their classes. Therefore, it is necessary to revisit the
syllabus later, but who wants to just read it again?
2. Set up & Supplies Students, instructor, pencils or pens (provided by students), a
humorous, multiple choice Syllabus quiz with choices for D such as "both A
and C", and a brightly colored pen or pencil (provided by each student). Be
sure that the quiz is not done on a Scantron so that students may review it as
needed. Even though I call this a "pop" quiz, I warned students when I first
gave out the syllabus that they would be getting tested on the information in the
near future. The pop quiz is actually listed on their course schedule as well!
On my quiz, in the directions, I specify to read all the choices for answers
before choosing the one they want (with the word "all" in bold face letters). I
even read the directions out loud.
3. Directions During roll, hand out a 12 question pop quiz on the syllabus that is
worth 10 points (allowing 2 points for extra credit if all answers are correct).
Instruct students to read directions carefully and then procede. When students
have completed the quiz, have them trade with the person next to them to
correct it. The instructor then reads the quiz in a strong voice, emphasizing
that the choices for each question should all be read before choosing the right
answer. Allow students to offer the answer to the questions, and verify if they
are correct or not. Students should mark an "X" next to the incorrect answers,
and circle the proper answer with a brightly colored pen or pencil. Students
should take all the wrong answers, subtract that number from 12, and then put
that number as a fraction at the top of the page with 10 as the denominator.
For instance, if a student gets 3 wrong, then the score would be 9/10 (12-3=9).
Have students then put C/B and their name at the top of the page so that you
can tell which student corrected the paper. After the test, have students hand
in the papers so that the grades can be posted.
4. Conclusion Students learned several lessons about expectations during this
quiz. First, they learned the basic information from the syllabus and
misunderstandings were addressed. Secondly, they learned not to jump at the
first correct answer that they saw and to read all choices before picking their
answers on multiple choice tests (good for the future exit exams). Third, they
learned to listen to directions, how to proceed with trading and grading in the
classroom, and how to count the number wrong as opposed to the number
right.
What worked well? It was easy to do, clarified misconceptions, was an ice breaker, and
really caught those who didn't follow directions right at the beginning of the semester.
What would you change? I would probably change some of the questions to pertain more
to areas of confusion that I noticed later in the semester. I would also incorporate and
emphasize respect for others and the consequences of certain behavior areas such as
texting and talking in class.
Would you use the activity/strategy again? Why or why not? Yes, I think that students get
the syllabus, throw it into the bottom of their back pack, and then act surprised later
when they are about to suffer the consequence of something clearly laid out to them at
the beginning of the semester. Most students choose to ignore pertinent information in
the syllabus ~ especially in classes like English 80 where they just don't care to read, let
alone read for information!
Please describe any student learning outcomes/changes that you observed after the
implementation of the activity/strategy. Students learn to follow directions and realize
that the instructor may not be holding their hands throughout college. They are given
expectations for them to be responsible for what is on the syllabus, and the importance
of these is emphasized with the quiz. It really helps them clear up any confusion and
allows them the opportunity to ask questions about the syllabus without feeling
intimidated. In the long run, I think students feel more relaxed about participating and
asking questions in class because by making this humorous, it is also a good icebreaker and shows that education doesn't have to be boring, but the expectations still
need to be taken seriously.