[RUME] "Blanking" on tests: any research on this phenomenon?

[Dara Sandow]

At 11:12 AM -0800 2/10/06, Kimberly Vincent wrote:
>This discussion started out with ideas of what we can do to help those who
>suffer from "math anxiety" or just freeze on an exam. However, it sadly
>disintegrated into discussing bad habits that students have which hinder
>their own learning. So what can you do to make an end run around the habit
>of "copying" from a solution manual?

One partial solution is to give students problems 
that are not in the book. It's also helpful to 
have students work on less straightforward 
problems, on problems where they're asked to 
explain things, and so forth.

A resource for this in calculus is the Emerging 
Scholars Program problem database. If you're 
unfamiliar with Emerging Scholars and the 
philosophy behind it, you might start by reading 
Uri Treisman's Dolciani lecture at 
http://math.sfsu.edu/hsu/workshops/treisman.html

You can access the problem database, examples of 
worksheets that others have put together, and 
other resources via
http://math.sfsu.edu/hsu/workshops/resources.html 
(for the problem database, click on "Better File 
Cabinet," then "Workshop Calculus Problem 
Database"; or the direct link is 
http://betterfilecabinet.com/cgi-bin/search.pl?login=)

Dara Sandow


At 10:52 PM -0800 2/9/06, Tevian Dray wrote:
>  > With some students, I have been able to identify part of the cause as
>>  doing homework in-tandem with an example. Namely, they find an example
>>  just like a given homework problem and emulate that example
>>  step-by-step. Of course, this strategy is not available on an exam, so a
>>  student that relies on this technique is in trouble come test time.
>
>I can't point to any research on "blanking" on tests, but I think you've hit
>the nail on the head: The transition from template problem-solving strategies
>to open-ended problems is difficult and, more importantly, not always
>addressed explicitly.  This problem is very noticeable when making the
>transition from lower-division mathematics to upper-division courses in any
>related field.  Some physics colleagues refer to this as the "brick wall".
>
>You may be interested in the Context Rich Problems developed by Ken and Pat
>Heller and their physics education research group at the University of
>Minnesota:
>	http://groups.physics.umn.edu/physed/Research/CRP/crintro.html
>
>We strive to implement these ideas in two current projects, which you may also
>find of interest.  The Paradigms in Physics project redesigns part of the
>physics major around themes ("spherical symmetry") rather than disciplines
>("quantum mechanics"):
>	http://www.physics.oregonstate.edu/paradigms
>The Vector Calculus Bridge Project emphasizes geometric reasoning over
>algebraic manipulation in multivariable calculus:
>	http://www.math.oregonstate.edu/bridge
>You may find our recent paper on (physics) students' difficulties
>with AmpËre's Law of particular interest:
>	http://www.math.oregonstate.edu/bridge/papers/ampere.pdf
>Yes, this addresses upper-division content.  However, the point is not the
>specific tools being used, but rather the number of different ideas needed.
>
>Tevian
>
>Tevian Dray
>Professor of Mathematics
>Director, Vector Calculus Bridge Project
>
>MAIL:	   Dept. of Mathematics, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR  97331
>PHONE:     (541) 737-5159	(Math Dept:  (541) 737-4686)
>FAX:       (541) 737-0517
>EMAIL:     tevian at math.oregonstate.edu
>WWW:       http://www.math.oregonstate.edu/~tevian
>
>
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