Suggestion 200. Permit students to bring in one page of notes

IF YOU WANT TO:

• Give exams permitting students to show understanding

• Help students prepare for tests

• Relieve student test anxiety

Permitting students to bring in one page of notes to be used during an exam.

Several faculty members have found it useful to allow students to take an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of notes or index cards into the midterm or final examinations. This strategy decreases students' inevitable anxiety about having to memorize formulas, and the preparation of these crib sheets are thought to help the students focus their studying. Restricting them to one page of notes forces them to synthesize the most important aspects of the course.

"My exams are quasi-open book," explains a faculty member in engineering. "Students prefer open-book, but I don't because they spend too much time looking up things they already know just to be sure. Letting them bring in condensed notes not only gives them a crutch against anxiety, it also provides them with an excellent form of review."

Limitations on Use of Suggestion

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