Good recent research suggests that repeated testing enhances learning. How can I best incorporate those important findings into my courses? As a beginning, I have revisited a piece of software,StarQuiz, (originally developed by a high school student) that has proven useful and reliable since I discovered it about 10 years ago. There is something comforting about using a piece of software for almost 15 years and across many evolving operating systems without a glitch.
I am considering incorporating it into my PSY205 “Statistics and Experimental Design Course” —if the students can demonstrate to methat it enhances their mastery of the course’s material. I welcome student feedback—and suggestions from other readers of software they consider better.
To try it enter your name—you need not enter your email address. If a “David” has already tried it, enter a different name (e.g. Voldemoort).
Here is a link to one of the two practice tests I shared with students in my class today. I encouraged students to collaborate, use notes, and be mutually supportive of each other in the process.
Here is a link to a second example which I introduced in my class.
And here is a review of SPSS (with bloopers!) Keep those constructive comments coming
(and you international viewers, I welcome your comments, too).
[…] tools (based on Tia and Arianna’s lessons) and use them to enhance their learning. Here is a benchmark for what they should […]
I found this to be an additional helpful review before class today. I liked how you had errors in there. Instead of telling us what the error is right after you “purposely” do it, let us the students see if we can pick out the error or errors. Then at the end of the video you could say what the errors were and if we caught them. Also like others mentioned above there could be errors that someone picks out that none of us notice. The Quizlet and Star quizzes are very helpful self-review techniques.
I have enjoyed being able to use these additional resources outside of class. It’s nice to see questions in a quiz/exam format and it helps us to feel more prepared, I think. Very useful!
Jessica T
The “proof”will be if I see evidence of enhanced learning. That is what i am predicting.
DS
Starlet and quizlet are both proving to be extremely helpful in reviewing the material. Thanks for providing them!
Kristen Lindner
Starquiz is a good leaning tool, but it would be nice if the tests could be taken more than once without entering a different name. Practice tests are a really easy way for me to see where I am at with the material.
– Leah P
I think that StarQuiz and Quizlet are both very useful tools that help me learn the concepts. It is a nice way to prepare for our first exam coming up. It is nice to have multiple exposures of the material to practice and prepare from.
I feel that StarQuiz and Quizlet can function as an interactive study guide before exams. They provide structured studying and give feedback on what we know and don’t know. This will help tremendously for studying so we can focus on the parts we don’t understand. I can stay focused better with online practice quizzes and games than with just my written notes.
StarQuiz is a really helpful study tool, especially when you combine it with all of the other methods for studying on Quizlet. I especially like all of the different types of testing used.
I liked both quizlet and starquiz. I feel that they are great tools for learning that will help me progress through this course.
I found StarQuiz to be extremely helpful when preparing for the first exam. It helped me determine where I needed to focus my studies. I did have a technical issue with the quiz freezing on my laptop though. It happened a few times and there was no way to unfreeze it besides refreshing and restarting the quiz.
Curious. Thanks for reporting this. Given that no one else did, I’m guessing test the problem was not the software but some other factor.
I found StarQuiz to work very well along side with Quizlet. They really compliment each other in being able to study the material on Quizlet, then test your knowledge with StarQuiz. I find these both to be very helpful tools to aid in studying.
-Dawn T.
StarQuiz is a great tool for studying! Practice tests are one of my favorite ways of studying for a test. It gives you questions how the teacher would phrase them so that you won’t be confused when it comes to the actual test.
I think that StarQuiz and Quizlet are great tools for us to be able to practice before the test and figure out which areas we need to focus our studying on. StarQuiz is also very beneficial because it allows us to know what types of questions you will be asking so we can better prepare for the test. Both have been very helpful to guide my studies.
I believe this software is a very resourceful tool, as I can use these practice tests to review and prepare on my own time. In addition, completing the tests in class as a group was helpful to work together and explain the answers. The feedback will help students in areas of struggle, and provide a format we can be more confident in for the actual exam.
The StarQuiz links will be very helpful in determining what else I need to study. I like the different question formats that can be used on this software because it is not limited to just multiple choice questions. I also liked when we went through them in class because we could correct each other and teach each other, which is another way to see how much you know (and how well).
I find StarQuiz to be a great compliment to Quizlet as they both provide great ways to study for the exams. What sets them both apart from other study resources is that they give you more than one way to study, i.e. flashcards, fill in the blank, testing, and games.
These practice tests are very helpful! It gives us an idea of how the questions could be presented in the exam. When I prepare for an exam, I like having different tools to study with. The most valuable part of StarQuiz is the feedback it gives you when the questions are completed. It allows me to pinpoint the areas that I need to review more.
I am very happy that the practice exams were posted. This tool as well as the games and flashcards on quizlet are fantastic for studying. I now know what it is that I am specifically struggling with and need to focus my studying on.
Thanks for alerting me to the wrong answer I posted. We must be a mutually supportive learning community. —DS
I think this tool, along with quizlet, are great ways for students to practice the material. I particularly like that it exposes us to types of questions that could appear on exams. Going into the first exam of a semester is always difficult because students don’t know what to expect in terms of the wording of questions, types of questions, etc. Having access to sample questions like these will help me prepare for what to expect on the first exam.
You make a couple of important points, Sara—especially about expectations of exam format and depth of questions. in fact, your remarks may shape my building of the exam. Thanks! —DS