Adapting Two-Stage Testing for Sociology: Lessons from STEM Classrooms

• In Event: 2222 - Teaching and Learning Symposium Roundtable Session
  In Informal Discussion Roundtable: Table 08. Active Learning in the Sociology Classroom

Abstract

Active Learning approaches to teaching are those which encourage student to discover, create, and apply knowledge through active, and often collaborative, engagement within the classroom. Evidence from the STEM fields, where active learning techniques have been applied, studied, and refined at a greater level than in is common in non-STEM disciplines, suggests that these techniques encourage learning at higher levels along Bloom’s Taxonomy compared to the ‘passive learning’ often found in traditional lecture style courses. Additionally, both faculty and students involved in courses that use active learning techniques report increased satisfaction with the course. Finally, there is some evidence to suggest that active learning techniques may help to lessen achievement gaps for underrepresented minorities and first generation college students.

Active approaches extend to assessment as well, with techniques such as Two-Stage Testing. Traditionally, two-stage exams are comprised of an individual-work element and a team-based element, and are often multiple-choice based. During this 45 minute workshop we will discuss adapting the two-stage testing technique to include mixed approaches (multiple choice and open response) and total open-response formats. Additionally, students and faculty unfamiliar with the use of Two-Stage Exams often raise questions about how tests and exams that include collaborative components may be scored fairly; a range of options for the evaluation of these types of tests and exams will be discussed.

Author

• Melissa Fletcher Pirkey, Cornell University