Understanding Student Preparation of Exam Note SheetsTimothy McCaskey, Department of Science and Mathematics, Columbia College Chicago

Data:

Students prepared note sheets (8.5” x 11” – no restrictions on content) for their introductory physics exams in two courses: Physics for Filmmakers (survey N = 11 for Spring 2013 final) and Fundamentals of Physics I (survey N = 10).

Relevant prior research questions:

1.) In what ways do students use the allowed note space?2.) What can this data tell us about what students see as important in the course?

Note classification scheme:

Category Example(s)DefinitionsEquations , Units and conversions 1 mi = 1609 m, 1 J = 1 kg m2/s2

Physical constants G = 6.67 x 10-11 N m2/kg2

Conceptual statements “If you’re in an elevator accelerating upward, your weight will equal mg.”

Guides to symbols w = angular velocityPictures and diagrams Drawings of x, v, or a vs. time

graphs for various motions.

I asked a set of new, anonymous survey questions which the students turned in with their note sheets. The questions asked about their note sheet preparation process:• How did you decide what to write on your

note sheet?• How was either writing or having the note

sheet helpful to you, if at all?• Was your preparation of notes for this exam

different than it was for the midterm? (This question was omitted on the midterm survey.)

Course-wide results: (1) All but three students in each population prominently mentioned equation-writing as an important part of the note-writing process. (2) A smaller number (around half) explicitly mentioned other course resources. (3) Midterm surveys and prior semester students wrote longer, more thoughtful responses (see box in lower right corner).

“Dana” prepared a sheet consisting only of fourteen equations. Why no conceptual material? “I knew concepts really well, so all I really needed was a list of equations…”

“Georgie” included over forty different equations and five definitions in equation form. There were only two statements coded as conceptual. The accompanying survey matches well with these counts; it only mentions equations.

Future possibilities:

• Devote more class time to discussing studying, note preparation, etc.

• Call the sheets “study sheets” explicitly (highlighting a benefit many students noted).

• Provide a set list of equations and give students a chance to add to it. (Think of the “RSTLNE” combination on Wheel of Fortune).

I’d like to get more responses like these midterm reflections:

• “I mostly studied by reviewing homework, but I seem to have glossed over some things, thinking I understood them better than I do.”

• “I knew multiple choice/graphing were to be based on true knowledge.”

• “…after going through the test I realized I didn’t know this stuff well enough conceptually, and so all my equations look meaningless.”

Goal of present analysis: Find cases where students didn’t report a sole focus on including equations, and find instances where epistemological thought revealed in the survey differs from what one might infer from the note sheet alone.

“Jordan” wanted to include “as many concepts as possible with some examples.” Though this note sheet was the lengthiest and most diverse in content, it also was very mathematical: it included over seventy equations and ten fully worked examples in addition to diagrams, graphs, and sentences.