Very interesting post, thank you. Mastery exams could address a challenge I've been having in my physics classes. I have tried different ways of constructing assignments with problems that are applications of what students are learning to more context-rich, real-life (and thus more complex) situations. In the different incarnations of this, sometimes I end up giving the problems too early; in other semesters they have happened outside the classroom with much less support from classmates or myself. It sounds like these types of problems could lend themselves well to this mastery exam format, including the supports you have placed around them. I may try this out!
Hi Josh! Yes, I think those kinds of problems could work here. You could demonstrate -- or have students study -- how to apply a technique to a more complex scenario. Then have them reproduce that application, or something very similar to it, in a mastery exam setting. Let me know how it works!
By allowing students to prepare, attempt, and reassess without penalty, this model shifts the focus from performance under pressure to genuine conceptual mastery. It also empowers students to take ownership of their learning while providing instructors with clear insight into their understanding.
Hi Rosa, did you read the post? It explains very clearly who is taking these exams.
You can also see the photo credit, which tells you that this is from Australia. I chose it for the contrast: This is the stereotypical image of taking a high-stakes in-class exam, and these mastery exams are quite different from that.
Hi David,
Very interesting post, thank you. Mastery exams could address a challenge I've been having in my physics classes. I have tried different ways of constructing assignments with problems that are applications of what students are learning to more context-rich, real-life (and thus more complex) situations. In the different incarnations of this, sometimes I end up giving the problems too early; in other semesters they have happened outside the classroom with much less support from classmates or myself. It sounds like these types of problems could lend themselves well to this mastery exam format, including the supports you have placed around them. I may try this out!
Hi Josh! Yes, I think those kinds of problems could work here. You could demonstrate -- or have students study -- how to apply a technique to a more complex scenario. Then have them reproduce that application, or something very similar to it, in a mastery exam setting. Let me know how it works!
By allowing students to prepare, attempt, and reassess without penalty, this model shifts the focus from performance under pressure to genuine conceptual mastery. It also empowers students to take ownership of their learning while providing instructors with clear insight into their understanding.
Who & where are these exams for? The picture reminds me a Nazi Germany. Just saying.
Hi Rosa, did you read the post? It explains very clearly who is taking these exams.
You can also see the photo credit, which tells you that this is from Australia. I chose it for the contrast: This is the stereotypical image of taking a high-stakes in-class exam, and these mastery exams are quite different from that.