A major difficulty in teaching large classes is finding ways to provide feedback to and receive it from students. Exams, quizzes and other formal assessments are too time-intensive to be used often in the large class setting. Informal and ungraded activities can provide student feedback that is equally reliable.

Role of Feedback

• Feedback helps students find how they're doing in the course and whether they understand the material. Generally speaking, the more frequent the feedback, the better.

• Students should be asked what they think of the pace of lectures, how the lectures relate to readings, and whether they understand examples and course content. In- class writing exercises and group activities described above can help provide this information.

• In reviewing the class's performance on exams, comment not only on what they had difficulty with but also on what they did well. Find ways to recognize good performances and encourage students to improve and participate in the class.

• Make copies of exemplary papers available to other students as models.

Grading

Most college students are very sensitive about grades. Unfortunately, in situations that offer grades as the main motivating factor, learning the subject matter becomes a means to an end, rather than an end in itself. Lowman (1987) makes the following comment on the result of having a grade-only orientation: Instructors are more likely to have complaints about their evaluation methods and encourage a Grade Orientation (GO) in their students if they use frequent surprise tests, communicate the expectation that students are only in class to get notes on material that will be on exams, post test grades as the sole means of giving feedback, and rarely assign non-graded work. Instructors are likely to have fewer complaints about their evaluation methods if they test with the goal of finding out what students have learned rather than what details they have missed, see their role as motivating students to want to work independently of direction, use language such as "I would like" rather than 'Y am requiring" to convey less of an authoritarian style, and give students as much specific feedback during the term as possible. --Ohio State University Faculty Handbook, p. 19
Some activities described above involve practice in non-graded writing and thinking. Another way to relieve students' anxiety about grades and increase their involvement with the material is to assess homework not only for a correct response but also for the approach taken to solving the problem. Problems in the process that prevented the student from coming to the correct response can be pointed out by the instructor. The focus on accuracy can be reserved for the test. This form of grading can assign two points or full credit of practice (and perhaps not the correct answer); one point for partial credit; and no points for no credit.

Examination Tips

• In constructing tests, consider items that measure higher-order thinking rather than memorization of details. As a contributor to the Ohio State University Faculty Packet suggests, "Asking difficult questions about very specific important concepts, after making it clear that students are expected to learn them well, is more difficult, but also more appropriate."

• One suggested writing exercise is to have students generate their own test items based on a day's lecture. These items can be used on actual tests.

• When he's short on proctors, John Layman, a UMCP professor in physics and education, explains the exam and only allows questions at the beginning of class. If students have questions during exams, they must incorporate them into their answers.

• Some professors develop multiple forms and versions of their test to reduce students' temptation to cheat.

• Research indicates that students are more satisfied with an objective exam if they are permitted to comment on the fairness of questions. A space can be left for students to comment on certain items. If the comment shows that the student understood the material, credit can be given for the item.

• The student management team (see below) can provide feedback on the general perception of the difficulty and fairness of the exam.

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