The Case for Study Sheets

A response to the Thought Vectors and Nuggets Activity
created by Valerie Watts (@vwatts)

Number of views: 186


Patch #3:  Sheets Ain’t Cheats

This patch resonated with me because I have been thinking about allowing students in my Statistics for Business course to use a study sheet for tests and exams.  The following excerpt from Katrina Van Osch-Saxon’s blog struck me, especially when I think about my business students: 

“…making resources available to students during assessments is arming them for success in the future.   A good employee is a resourceful one, and we should foster that approach in the classroom so our students turn out to be some of the best in their respective fields” (Van Osch-Saxon, 2017).

As a student, I was never bothered by the fact that I could not use a study sheet during a test.  Would a study sheet have made my life easier?  Of course.  But I have always been good at memorizing things, especially math.  As long as I could memorize the course material, I was fine, even if I did not really understand what I was memorizing.

Now as an educator, I recognize that memorization is neither true learning nor true understanding.  I want my students to understand what they are doing, not simply memorize how to do it.  In my statistics course, I provide my students with a formula sheet but no outside study sheets.  In business courses the use of study sheets can be tricky because of outside accreditation, such as CPA.  For example, study sheets would not be allowed in my statistics course for accounting students because that course is an accredited CPA course.  But in my statistics for non-accounting students, which has no outside accredited, a study sheet is possible.  In their careers in business, my students need to recognize and know when to apply the appropriate statistical technique.  More and more, I believe that allowing my students to use study sheets will help students to both break the dependence on memorization and achieve the goals of recognition, understanding, and application.

References

Van Osch-Saxon, Katrina.  (2017, May 5).  Patch three: Sheets ain’t cheats. Retrieved from  https://openfacultypatchbook.org/college/patch-three-sheets-aint-cheats/

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