Take-Home Quizzes: Learning to Learn in  Introductory Chemistry - by Holly Walter Kerby and  Karen Anderson Why I like this activity I find THQ's encourage students to be successful in a class through a forced work ethic activity. Many of our students don't realize that it takes time, energy, and focus to learn in school. I give out problem sets of about 10 problems every 2 weeks, and they have one week to complete these. Those students who stay on track do develop a dependency on getting THQ's to work on. They come to love to hate them, but rely on them to help them prepare for their exams, and as I said earlier, keep themselves on track. Some students do work on these problems alone, but many seek others to collaborate with. I have seen a community of students develop around working on each THQ, which often spills over into other semesters at M.A.T.C. (Madison Area Technical College) This development is a real plus for students attending a commuter campus. - Karen Anderson One disadvantage of Take-Home Quizzes is the enormous time and energy and thought it takes to come up with problems that aren't too difficult, maintain focus, and get students to do what it takes to learn. The upside of this is that thinking about, writing and trying out problems has taught me a great deal about how my students (and humans, in general) learn and what a teacher can and (can not) do to help them along their way. And, of course, writing quizzes gets easier as Karen and I build up a reservoir of questions that seem to work. Another disadvantage of THQs is the grading. Even when I only grade 3 or 4 questions per quiz, grading THQs from 50 or so students takes 2 to 4 hours. But there is an upside to this one, too -- grading the quizzes lets me see my students misconceptions early in the game, and often suggests ways I can address these misconceptions in lecture or later THQs. I continue to do THQs (in spite of the disadvantages) because my students consistantly report that THQs impel them to work on learning chemistry, often in small groups, and that this investment increases their understanding of the material and ability to learn it. - Holly Walter Kerby Tell me more about this plan: A brief description Types of problems Examples of problems Student feedback forms What students say Some advice and reflections Why I like this activity More about Holly Walter Kerby and Karen Anderson

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