At the beginning of the 2020/21 school year, the Alberta government made the decision to make all Provincial Achievement Tests optional. Later, on November 24, 2020, the Alberta government also made all diploma exams optional (www.alberta.ca/k-12-learning-during-covid-19.aspx).
A question that might be on teachers’ minds is, “What will students do at the end of the year?” I propose this year we rethink our final exams.
Simply put, Premier Jason Kenney declared a public state of health emergency on November 24, 2020, which is causing an increase in anxiety, stress and fatigue. Below are the ATA’s fall 2020 Teacher Pandemic Pulse Survey Results:
Keep in mind that the respondents are professionals who have coping strategies, multiple levels of support and avenues to access additional assistance if needed. Sadly, many students do not have these strategies andsupports; this is something we cannot simply ignore.
At the end of your course, I challenge you to make it less about accountability and more about celebration. I wonder what would happen if we treated the last few weeks of the school or semester as an opportunity to celebrate this year’s learning?
What would this look like? In addition to asking students traditional questions, we could ask them to reflect on this year’s learning. Below are some questions you could pose:
- What is the most thought-provoking idea you have learned this year? What makes you most curious about this idea?
- What topic or question(s) made you struggle the most? How can you ensure that this struggle decreases the next time you see this topic?
- What was the most intriguing idea we explored in this course? How has this idea captivated your mind and brought delight to the world around you?
- Imagine you are given a mathematical problem you are unable to complete. What strategies did you learn this year that you could implement in tackling this problem? What problem-solving strategy is your go-to?When might this problem-solving strategy not work?
- How have you witnessed yourself as a math person this year? What experiences have shown you that you are able to think and act like a mathematician?
- What topic would you love to explore more? What question or idea has been left unanswered that you wish to investigate further?
- How have you witnessed the authentic real-world application in the mathematics you were taught this year? How has the material altered your understanding of the world around you?
Francis Su, author of Mathematics for Human Flourishing (2020), has also wrote a beautiful blog post entitled “7 Exam Questions for a Pandemic or Any Other Time” (2020). This blog post provides the reader with seven more questions you could ask instead of giving a traditional final exam.
A possible benefit of rethinking your final exams would be that students are able to express just how they have witnessed mathematics throughout the year. Students will be able to write about their own journey in your course and leave you understanding more about what they valued, loved and struggled with.
Of course, these are great questions this year, and I wonder what would happen if we continued to rethink final exams even when the pandemic is over?
Have an amazing rest of the year, stay safe and know that the Mathematics Council is here to help in any way it can!
References
Alberta Education. 2020. “K–12 Learning During COVID-19.” Government of Alberta website. www.alberta.ca/
k-12-learning-during-covid-19.aspx (accessed January 12, 2021).
Francis Su. 2020. “7 Exam Questions for a Pandemic or Any Other Time.” Francis Su (blog), April 26. www.francissu.com/post/7-exam-questions-for-a-pandemic-or-any-other-time (accessed January 12, 2021).
Dave Martin
