George Kinnear

Two-stage collaborative exams: do they help students to learn?

In a two-stage exam, students first complete an exam individually, then form into groups to collaborate on solving it again. This emphasis on collaboration can help to align the assessment with broader course goals. Moreover, the group discussion during the second stage turns an assessment into learning opportunity. But is this opportunity realised in practice? Previous research (in subjects other than mathematics) found mixed results about the effect of two-stage exams on students' subsequent performance. In this talk I will share the results of three studies that I carried out to investigate the impact of two-stage exams in different undergraduate mathematics contexts. The first two (observational) studies found indications of a positive impact from group collaboration, but the third (experimental) study found that the two-stage format did not boost students' performance in a delayed post-test. I will discuss the implications of these findings for lecturers who are curious about trying two-stage exams in their classes.