Instead of a multiple-choice test, try ending the semester with one last memorable learning experience - An Epic Finale
"Final" implies the end (or death) of something; "finale" suggests the end of an artistic performance, such as the ultimate episode of a television season or series. Where a "final" implies that one is done discussing something, a "finale" is something that inspires speculative discussion beforehand and reflection afterward. (Chronicle of Higher Ed)
My own finale. Simply relabeling a multiple-choice exam as an "epic finale" will not do the job. Nor are you likely to download an "epic finale" from a textbook publisher’s website. Finales are handcrafted. While none of my own followed a recipe, a few common ingredients might be helpful in brewing your own:
My own finale. Simply relabeling a multiple-choice exam as an "epic finale" will not do the job. Nor are you likely to download an "epic finale" from a textbook publisher’s website. Finales are handcrafted. While none of my own followed a recipe, a few common ingredients might be helpful in brewing your own:
- Low stakes. My finales are weighted to have minimal impact on students’ final grades, usually factoring in as 15 percent or less. The individual assessments that most affect their grades are done early and often in the semester. Given that a finale will probably be uncharted territory for both professor and students, low stakes ease the high pressure that come with mysteriousness and a new format.
- Collaboration. On a traditional final, it is cheating for students to work together and anathema for an instructor to provide help. In an epic finale, collaboration can allow instructors to listen in, and even help, as students think aloud.
- Something new. The easiest change is to tackle something new — my example: I taught students weekly throughout the semester on how they could identify "fake news" and "deep fake news. Since I had two hours for my epic finale (scheduled on the final exam time period) I have students apply what they’ve learned. They worked in groups and their quest was to determine four news articles (taken from social media and the news the day before the exam) and determine if their assigned articles were fake or real news.
- Mystery. My students are not given any advanced notice on what the Epic Finale will be (I do change it each semester). I inform them from the first day of class that they will not need to study for the Epic Finale, but they will use the skills that they have worked on throughout the semester to be successful. My students are set at easy from the very beginning of the semester about the "Epic Finale". They are also informed that they MUST be in class that day. Oddly, when I tell students on Day 1 that I’m not willing to discuss the exam, there is surprisingly little pushback. Students want good grades but, being human, they are also intrigued by a mystery. Telling them almost nothing about the finale is the hook that makes it interesting.
- Awesomeness. Perhaps the most difficult element to define is the one that makes the epic finale truly epic. How can we create an experience that will inspire awe? What might stir a student to continue thinking and talking about the course for months and years to come? A creative ending helps. A standard final exam certainly does not.