ArticleJournal of undergraduate neuroscience education : JUNE : a publication of FUN, Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience2021
A Semester without Exams: Approaches in a Small and Large Course.
Article in Journal of undergraduate neuroscience education : JUNE : a publication of FUN, Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
- Cross-Course Harmonized Assignments in Neuroscience.Journal of undergraduate neuroscience education : JUNE : a publication of FUN, Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience · 2023Article
- A Course Design for Remote Teaching Advanced Topics in Neuroscience.Journal of undergraduate neuroscience education : JUNE : a publication of FUN, Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience · 2022Article
- Continued Challenges for Neuroscience Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Journal of undergraduate neuroscience education : JUNE : a publication of FUN, Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Exams carry pedagogical downsides: they can create stress, decrease intrinsic motivation, and tend to reduce opportunities for creative problem-solving. Exams are also difficult to administer when flexibility is paramount, such as during remote learning, when students have special testing conditions, or during a pandemic when a subset of students are sick or in quarantine. To account for these shortcomings, I designed and instituted two completely exam-free undergraduate Neuroscience and Behavior courses in the Spring of 2021, one a large introductory-level course and the other a small upper-level elective course. In the large introductory-level course, I used several methods including Gradescope and new roles for my Teacher's Assistants to keep the grading load manageable. This exam-free approach was evaluated in four areas: creative thinking, interest in the material, stress level, and academic performance. Evaluation of success in these areas was completed via student feedback and by comparing final projects to final projects from previous semesters. The exam-free approach produced favorable or neutral results in every measured outcome. The framework for an exam-free course described here could be a useful starting point for other instructors who want to eliminate exams.
Indexed as
Identifiers
35540949PMC9053432W4285746850What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.