Open Math Example Compassion & Rigor by Aris Winger

ariswinger — 2025-07-31 05:01:40 UTC

ariswinger — 2025-07-31 05:02:58 UTC

The tension I am feeling

ariswinger — 2025-07-31 05:10:31 UTC

2025-07-31 19:07:02 UTC

I would go over the exam in class and ask them to look over the solutions and come and get help. Or I would have a plan for them to get some points back. See here is what I would do.

I always have a couple days built into my schedule that I can adjust, so I would take time to address this. If the result was normal, encourage them to persevere and learn from their mistakes. If the result was bad, ask students to discuss in small groups how they prepared and what they should do differently next time. Then go over how to prep for a test effectively.

2025-07-31 19:07:50 UTC

Acknowledge & hold space

2025-07-31 19:07:54 UTC

I feel strongly that I MUST acknowledge what's happening and have at least a few minutes to let students express their thoughts (perhaps anonymously using something like Padlet). If students are feeling dejected and like they aren't doing well, they won't be able to absorb any new material, so plowing ahead is completely unproductive.

I would absolutely address the feelings of dejection in the students. How would I do this? " I am so sorry to see some of you feeling down and disappointed about the test results. Why don't we spend several minutes thinking about what each of us (including the writer of the exam) could do differently.

2025-07-31 19:07:54 UTC

2025-07-31 19:08:01 UTC

I have offered to give them the opportunity to re-do the exam as a take home and get up to half the points back. I would not go over the exam if I were doing this (until after they were all handed in).

I give it as a one-time offer in a given class. I make that VERY CLEAR I also have them fill out an "exam wrapper" that helps them to think about why they did as they did and how they could improve and what I can do to help them improve.

What I would say..

2025-07-31 19:08:19 UTC

While we were supposed to cover inverse trig substitution, we are not going to do that today. I want to go back to the test. What questions gave you trouble? What tools did you need or skills to practice? After taking a day to discuss the test, I would offer a re-take. At the high school level, we have a bit more time afforded to do this.

Students won't be receptive if I teach a new topic

2025-07-31 19:08:32 UTC

2025-07-31 19:08:35 UTC

I teach large sections of calc 2 and as much as i would want to say something, i worry that it is going to become confrontational.

I believe that learning comes first and forging ahead might not lead to better learning. So I will temporarily forget the schedule.

2025-07-31 19:09:13 UTC

We don't teach content, we teach students

2025-07-31 19:09:29 UTC

So we gotta attend to the people first.

I am always willing to throw out the schedule

2025-07-31 19:09:36 UTC

I'd rather have them understand what went awry and discuss ways to fill in their missing language than move ahead blindly.

I would tell them the key will be posted in Brightspace, go over your mistakes and see me if you do not understand your mistakes. I would also give them a pep talk, this is one exam, you can learn from what happened on this exam. See me if you need help in studying for this class. I give a final exam that will replace the lowest exam grade if the final is higher.

2025-07-31 19:09:53 UTC

2025-07-31 19:10:03 UTC

Students may not wish to have the discussion publicly because it involves a lot of embarrassment and vulnerability about sensitive information (grades).

2025-07-31 19:10:18 UTC

I would provide students an opportunity to engage in self-reflection. I have a 3-question survey that I post on the LMS. What are their thoughts? What could the instructor do to do better support their learning?. What could the student do to better support their own learning?

I would do an item analysis to see if certain questions were not understood by many students. I'd reflect on the exam itself and my role. If it really was too hard, I'd come up with a plan to reassess or earn back some points in a way.

2025-07-31 19:10:19 UTC

I would go over the test, and not start a new topic. Instead, I might come up with a group task that allows them to talk/discuss. Maybe allow a redo for 1 question, something I did last year

2025-07-31 19:11:00 UTC

2025-07-31 19:11:27 UTC

There are a few things . . .

2025-07-31 19:11:31 UTC

Address their feelings their misunderstandings, what the test was testing for, how they can understand what they missed. What they can learn from their mistakes.

I am feeling the pressure of the "coverage" problem. I am also feeling that not giving the students a chance to revise and learn from their mistakes is counterproductive. This is why I use standards-based or specifications-based grading.

2025-07-31 19:11:39 UTC

Let's discuss

2025-07-31 19:12:01 UTC

I know you might be disappointed in your exam score. Please know that what matters most in this class is your PROGRESS over time. Learning requires mistakes. So if you made mistakes? GREAT. Now we can learn from them. Let's talk about how we can do that together...

I would be transparent in sharing key insights that i learned from the test. I also provide individual feedback on their scores using the speedgrader on the LMS. I host extra office hours for students to come see me to brainstrom ideas to move forward.

2025-07-31 19:12:03 UTC

2025-07-31 19:12:08 UTC

I often allow them to do corrections for partial points back, but I feel that my colleagues object to my giving "too much extra credit"

Also I've heard students say that's not fair to them who studied the first time, even though they don't get all the points back.

I will acknowledge feelings. Often I tell them after the first test that everything is recoverable if you aren't finding yourself where you want to be. One exam is not the end of the world for the course. They are adjusting to what the exams might be like in a new course. I take the opportunity to talk about study strategies and how changing a couple things can make a big difference. I've been really diving into Teach Yourself How to Learn

2025-07-31 19:12:55 UTC

2025-07-31 19:14:20 UTC

I would ask the students what they feel would help them do better on the next exam (maybe 10 minutes). I think some of the class structure can be fluid. Maybe we need more opportunities for feedback, a different way we approach the material, etc.

On the other note, we can discuss what are helpful study techniques for the next exam.

If you have a teaching center...

2025-07-31 19:14:42 UTC

reach out to your colleagues there. They can come do a midterm feedback session where they talk to your students without you present to collect honest feedback on how the course, the instructor, and the students can all make changes to improve student learning.

2025-07-31 19:16:03 UTC

The gamified grading helps with this some. A bit.

Inequalities

2025-07-31 19:17:05 UTC

Even if the average was 52%, it is possible there are 2 or 3 getting As and the majority failing. So, sometimes giving them a redo chance is unfair to those who did well.

Make a video

2025-07-31 19:21:08 UTC

For partial credit on a redo problem, I had students create a video of them solving a textbook problem and explain the steps. Not all the struggling students did the extra credit, but those who did seemed to like it, eve learned more.