Open
Book Exams ?
Hindustan Times ( 29 April ) carries following news :
Excerpts :
Open book exams would
allow students to take notes, text book and resource materials into an exam
hall.
Students would be able
to consult the material when answering questions, which are structured to test their understanding of concepts rather than merely the ability to memorise
facts and figures.
“Exam reforms cannot be done in isolation; it has to
go with teaching reforms,” said
Pradipta Banerji,a professor at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay.
“Unless we do that we cannot achieve much...”
According to the report,
such exams are particularly useful in testing
skills in application, analysis and evaluation.
“A wide range of assessment
methods ( example; term papers, open ended problem solving assignments, course /
lab project rubrics, portfolios ) need to be employed to ensure that assessment
methods match with learning outcomes,” it said.
Some 60 years ago , when I pursued my post-graduate
studies ( Mechanical Engineering ) in USA in 1957 , open book exams were common
Since then, thousands of Indians must have returned
from USA after getting higher degrees in engineering from US Universities
In these 60 years , US education system must have
undergone many changes , of which , I am unaware
I would be the last person to suggest that we, in India
, blindly “ copy “ the entire US education system , along with its “ open book “
exam format
But , there is one aspect ( of the US system ) that I
strongly feel we must “ copy “ , viz:
EMPHASIS ON “ SELF LEARNING “
THROUGH “ SEARCHING AND RESEARCHING “ , RATHER
THAN ON PASSING AN EXAM
Following of my experiences of that system ( albeit 60
years old ) will explain what I mean
* In the very first
lecture ( Advanced Theory of Machines ) , Professor walked into the class room
and wrote down on the black-board ( there were no white boards ) :
“ The only education worth its
name , is self – education “
He refused to teach / lecture !
He just announced the “ topic / subject “ for the next
session and asked students to consult / read any book on that subject and come prepared
to the class
The session was only devoted for the students to ask
questions re what they did not understand from those books which they read
Professor was there only to answer those questions /
solve student’s problems
No teaching !
* In those days,
all professors were very fond of , what was called , “ Shot
Gun Exams “
In any random lecture session , as soon as you walked
into the class room , professor will announce :
“ Keep aside your books . On a piece of paper , write
down answers to the questions which I write on the black board . Before you
leave the class room , place your answer sheets on my table “
Then , he would just walk out , leaving the students
alone / unsupervised !
On one occasion , I attempted only 6 questions , out of
the 8
Next day he called me and asked :
Hemen , how come you did not answer all the 8 questions
?
I said :
Sir , I ran out of time before the session got over
Prof :
But , do you know the answers to the remaining 2
questions ?
Me :
Yes . of course
Prof :
OK , in that case , here is a piece of paper . Just sit
down here in my cabin and write down those answers , and leave the paper on my
table when done . Take all the time you need
* One of the
most un-nerving feature of the US education system was , “ home assignments “ ( - to which , I was not accustomed
in my engineering college , back home )
There were plenty of such assignments to keep the
students busy in the evenings and even over the week-ends ! No excuse was
acceptable for not turning in home assignments before start of lecture
Only concession that I managed to get from my
professors was that I could hand-write my assignments since I did not have a typewriter
( there were no computers )
* And consider
the following example of one such home assignment :
“ A Boing 707 airplane takes off from a concrete
runway
After
climbing for 1 minute, its nose wheel falls off , hits the runway and rolls
along
the runway,
before coming to a stop
What distance would the tyre roll after
hitting the ground, before coming to a stop ?
“
Stumped ? Of
course , there were no DATA to solve this VECTOR problem !
Here is what a student was expected to “ search / research / find “ ( - without any help from Google ), by looking up
relevant info from the news-papers / books / catalogues of manufacturers etc ,
available in the University Library ( or by writing to the manufacturers ) :
# Take off length
/ speed / angle of climb / acceleration , of Boing 707
# Size of its nose
wheel / weight of tyre / elasticity of the rubber raw material used
# Tyre’s
rotational speed ( sfm ) after 1 minute of flight
# Force with
which it hits the ground ( based on height reached after 1 minute )
# Coefficient
of friction of the concrete runway
I do not remember ( or can figure out today , being an
out-dated engineer ) , what other DATA needed to be found out , in order to
solve this problem !
But , clearly this was an example of, “ testing
skills in application, analysis and evaluation. “
*
And then there were these questions which “ external faculty members “
asked me during my final oral exam :
“
If you are stranded on a desolate / uninhabited island , all by yourself
and want to re-start a CIVILIZATION, how would you make a beginning ? “
My answer :
First thing to start civilization that
I need , is a STRAIGHT LINE
I would take a leaf, puncture a tiny
hole in it with a thorn , hold it against sun and let a BEAM of sun-light ,
fall along a straight line
Next question :
Do you believe that human body is a
kind of Internal Combustion Engine ?
Me :
Yes
Examiner :
Can any IC engine work where the inside body temperature
and the ambient temperature is nearly the same ?
Me :
No Sir ! I am afraid I don’t have an answer to this
riddle !
Examiner :
Don’t fret ! No
one has figured it out , as yet !
And talking about the
DECISION-MAKING AUTHORITY of the examiners , I was asked to wait outside the
cabin after the exam was over
After 5 minutes , my Guide
came out and said :
Congrats, Hemen ! You have passed !
* Then there was
this professor of “ Managerial Economics “ who would suddenly
announce :
“ Hey guys ! It is too stuffy in the class room
Let’s drive
down to my house and continue our session there, in my front porch . My
wife would be
happy to serve us with some coffee and cookies “
Not having a
car of my own , I would ride in Professor’s car !
* And the world
authority on “ Metal Cutting “ , Prof K J Trigger had the habit of walking into
the class room ( of just 6 students ) , pull out 7 ash-trays from the pocket of
his workshop overall ( white uniform ) , and place one in front of each student
( all of whom smoked )
At the end of the session , he would go around , one by
one , pick up each ash tray , empty it in a waste paper basket , wipe it clean on
his uniform and put back in his pocket before walking out !
* Last , but not
the least :
If any Professor
was not satisfied with the academic performance of any student , he
was the final authority to decide if that
student shall stop attending his class – and
with immediate effect !
All he had to do was
to send a note to the concerned college
authority about his decision and saying why !
No one can
over rule his decision !
Dear Educationists
/ Professors /
Students / Education Ministers :
Please do not look upon “ Open
Book Exam “ as some kind of an “ Educational
Reform “ , in isolation
What we need is a “
CHANGE
OF ATTITUDE “ towards the
entire process of LEARNING
Before attempting any such “ Gimmick “ , please carry
out the following :
* “ YES / NO “ type
of “ Online “ questionnaire surveys
among all stake-holders
* Publish the findings
on many web sites
* Debate the
findings on many campuses / TV Channels
29 April 2018
