Because of the side effects from my COVID-19 shot I did not get to participate in discussions with my peers so I thought I would reflect honestly on my thoughts about taking open-book online quizzes. Did I learn something from the quiz? Yes. Did I take it multiple times until I got 15/15? Absaloutley. Did I open the FIPPA document and freak out at the ammount of jargon and terms I didn’t understand in it? 100% Would I have panicked had I not been given multiple attempts? Totally. Here’s how the quiz would have gone for me if it was your traditional open book single attempt quiz. Open the FIPPA document, panic at how much of it I didn’t understand, try my best on the quiz agonizing over each question, do poorly, quit in a bad mood disappointed with myself and did not learn anything further. Here’s how it went when I knew I could try again. Opened and scanned the FIPPA document, looked up some things I didn’t understand, was still confused but figured there was no harm in taking a risk. Did poorly on my first try. Studied my mistakes. Referenced the document, took notes, took the quiz again, got 100%. Learned and felt good about it and me. Because I knew I could try again I felt safe to take a risk with my learning and used the instant feedback the online quiz gave me to learn not to feel bad about myself. I am sure I learned more than if I had only been given one attempt and it is a good reminder of a lesson I need to remember in my own classroom. At the end of the day, our goal should always be that the student actually learns the material rather than is able to regurgitate it for a quiz and it is much easier to learn when you are relaxed and not worried about a number to quantify your learning.
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