Others called the question “genius”
(Picture: Getty Images)Let’s face it, no one looks forward to exams – even those well prepared and equipped for the big day. There always happens to be that one question that throws people off despite the endless amount of late-night cramming.
In a viral tweet making the rounds on Twitter, Rebekah Rogers shared an open-ended exam question that has since divided social media. One user slammed it as “unfairly biased”, while another added: “I absolutely hated questions like this because it assumed that I studied something in-depth.”
The question read: “There’s something that you spent time studying that wasn’t asked on the exam. What is it and how does it work? Explain in detail.”
Sharing a pic of the question to her account, Rebekah wrote: “I kind of like this exam question.”
I kind of like this exam question. pic.twitter.com/BOLqknhPNX
— 🧬 Rebekah L. Rogers 🧬 (@evolscientist) November 18, 2021
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Rebekah, Assistant Professor of Bioinformatics and Genomics at UNC Charlotte, told Indy100 that she curated the question for her course on genome sequence analysis after “some students had found it challenging to adjust to in-person classes and essay-based exams.”
Her intention was for students to “show off their knowledge independently from the exam format”. “The hope was that many students could earn additional points from an open-ended prompt,” she added.
Despite some slamming the question as unfair, Rebekah said she had not thought of it as particularly unusual. “I explained to the students as the exam began that this was their chance to demonstrate learning and gain points,” she added.
That’s a nope from me I’m afraid. How would you grade this between different boundaries? How much should someone write? Too open ended and non-transparent to be a fair question. I get the spirit of it though.
— Andre Cobb (@andrecobb) November 18, 2021
Unfairly biassed toward very confident and persuasive children who will be happy to make anything they’ve done fit. The more analytical and scientific would lose out with this, unless of course they have genuinely studied something else in depth.
— MLMC (@MLMC37211431) November 18, 2021
As someone whose academic success hinged on good memory and predictable test structure rather than studying and prep, I think this would have made me panic a little bit.
— Kyle Lambert (@cytotoxictce11) November 18, 2021
I absolutely hated questions like this, because it assumed that I studied something in depth, when what I actually did was read through all the lecture slides to make sure that the knowledge I learned during lecture was fresh in my mind.
— Max (@LighthouseMax) November 18, 2021
Not all students are ideal students.
However, other social media users branded the question “genius” and a source of inspiration for future classes and exams.
One said: “A question without boundaries, while subjective, means that students who may have learned a ton but sucked at the test can actually show off their knowledge here and ideally earn make up points.”
While another added jumped to the defence of critics, saying, “It’s an open-ended question for whatever the students really took a shine to during the course.”
This is genius. I'd like to also allow for this in seminars/talks.
— Jason Holliday 🇨🇦 (@jasonaholliday) November 18, 2021
"So, speaker, there's a question you worried someone would ask and spent 2hrs last night thinking through an answer. Of course no one asked. What is the question/answer?"
It's a neat idea, but should probably have specified that it should be related to the exam question... I can quite see me answering about a passion subject that is completely unrelated 😬
— 🌍 Duncan Kimpton 🛠️ (@dgkimpton) November 18, 2021
I also like “Write your own exam question, and then answer it” (points for creativity, accuracy, and depth of engagement). I’ve had students write great questions (that I use on future exams), and sometimes answer their own question wrong
— Jannice Friedman (@FriedmanJannice) November 18, 2021
Why would those of us who are more analytical and scientific lose out?
— Temporary Bat 🦇 (@aisling_bn) November 18, 2021
If it comes to that, how will the confident and persuasive ones "make it fit"? Fit to what? It's an open-ended question for whatever the students really took a shine to during the course.
Some things simply can’t be prepped for.
