The Monte Carlo Quiz: Encouraging Punctual Completion and Deep Processing of Assigned Readings.

Abstract

The Monte Carlo Quiz (MCQ), a single item quiz, is so named because chance, with the roll of a die, determines (a) whether the quiz is administered; (b) the specific article, chapter, or section of the assigned reading that the quiz covers; and (c) the par ticular question that makes up the quiz. The MCQ encourages both punctual completion and deep pro cessing of assigned readings and is easy to implement. It is readily designed to address a wide variety of learning objectives. Students' quiz scores and evalua tions suggest that the MCQ is effective. When a student reads and studies is important. Common practice is to postpone assigned readings until the day or night before an exam (Burchfield and Sappington 2000). This loaf-and cram pattern, which runs counter to most instructors' wishes and expectations, has increased at an alarming rate. At one uni versity, reading compliance, as measured by passing a one-time surprise quiz, decreased from more than 80 percent in 1981 to approximately 20 percent in 1997 (Burchfield and Sappington 2000). How ever, the reading compliance rate is great ly enhanced when quizzes are adminis Peter S. Fernald is a professor of psychology at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. tered randomly and periodically through out the semester (Ruscio 2001). How a student reads and studies also is important. Ideally, the student studies carefully and processes deeply the assigned reading. Such studying and processing enhances both understanding and retention. Superficial studying and shallow or rote processing, on the other hand, typically produce little, if any, sig nificant learning. Organizing informa tion hierarchically (Bower 1970), ana lyzing meanings (Craik and Tulving 1975), and applying concepts (Palmere et al. 1983) are processes known to enhance memory of subject matter. These findings suggest that instructors should encourage students to engage in such processing. Monte Carlo Quiz With these thoughts in mind, I devel oped the Monte Carlo Quiz (MCQ). The city of Monte Carlo is noted for its gam bling casinos, and the MCQ is so named because chance (that is, the rolling of a die) is an important feature of the quiz. Before the semester begins, I prepare several quiz items such as the following: 1. Knowledge: Describe the major thesis, the central idea or set of ideas, in the reading. Make certain that the thesis you identify is primary. Also include one or two closely related ancillary or secondary ideas or theses, clearly identifying them as such. 2. Comparison: Identify two concepts or principles presented in the chapter or article and, when you first mention each, underline and define it. Then, show how the concepts or principles in some way(s) are both similar to and different from one another. If you wish, one of the concepts or principles may be selected from another reading, lecture, or discussion in this course. 3. Application: Select a concept or princi ple in the chapter or article, clearly define or describe it, and then indicate how it applies to you or someone you know. Provide sufficient details to justi fy convincingly that the concept or principle indeed applies as you suggest. 4. Critique: Write a critical perspective on some aspect of the chapter or arti