The decision to hold end-semester examinations for students in colleges has come after several rounds of discussion, initially among university officials and later among heads of departments within the varsity.
Though professors feel that open-book exams would be the way forward, they are not sure if students are equipped for it.
L. Elango, professor and head of Applied Geology at Anna University, said it depended on how well teachers could assess students and use tools for the same. He recalled using the method with his M.Sc. students.
“In a subject like sub-surface exploration, I asked students to assess the pitch for an IPL match, as an exploration geologist, and decide the strategy for the match. The student has to think before answering. In a closed book exam, we would ask about the electrical resistivity method to understand the moisture content beneath the surface,” he said.
The decision to bring about open-book exams is not feasible, said the principal of a college affiliated to the University of Madras. “The present curriculum is not based on the concept of reference books, where students are given topics to research and have to answer questions. Ours is a textbook-based curriculum, and so, the exams must follow the pattern,” he said. Before open-book exams can become a reality, there must be a thorough rehaul of the pedagogy, he said.
Open-book exams would help develop confidence among students, with respect to self-learning and self-assessment, said R. Subramanian, a retired lecturer from Presidency College. He has been giving students lessons in biology since the beginning of the lockdown.
“If you are not able to remember a fact, there is no harm in opening your book and finding the answer,” he said, adding, “Enquiry-based learning, or knowledge about how to ask questions that can be answered from the information given in a test is more important than memorising facts in isolation.”
Despite encouragement, very few students make the effort to either open a textbook or visit the internet, he said. According to him, even teachers need to be trained in framing questions for open-book exams.
A humanities and social sciences professor from the University of Madras said pedagogy had not evolved yet for open-book exams to be introduced.
“Although it is the best possible way under the current circumstances, the teaching methodology has to change for it to happen,” the professor added.
