Utilizing discussion boards for test questions: opportunities for students' mathematical creativity and uniqueness. Issue 3 (16th March 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Savić, Miloš
• Is Part Of: International journal of mathematical education in science and technology. Volume 53:Issue 3(2022)
• Page Start: 656
• Page End: 661
• Publication Date: 2022-03-16
• Subjects: Incubation -- creativity -- discussion boards -- calculus; Mathematics -- Study and teaching -- Periodicals; Mathematics -- Periodicals; 510.07
• DOI: 10.1080/0020739X.2021.1983657
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0020-739X

Abstract

Abstract : Taking the challenges presented by shifting to online instruction mid-semester due to the Covid-19 global pandemic, I tried to utilize prompts on discussion boards as test questions. The prompts for these questions were to create a triple integral satisfying certain conditions, and when a person posted their integral, no one else could use the same function or bounds. What occurred was a dream to me as an educator – I got to see students being creative, collaborative, and thoughtful, while I enjoyed grading and seeing their uniqueness shine. In this article, I detail the integral prompt and another recent prompt for vectors that led to a merger between my teaching beliefs and actions. I also share about the multiple benefits for instructors, including seeing mathematically clever solutions, and students, including reducing test anxiety and reverse-engineering mathematics problems.