This story is from May 30, 2020

Open book examination: What does it mean?

Open book examination: What does it mean?
Representational Image. (Getty Images)
NEW DELHI: The Delhi University is going to conduct the final year examinations from July 1, 2020. The exam would be held as open book examination mode.
DU had asked teachers to prepare two sets of papers - one for online open book examination and another for the pen-paper examination.
Those who have internet and computer or laptop will appear in online open examination in July and rest will appear in pen-paper exam for which time is not specified.

On May 14, the university announced that it will hold examinations for its final year post graduate and under graduate students from July 1 and in case the situation arising out of the COVID-19 outbreak does not normalise, it will adopt the open book mode to conduct the test.
Under the open book mode of examination, the student will be able to refer books, notes and other study materials to answer the questions.
Students will sit in their homes and will download question papers for their respective course from the portal. They will upload the answers in a span of two hours.
What are the pros and cons of Open Book Tests?
Pros Cons
It saves Paper. Saving paper means
saving trees.
Can’t keep a Check on Students: One can’t
be sure if the student has got
somebody’s back.
Time Saviour: Auto-grade helps in filling
the MCQs easily. The online examination
can be completely automated and hassle-
free.
Open Text Question: The teacher can ask
open text questions but they will not
auto-grade. Also, teachers have to give
time to check them.
Money saver: The money of buying and
printing paper is saved. Also, one can
save on logistics or assembling and
conducting exams.
Can be a Victim of Fraud: Online scams/
fraud is pretty common these days. Use
question bank to solve the issue of fraud.
Secure: Each student will get a random
set of questions from them. So, students
can’t cheat from others. Also, they won’t
be able to share questions.
The students would stop studying and
simply copy from the open book
provided at the examination hall.

How to crack open book exams?
Knowledge: a solid understanding of the course content

Systems: organized notes and a systematic way to find content quickly
Structure: plan for completing the exam within the time limit and commit to that plan
Academic integrity: make sure your work is your own – otherwise it’s not your success!
Timing: The most important component! Plan the time you have per question based on grade/weighting and total time allocated. Check your pace and skip ahead if you need to.
Reading the question: Understand what the question is asking; identify key words in the question.
  • For multiple choice questions, review all responses before selecting – analyze your options. See more on writing multiple choice exams.
  • For questions that you aren’t sure about, take time to refer to your notes. Use your study charts or table of contents to find relevant content for the question quickly.
  • For free response questions, write full and complete answers with appropriate detail to demonstrate your understanding of course concepts.

Are open book exams harder?
Open books helps you with Facts and description But it cannot help you in conceptual an application based questions as you have to have a basic conceptual knowledge on that matter.
One can find anything in the book but not knowing anything when you come into the exam will lead you to using the entire testing period to look things up. So make sure to study thoroughly. Moreover, The instructor will make the questions harder.
  1. What is an Open Book Exam?
    An "open book examination" is that in which students are allowed to refer to either class notes and summaries or a “memory aid”, textbooks, or other approved material while answering questions. Its like question paper is given to students prior to sitting the formal exam or are to complete as a ‘takehome’ exam.
  2. Why institutes conduct Open Book Exam?
    The open book examination is introduced to remove rote learning and more superficial application of knowledge. The main reason for OBE is that teachers can devise questions that require students to answer in more analytical and critical ways thus encouraging high-order thinking skills in students as compared to closed book or traditional exams.
  3. What are the challenges in setting OBE paper?
    The main difficulty is that many teachers may not know how to set a question that would require students to apply their knowledge through analysis and critical thinking. Questions in open book exams need to be devised to assess the interpretation and application of knowledge, comprehension skills, and critical thinking skills rather than only knowledge recall.
  4. Will OBE be easy for students?
    No. The OBE will not be easy, however, it would need extra efforts from students to solve questions as it would mainly be of higher order thinking. Most students think the level of exam would be easy and they would be able to find all the answers in the textbook or on their memory aid. Students should not be lulled into a false sense of security and fail to properly prepare for an open book exam.
  5. How DU will be conducting OBE?
    * Apart from email and messages, colleges will use apps like WhatsApp to send important information. * Limited number of students can be allowed by colleges to use ICT infrastructure. * If too many students need assistance, examinees can utilise Common Service Centre services near their locations* Students will get access to questions papers from designated portal as per schedule* If they can't download the question paper, colleges will email or WhatsApp it * If students fail to upload answer sheets, a PDF file can be sent to designated email ID* While students will two hours to answer the paper, they will have one hour for downloading it and uploading the answer sheet; PwD students will get additional time.
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