Take-N-Teach Activity
Clearest and Muddiest Point
Gearing up for final exams? Help your students prepare with this quick and easy classroom assessment technique (Angelo & Cross 2024)! In this activity, students identify which elements of a concept are clearest for them, and where they have remaining questions about the concept (i.e., their “muddiest points”). Students then get a chance to clarify their muddiest points with their classmates and generate a collective exam review resource. This formative assessment activity helps students reflect on what they’ve learned throughout the term and provides clarity for instructors on what they should reinforce prior to the exam. As your introduction of new course content slows down near the end of the term, consider implementing this activity 1-2 weeks before the final project or exam.
Time: 15-20 Minutes
Step 1 (Before Class): Identify Important Concepts
Develop a list of important concepts with corresponding textbook pages or chapters that students should review for the exam. Insert those concepts into the “concept” tab on the clearest and muddiest point document. Feel free to add more concepts on the document as needed!
Step 2: Concept selection
Place students into groups of 3-4, depending on your class size and number of concepts. Ask each to group visit the document and sign up for a specific concept by writing down their names. Using this document works best with one assigned scribe per group.
Step 3: Identify Clearest and Muddiest Points
Small groups will take a few minutes to discuss which points related to the concept they fully grasp and feel ready to be tested on during the final exam. Students may include multiple concepts in this section. Then, group members will identify which points related to the concept they feel confused about or have remaining questions. Once students have identified their muddiest points, group members will select one to develop a specific question—this might be a concept where multiple students have questions or confusion.
Step 4: Create a Question
Using the identified muddiest point from the previous step, students will generate a focused, open-ended question about the concept. If the instructor allows, students might consider using AI to help them generate a question. If students use AI, they should ensure the questions is within the scope of the course. Here are some examples of what the muddiest point questions might look like.
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- “If entropy always increases, how can we build organized structures like cities, and what system boundaries are important when thinking about local decreases in entropy?”
- “How do local changes upstream affect the overall downstream health of a watershed?”
- “When analyzing a rigid body with multiple supports, how do we determine which support reactions are essential for static equilibrium?”
Step 5: Answer Another Group’s Muddiest Point Question
In their small groups, students will identify another group’s question that they can reasonably answer in 2-3 sentences. They will decide as a team how they would like to word their answer to the question, pulling material from class (like homework, readings, etc.) as they do so. They might also consider linking other materials like webpages or videos in their explanation. Upon completion of this activity, ask students to read through the questions and answers on their own time. At this point, students will have a companion study guide to help them prepare for the final exam. When looking through the clearest and muddiest point document, please note any inaccuracies using the comments function on Google Docs.