Brown Bag Exam

I came across this website - http://www.adlit.org/unlocking_the_past/brown_bag_exams/ and thought that the Brown Bag exam as outlined by Dr. Denise Ousley-Exum to be an interesting idea to creatively assess literature. 

In a Brown Bag exam, students are supposed to use objects and images within the bag to activate prior knowledge and express their understanding. Students can work individually and in collaboration to create connections between the reading and surprise Brown Bag items. 

Dr. Ousley highlights the five steps to a typical Brown Bag Exam

1. Individually, students open their allotted bags and examine the items within the bag. Students are expected to first brainstorm alone and create a list of connections between the items and the reading - or in our case, the texts.

2. Students form triads (or groups of three) and present their Brown Bag surprise to their peers, share initial insights and add the thoughts of the two new readers. Dr. Ousley notes that "the depth and enthusiasm which students talk about ideas and items [contain] insights that [she is] unlikely to learn from a traditional test, essay or even a whole class discussion. 

3. Students are then expected to find at least two passages from the novel that connect to the items. 

4. Students are to single out a specific aspect of the entire Brown Bag Exam and describe that aspect's impact on personal learning. 

She outlines her instructional procedures to her class in the following format. 

Step 1

Open your bag.

Step 2

List all possible connections between your item(s) and the novel. Items may (or may not) fall into the following categories:

- Plot

- Character

- Theme

- Setting 

- Symbol

- Event

- Others (something else entirely)

Step 3

Get into groups of threes. 

Each person shares connections and then asks group members for the connections they see. List all additional connections in the second box. 

Step 4

Find at least two passages from the text connected to your brown bag items. Copy them into the third box. Provide enough of the passage so that you (and others) can find it. Include page numbers. 

Step 5

Choose one idea you'd like to share with the class about your brown bag items. (It can be anything ranging from discussion, connections, passages, initial reaction or surprises.) Note this in the final box and prepare to share with the entire group. 

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Personal Reflections

I feel that this method offers an interesting alternative to traditional pen-paper exams and on the surface, seems to contain the same evaluative qualities that the pen-paper exam advocates for. 

From a research point of view, this test meets the guidelines of alternative testing - which according to Tannenbaum (1997) means

1. Focus on documenting individual student growth over time, rather than comparing with one another.
2. Emphasis is on students' strengths (what they know), rather than weaknesses (what they don't know)
3. Consideration is given to the learning styles, language proficiencies, cultural and educational backgrounds, and grade levels of students. 

Although Dr. Ousley's method did not include marking rubrics to which the students' "Brown Bag Exam" would be graded upon, I see a number of ways to do so. As a teacher, I might want to conduct a Brown Bag exam at the start of a semester when the students first come into contact with a new text and collect/establish a baseline response from this first test. 

As the syllabus is developed and more content is taught to the students, I can re-administer the test to see if students are able to pick up or establish more connections in the subsequent weeks that follow. This alternative exam might also serve as a springboard into a writing activity where students can develop the relevant exam skills. I see the Brown Bag Exam as a scaffolded approach where students can develop their thought processes in an observable and examinable method. Through this, students can develop the confidence to form their own opinions about the text, a skill which I personally feel is very underdeveloped in our students. 

With a proper writing program to complement this approach, I see this as a viable assessment technique for continuous assessment needs.