I too stress reading the problem carefully (not that it always sinks into my st
udents' heads). Although I don't give open book tests, I do give my students a
ll of the necessary equations on quizzes and tests. My feeling has always been
that physics isn't about memorizing equations, it's learning how to solve probl
ems with these equations. I guess that's also why I've always been totally aga
inst the idea of multiple choice physics tests....I don't understand how these
tests demonstrate problem solving ability(s). Shouldn't this be the main focus
of physics tests....not the ease of grading? By the way, I don't give open boo
k tests because I've found that students tend to "make" new problems fit the
examples in the book...whether this fit is appropriate or not.
Sue Ramlo
Community & Technical College
University of Akron