The Research Quiz Show
by
Brannon Heath

We give a research exam at the end of first semester that counts 20 percent of a student's grade. It is a multiple-choice exam that emphasizes the process of legal research. Students prepare by doing a series of research exercises from Ruth Ann McKinney's LEGAL RESEARCH: A PRACTICAL GUIDE AND SELF- INSTRUCTIONAL WORKBOOK (West 1996) [Note: 2d ed. West 2000] and by researching a problem for a memorandum. Beth Mobley, the head of public services in our library and a superbly qualified reference librarian, helps teach basic research skills to my students.

This year I wanted to inject more life into our review of research skills, so I decided to stage a quiz show. I put a table and four chairs in the front of the room. I gave each contestant a noisemaker to signal that he/she knew the correct answer. One noisemaker was a toy phone. Another was a dog's toy - a rubber jack-in-the-box that emitted a loud squeak when squeezed (also, a man's head popped up). The third noisemaker was a child's key chain rattle, while the fourth was a pair of plastic hands that clacked when waved. This strange choice of noisemakers became necessary when I could not find little metal clickers at the toy store, and my quiz was scheduled for the next day. The noisemakers proved a huge success.

I divided the students into four groups. Each group sent a member to join the panel at the table. Each panel was given three questions to answer. I put the questions on transparencies and projected them on a screen in the front of the room. The questions focused on the sources and process students had learned for a particular research exercise along with questions about New York courts. Students were awarded a point for each correct answer. After three questions, I summoned a new panel.

As moderator, I posed the questions and decided which noisemaker had rung first. Beth Mobley served as the judge. I gave her a whistle, which she blew when a student gave an incorrect answer or when too much time had elapsed.

I rewarded the team that won the first quiz with an extension for their second research exercise. I awarded the winners of the second quiz "magic" pencils to use when taking the final research exam. For the first quiz, we did not have time to go over mistakes, so I used my discussion forum on TWEN to answer questions and suggest sources of study. For the second quiz, we factored in time to go over the quiz and answer student questions.

The quizzes were very successful. Students loved them as they provided a break from stress caused by the struggles with their memoranda. They allowed me to involve our librarian in a more casual way than she usually gets to interact with students. On the final exam students performed as well as, if not better than, when I have done a more standard question-and-answer review.