Amani Elobeid, Beomyun Kim, and Angelos Lagoudakis will head one of five faculty projects that received funds from the Miller Faculty Fellowship program for the 2025-26 academic year. The Fellowship will support the five projects with a total of $213,971 in grants. Elobeid, Kim, and Lagoudakis will receive a $49,852 grant for Transforming economics examinations: A token-based system for enhanced learning and student success, which introduces a token-based exam support system designed to transform traditional assessment practices in higher education. Students receive three types of colored tokens that can be exchanged during exams for different levels of standardized hints, ranging from basic concept reminders to detailed guidance or time extensions varying from five to 15 minutes. This approach addresses multiple challenges in higher education by:
- Enhancing student control to reduce test anxiety.
- Offering flexible support options to accommodate diverse learning needs.
- Promoting strategic decision-making to enhance student learning and performance.
The system is particularly beneficial in quantitative courses where mathematical anxiety and varying learning speeds often impact performance. Unlike traditional standardized accommodations, this approach enables students to customize their support based on individual needs while maintaining academic rigor. Although initially implemented in economics courses, the system's design allows for seamless adaptation across STEM disciplines and any field requiring quantitative problem-solving skills.