P
Promise
At least 30% of the final exam questions are drawn verbatim from the pool. This makes the pool directly relevant for exam preparation and gives students a credible study target.
Open Pool Exams
Open Pool Exams are built around a small, explicit pool of questions following the POOLS principles. The method makes the exam directly relevant for preparation while still rewarding genuine understanding. Together, these principles create a study target that is concrete enough to guide preparation and rich enough to support deeper learning.
O
Operational
The pool is designed so that mastering its questions requires mastering the core course goals. Studying the pool therefore also prepares students for questions beyond the pool.
O
Ongoing
The questions are used throughout lectures and tutorials, so the reasoning needed for the exam is practiced explicitly during the course rather than only at the end.
L
Limited
The pool is kept small enough that students can realistically study all questions. This helps reduce uncertainty and makes preparation feel manageable.
S
Sense-making
The questions aim at understanding by asking students to explain concepts, justify choices, or demonstrate techniques. The goal is not rote repetition, but meaningful learning.
Mini example
A simple illustration from English grammar shows how a question pool can focus preparation on understanding rather than memorization.
Pool question
Convert to passive and briefly explain your choice: “The cat interrupted the lesson by meowing very loudly.”
Solution
“The lesson was interrupted by the cat meowing very loudly.”
Explanation: The object becomes the subject, and the verb changes to a form of “to be” + past participle.
In the exam
Some questions may appear verbatim. Others test the same idea, for example: Convert to passive and explain: “The professor has blown soap bubbles for his nephews.”
Explore more
We have so far some preliminary results and a mock example.
Preliminary results
Early findings on engagement, learning outcomes, and student experience.
English Course Example
Illustrative pool questions and examples showing how the method can works across courses.
Study participation
Information for teachers who may want to try the method or join a broader study.
Contact
Interested in using the method, discussing fit for a course, or participating in the study?
Email: t.miltzow@uu.nl