Multiple Choice Testing
We use skill application and multiple choice questions in one of our classes and often the students do quite well in the skill application, but falter in the multiple choice testing. Is there a direct connection to the multiple choice testing and their ability to perform the skills?
i think muttiple choice questions are just as effective as fill in the blanks, however it is good to give a variety of test format to push the student to study thoroughly.
Hi Gail - thanks for your post to the forum. Your questioning while students are doing skills assessments is excellent! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
I often experience the same thing in teaching a skill and doing an assessment and comparing that to the theory behind it...how, what, why, when...etc..one way I try to bridge this gap is when I am lecturing tie the skill into the information of how, what, why etc...and then when we are practicing the hands on skill question them with info from the lecture to bring the information together with the skill. Even asking them questions they are likely to be tested on while they are perfoming the hands on.
I find that most students still get the wrong answer with T/F. It really blows me away.
Are you using a scan-tron form or are they manualy circling the answer?
I find that if the student fills out the test first on the paper then transferes it onto the scan tron sheet the scores are a bit better.
I think that going back & forth from the test to the form gets them mixed up & they color in the wrong answer, because when I go back to the test sheet the have choosen the correct answer & filled out the form wrong.
Hi Robert - I think this is often the case with kinesthetic learners. They can DO it but cannot tell you HOW or WHY we do something. Occasionally you may be looking at a reading problem as well. A good exercise would be to have them do a procedure list for completing the skill that would include the whys and hows.
