I feel the most effective way to assess students is through tests that use various methods to insure analize their knowledge rather than who can or cannot take a particular style of test well.
hi Joann - thanks for your post to the forum. You are ding a great job at getting your students actively involved in their learning! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Hving them write down how they feel they learn, retain information best. I like short answer and completion questions that prompt the student to use critical thinking. I then like to use essay questions to explore more deeply their understanding and application of thei knowledge for bonus questions. I Rreally enjoy classroom discussions regarding content of material with interactive feedback. I make sure that all students are participating. The students that remain silent and do not participate, I will call them out and gently involve them in the discussion. All students in the class will participate in interactive discussions. I think that helps exponetially
Personally, I find that tests are the most effective and objective way of measuring a students learning. No way is perfect, but other methods are too subjective for my comfort.
I prefer short answer or essay format. The class I teach is much more focused on being able to assess the information and relay it to an idea so those formats seem to work best.
I really like multiple choice testing, but i also like to use a check off list for the practical portion testing. this really helps me see where my students are.
In my current online course for composition, we have a combination of multiple choice quizzes and weekly journals. I feel like both of these show me their knowledge of the textbook and their application with their writing skill sets.
I prefer to use multiple choice, t/f and short answer. That way I can see the strengths of my students in different ways.
This method can be applied to almost any area of study. It will also keep the students interested, but how would you find the time to accomplish this?
Hi Mario- Thanks for your post to the forum. Especially in short courses the daily assessments that you are using are essential! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
In our courses we rely heavily on a combination of daily instructor questioning for feedback and assessment and multiple choice tests at the end of segments or the entire course. With our courses being rather short we have limited opportunity to use written exams. Our advanced course does use a writing project to demonstrate application of the knowledge learned.
Hi Lynn - Thanks for your post to the forum. You pointed out an adavantage to the " short answer" questions. Thanks for sharing! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
I like multiple choice but I think in some courses the short answer really allows the student to show what they know. It also elminates some of the "respond with everything that you get from essay questions.
Hi Andrew-You have a very methodical approach to teaching the basics of electrical circuits! I really like your idea of planting "bugs" on bikes for troubleshooting practice! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Hi Linda- Thanks for your post to the forum. Your combination of witten and practical assessment is entirely appropriate for the discipline that you teach. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
I teach First Responder and EMT classes. I think it takes written exams as well as practical evaluation to get a good picture of what my students know. The written exams target knowledge and critical thinking. The practical exam targets the use of that knowlege and skills learned to provide the necessary care to adequately treat a patient without causing further harm in the prehospital environement.
I teach motorcycle electrical so first I give them worksheets to follow while going through the circuit on the motorcycle, then after they practice each circuit I have them test components telling me component name, result of their test, and how they hooked up thier meter. This allows me to guage their understanding of the course. The next part of the course we bug motorcycles and have the students diagnose the problem, giving them some real world practice troubleshooting.
I think you have to mix up the types of test. Maybe start off at the beginning of the term with multiple choice or true and false. Then increase the difficulty as the year progress.
Hi Connie- Thanks for your post to the forum. I agree, especially in classes such as those you teach, it is necessary to vary your assessments.
Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
In the Health Information Technology program it is important to be able to access students in various ways. Application type tests where they have to perform the taught tasks is important in the coding class. Matching of terms can be effective in medical terminology. No one type of testing could possibly be used given the variation of the classes and the skills being taught.
