The courses I teach are computer skill based, so I used application examples that may come up in certification or on the job.
Skill based testing is most often used.
Hi Kenneth- Thanks for your very interesting post to the forum. I agree that many of our students at the introductory level are deficient in writing and critical thinking skills. I applaud the fact that you do however ask them to write in your classes. If not, however will they improve? Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Hi Catherine- Thanks for your post to the forum. You are doing a great job at choosing assessments. Especially significant is that you differentiate between lower and upper level skill levels in your choices. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
We do not get to choose our testing format as all tests are made up by curriculum specialists. With that said, I think multiple choice/true/false tests are a waste of time in the online environment. Students use their books transforming the quiz or exam into an open book homework assignment. It may be helpful, but it is no measure of what they have mastered.
In my upper level courses, I have the students apply what they learned through project-testing. They have to apply what they learned in class. I also assign case studies and have them demonstrate the synthesis and evaluation levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. My entry level courses involve more knowledge and comprehension testing.
Frankly, the first criteria I look at is ease of use. I look to see whether or not the textbook I am using for the course provides a sampling of test questions, either on CD, via the internet or in a separate booklet. If this is indeed the case, then I look over the questions, and determine how useful they are. Some questions I am able to use verbatim but others I will modify. This saves me a great deal of time and effort.
The kind of questions I am most attracted to are multiple choice and T-F. The kind of courses I teach lend themselves to these kinds of questions better. I am able to cover more content using these questions than any other format. And frankly, they are much easier to grade. Short completion questions also work well but only if one answer is clearly delineated. Matching questions may work well with more objective fact courses such as anatomy, biology, or math but may not work well with more "concept" courses such as psychology, philosophy, marketing, or some humanities courses. I tend to shy away from essay questions since the majority of courses I teach are introductory courses. Unfortunately, I have found that many students taking these introductory courses are deficit in critical thinking skills, organizational skills, writing skills, analysis and synthesis skills, and all other skills required to write good essays. I normally save in-class essay questions for upper-class studetns or more advanced students.
I do require brief essays in two of the introductory courses I teach, however. I normally give a number of questions the student can choose from and they have a week to write a brief essay answering that question. Or they may write a reaction paper to a chapter in a book they are required to read. At first, many of the students find these essay questions intimidating; but as time goes on, they become much better.These "take home" essays serve as a good introduction to having to write and serve as a launching pad to begin the critical thinking skill process. If you truly want to access the students critical thinking skills, then I often believe essays are the best approach.
I think one of the challenges I face, along with many of the instructors I work with, are writing good objective test questions. Some appear to have a knack for it, others do not. The challenge is to make the questions fair without making them too simple, tricky, or overly difficult. Sometimes, you hit the "bull's-eye" with a question, but other times, it takes some trial and error before a question obtains that "validity and reliability" you're looking for. I have a also found that having someone available to proof read your questions is a huge benefit. But sometimes time constraints does not permit that.
So, for most of my courses, I use a combination of multiple choice and T-F questions, along with take-home essay questions, as a means to assess student knowledge and progress.
I usually look at the objectives I wish to achieve. Also, try to vary the types of questions to accommodate different levels of understanding as well as different test-taking strenghts of a class.
Depending on the topic but I like essays since the students can reflect more completely on what they have learned.
I take each course and see what it is that I want to get across to my students. My criteria differs from class to class. For the more difficult lectures I prefer multiple choice and one essay question. Other courses I see that True/False works well and completion tests.
Hi Hector- Thanks for your post to the forum. That's a very good question and one I had to really think about. I use open book tests when the knowledge I am assessing involves material that realistically is not memorized. The student however, needs to know how to find that material quickly in the manual or text. This also assesses how well the student has read the material to know how/where to find the necessary charts, rules, codes etc. Bottom line is, I think that the open book quiz serves one purpose and the closed book quiz another. Both can be effective assessment methods. Best wishes- Susan
Hi Gary- Thanks for your post to the forum. You seem to have a good handle on how to choose appropriate assessments. Don't we ALL wish we had more time and energy! Best wishes - Susan
Hi Eric- Thanks for your post to the forum. I agree that we need to take as much subjectivity out of grading as possible. I always use a detailed grading rubric that I make sure the students have before the assessment. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Hi Zee Zee- Thanks for your post to the forum. With adults students especially, I try to draw on all their life experiences. Try to chat individually with your students. Ask questions about their lives, remember what they said (I actually write down some notes after these chats). Then when appropriate draw them into the discussion by mentioning some of the things you know about them ( nothing private of course!) Things like, "John, you worked for IBM, what sort of management structure did they have?" Best wishes - Susan
In my proffession, skill application is the best evaluation of one's knowledge. Because this method can be very subjective, the key is having a very clear and precise grading procedure.
Each course presents an opportunity to decide
if objective or subjective knowledge would yield
the best assessment of each student's learning
outcome. I use matching tests when the course
requires learning and retention of specific terms and definitions. I use multiple choice tests for
classes with a substantial amount of general subject matter and the need to assess a wide variety
of the information. I use essay tests for courses
in which the subject matter allows the student learner to consider case studies or fact scenarios
and resolve the issues presented by each defined
situation. If I had more time and energy, I would
use a combination of different testing formats in
every class.
Dear Susan,
I have a question for you, if I let the students take an open book quiz, I need to prepare a more elaborated quiz than if I let the students take a close book quiz. Which option provides an accurate assessment of the student?
Hi Annie- Thanks for your post to the forum. Yes, if students are asked to apply what they have learned it definitely improves retention.
Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Hi John - Thanks for your post to the forum. I thnk it depends on the discipline that you teach. For example, if you teach English Literature you will need to have a focus on written tests. However, I too use many of the exercises that you mention in my course.
Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Hi Shannon - thanks for your post to the forum. This module really was designed to show what types of assessment work best to assess different types of material/learning. But, I also think that using mutiple types usually works best. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
