Ruby,
I think you are so smart in tailoring your questions to your national exam. Students need that type of test prep!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Jessica,
I agree, it is best to use subjective evaluations to demonstrate application.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
David,
True, Ethics and social responsibility would be a good use of subjective exams. Also, it really depends on the objective. The objective should drive the way we assess it.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Cyndy,
You really have to look at what you are trying to assess. We may not want to use essay when we are only measuring an objective at the low end of Blooms's Taxonomy.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Nicole,
You are right, students have to understand the goal of the questions and the instructor grades using the rubric! Good answer.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Allen,
You make a great point. Subjective evaluation is only as good as our feedback!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Dr. Michael,
Tools like Turnitin and Safe Assign to make our job easier but you are right, practice makes perfect for us as educators!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
June,
Yes, I am hearing more and more online programs determining the assessment procedures. You are right, rubrics are the only way to go!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
June,
What a great idea! I may look into it.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
corinne,
You are right, your subject area really does call for subjective questioning.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Objective evaluations include true/false, multiple choice, and matching questions. Subjective evaluations include open-ended questions, essays, etc. How have you used evaluations in your course?
I teach Public Administration and Public Policy courses, and therefore I use subjective open-ended questions, and essays to evaluate the courses. Essay questions can be an excellent measure of understanding to require students to go beyond rote factual knowledge. Problem-solving questions can require students to demonstrate the steps to solve a problem. Both types of subjective assessment involve higher thinking skills, and critical thinking.
Ashley, I agree that it can be tough getting students to see that spelling and grammar are not unrelated to the content of a course.
To make this point clear, a useful exercise is to write a 3-paragraph essay on the course content and to fill the essay with homophone errors, misspellings and letter substitutions or omissions. Students usually see quite quickly how important such things are to the clear communication of ideas, regardless of the course content. Thanks!
The online university where I teach does not use tests or quizzes, so these are not an option for my courses.
However, many of the course projects include open-ended self-evaluation requirements, and these seem to be very valuable to students and to professors. Detailed rubrics are provided so that students have a standard against which to compare their completed projects as well as a map before beginning a project.
While students often claim to be hesitant to evaluate their own work, they soon get used to the process, seeing more value to self-evaluation the more they engage in it. By the end of the course they see value in implementing the recommended process of using the rubric not only when beginning the project but at the end of the project: rubric as a checklist to ensure that the project is complete and correct before submission.
At my online university, the only way we have of grading students is through 10 writing exercises, two per unit of the 5-unit course. This is of course highly subject, although we do use a rubric. I can say that, having taught for 2.5 years at the university, the instructor gets better at reading and identifying good work. There are also issues of plagiarism (which we catch through Turnitin).
I use mostly subjective to show the students not only understand but are apply to apply the information.
The courses I have taught use subjective evaluations for the majority of the tasks. One of the courses uses objective evaluation t give an overview of the students understanding of the online environment and areas that can be further discussed to allow the students the greatest opportunity for success. Honestly, the objective test has an eye opening effect on the students who do not believe attending the chats or using the additional resources is important. It is important that the students who do poorly on this exam understand why they did not do well and are given the feedback necessary to prepare them for future assessments. The tasks are judged with subjective evaluations to determine the grade to be given. Grading rubrics are provided to provide the students with guidelines as well as live chat sessions presenting the tasks and the expectations. The different assessments have multiple purposes that can be used to get more than just a grade for the student. When used properly it can provide a roadmap to giving the students an understanding of the resources and skills necessary to be successful.
Dr. Wilkinson,
As an online instructor, I too, use both forms of assessment. Often, not always, I use objective evaluations at various times throughout the course to check students' understanding of the material up to that point. This gives me a quick understanding of where the class is at that point.
However, I always use subjective evaluations in each course. Students are provided with a rubric and given substantial feedback, addressing both content and mechanics.
I think requiring both types of assessment, is the best way to address each student's learning needs and get the best picture of the their understanding.
Sincerely,
Dr. Laura Pogue
I use both objective and subjective in my classes. Students have tests in which they write essays explaining the topic and true/false or multiple choice answers. I personally prefer the essays in which I can not only see that the students are learning, but check on their writing skills as well.
Marie Moran
I personally like to use a combination of all the above. Objective and subjective testing has it's place. They can measure the student's ability to remember/recall cartain important aspects of the course, and can assess higher learning processes depending on how a test is written. A combination is always good to use.
One of the most important things I like to use is a project final. I like to take what was learned and apply it through a project. For instance, in a security class I teach, I go over security aspects of physical, psychological, structural, etc. security features of building. The whole course is desigend to explain all these features. Tests using subjective and objective questions are sprinkled throughout the course. At the end, I have the students put together a security analysis of a building of their choise. Whether it be a local mall, wal-mart, there office building where they work, etc. I get to see if what they learned can be appled through an analysis of their own.
I use strictly subjective assessments in my course---I teach various English Composition courses, and students are expected to write essays on a number of different topics. I spend ample time examining each paper for content AND basic style, grammar, formatting, etc...I find that when students receive in-depth, personalized feedback on a subjective assessment, that their writing skills tend to improve fairly quickly.
