Susan - I'm not sure if not sure if this is the forum for this specific post, but I have a question to throw out. Part of the discussion surrounding Essay tests indicated that you should never give students more questions than are required and let them choose the ones they answer. I struggle with that "rule" as a Psychology and Interpersonal instructor. My intention with giving them choices is for them to choose the questions that are relevant to their life experience. Any thoughts?
Susan,
I am new at teaching. The only assessement I have been able to used so far are their test scores, (I can see what the students understand what they have already learned or not learned), I am involved in the review course which is 90% of lab work and just a little lecture.
HI Matthew - Thanks for your post to the forum. I think most people think that the projects/designs should be the only type of assessment in that discipline, but, as you point out, there is a lot of factual/theoretical content that is btter suited for multiple choice, essay etc. Best wishes - Susan
I have tended to use a variety of methods ranging from multiple choice selections to short answer / essay questions to test when courses deliver more ‘factual’ content. Design courses typically utilize projects to demonstrate mastery of concepts and creative thinking.
I use quizzes prior to discussion of each chapter, to encourage students to be prepared. I have paired students and assigned each group a chapter from the text to write questions for the final exam. (Effective, but often time consuming for me to make them test quality.) It was a great preparation tool. I have used their questions to play "Jeopardy" as a review for the test.
My favorite method for Interpersonal Relations and Intro to Psych, is to assign essay questions that require them to apply course concepts to their lives. It demonstrates their understanding of the concepts and an ability to apply what they've learned to their lives. That may be the most valuable thing they learn.
HI Steven - Although what you describe must certainly take up a quite bit of your time, you are really able to assess what your students have learned - Bravo! Susan
I use an interview technique for assessing certain kinds of student learning. Some students really have learned the material but "lock up" when called on to prove it by using conventional assessment, such as a written test. A focused five minute conversation with a student about what they have learned is quite revealing--and often thrilling! The good ol' Socratic method comes in quite handy.
HI Shantana- It takes some thinking to effectively assess group work - keep up the good work! Susan
Mini journals have worked well. As well as group summary, where you divide the students into groups and see which group comes up with the most information from the chapter.
Short Answer, as described in this module, would be 'fill-in-the-blank' to me.
I have had success with short answer tests, with at least 50 Q's, allowing open book/notes...however, it is timed and the limit is usually 60 minutes. It separates those that know the technical material, but just need to confirm a few item...from those that did not study and simply can not read thru the material that fast. I do not announce that the test will be open book/note ahead of time, as that may lead some students to not study ahead of time.
Hi Therese- Teaching Accounting has got to be challenging! From your post , you are doing a great job at assessment. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Hi Melanie- Thanks for your post to the forum. You make a really important point! The employers that hire our grads say that communication skills and especially writing skills are something that they look for. Best wishse- Susan
True, but even if students are not planning on furthering their studies, good writing skills go a long way in the workplace. That is something that I try to reinforce throughout the quarter, so students will understand that no matter what career path they take, good writing skills will never go out of style.
I wish I would have taken your class. Writing good essays is really important. If students are planning to further their education they will need good writing skills because all advanced studies require papers and research.
I believe it is important to provide a variety of assessments styles. I am an accounting instructor in an online environment and I believe that providing frequent assessments, generally an assessment after one or two chapters of material, keeps the student "on task" and not procrastinating with reading the material or completing their assignments.
Again, my assessments are a mixture of types. For example, a test may have about 60% multiple choice questions, and with the other 40% I mix in any or all of the following, matching, problem solving such as writing journal entries, preparing and demonstrating computations such as depreciation calculation and preparing financial statements.
Students really know "what they knew" when they are done with the exam and hopefully have clarification on what they missed, once the exam was completed. When I assess in the lower level courses, I do not challenge them as much with "something more" than what was in the lesson, but in higher level classes, I like to see if they can give me something more!
I teach writing, so the assessment method that works best in my classes is the essay exam. Students take the essay exam at the end of the quarter after we've covered basic essay format, various modes of exposition, etc. By this point in the quarter, they've also turned in 3 writing assignments and have received feedback from me as well as other writers in the course.
The essay exam is basically a way for the student to show me that they can take a topic (from the one's we've discussed in the 1-2 weeks prior to the exam) and write a complete essay with a thesis statement, topic sentences, and specific examples to prove their points during a specific time period.
Ironically enough, I have found that some students do better on their final essay since it's completely written in class than they have on essays of similar length that they wrote outside of class. I think this might have to do with the fact that they don't have anything distracting them from completing the essay.
I also cover essay exams in my writing classes because I know that some of the students will have to complete essay exams for their core courses. I give them tips for writing a successful response to an essay question and then have them practice doing so with their final exam.
Hi Cheryl - Thanks for your post to the forum. The description you give of your assessments includes some great ideas for kinsthetic learners. Thanks for sharing! Susan
In online teaching we use multiple choice questions on quizzes frequently because students are familiar with this assessment method and quizzes can be scored by the computer giving students their grade instantly. We also use short answer and essay. These offer variety and can allow students to apply higher order learning skills. We also have more creative assessments where students construct a PowerPoint, create a cartoon, write music, etc. By using several assessment methods, more opportunities are available to reach more learning styles.
Hi Rhonda- I'm so glad that you have found this course useful. It's so exciting to be on the verge of teaching - you will touch so many lives! Best wishes for a successful and rewarding career!! Susan
Pop quiz. I know students will have read the chapter prior to my lecture. This also reinforces learning.
