Exam Questions..which is better?
When giving exams, what do you feel are the best teaching and learning techniques for giving exams? I use a combination of short answer, true/false, multiple choice and matching. Most of my students cringe when they see short answer, but I truly feel in giving these questions, they have to remember and learn the material.
I've long been of the belief that true/false and multiple choice exams are just too easy; I know that, when I was in skills, I was always psyched when I was given an exam in either of these format, for that very reason: it was way easier. Even if I didn't actually know the material, I could generally use a bit of process-of-elimination problem-solving, and then guess the rest. I may not've always done well, per se, with this method (note: this was not the norm for my academic career, but it did come up from time to time) but it beat the heck out of the 0% I would've gotten on a short-answer or essay test on the same material.
Put another way, don't T/F and multiple-choice exams test lower levels of learning (on Bloom's Taxonomy, for instance) than short-answer of essay tests?
Now, no doubt the T/F or multiple choice exams are quicker and easier to grade, but is it really all about the instructors' convenience?
While I was completing this module I was surprised they advocated to not do solely essays, and was also surprised to see they expected the students to underline the important words. I would think we would want them to be the most succinct in writing their answers and so underlining key terms would be unnecessary.
I also was told recently that giving multiple choice exams wasn't always seen as upholding academic rigor. I admit in my lower level classes I primarily assess using multiple choice, however, they also write a paper and do research presentations. Thoughts?
I agree with Gary, due to different student abilities this is a good way to address their personal learning styles. It is also a good way to state the questions sometimes two different way to make sure they knew the answers.
I use that same sistem and it work for me.How I know so because when my students muve on to another class the Chef instructor feels that those student have being well preper for the next leble.
i feel a combination works best
I agree with you. We need exercises and exams that help the development of effective communication skills, critical thinking and critical analysis, and it is my opinion, that true/false, fill in the blank and multiple choice exams do not satisfy the needs of our students. While they may be easy to grade, they fall short in developing the skills our student are lacking.
From my perspective, I, also, do not think giving computerized assignments and exams are good ideas for effective communication skills and critical thinking. Students must learn to interact effectively with others and develop critical thinking skills, and need to "stretch" themselves out of their comfort zones to learn the critical skills they are lacking. Most of my students have been playing/working on a computer almost 24/7 since they could sit at a computer and this is one of the reasons they lack the skills that are necessary for success in the professional and personal world.
Gary,
As an oral communication instructor, I've notice that effective communication skills, critical thinking and critical analysis are lacking in our students. Exams should encourage the development of these skills. True/false and fill in the blank exams do not encourage the development of these skills.
I teach paralegals, so almost all of our work is text- and language-based. There was a time when I used multiple choice with 100-level students, multiple-choice and short answer with 200-level students, and switched completely to short essay and essay tests for upper-level students. Though I may still use some multiple choice questions, I have switched almost entirely to short answer, recall, and short essay questions for 100- and 200-level students, and short essay and essay for upper-level students. This requires the student to draw on the entirety of her education and to critically think and to write well. Neither life nor the law is multiple-choice. When I do use multiple-choice questions, the questions and answer choices are usually longer than the short answer and short essay questions and answers. This requires critical reading skills. None of this helps streamline my grading process, I realize. But for training law students on substantive knowledge with exam-based assessments, I accept the time limitations. The only way I've found to help streamline my grading is to have the students do practical assessments prior to exams. This helps cement the substantive knowledge and makes their answers "cleaner" and allows me to grade exams more quickly.
As for class prep, I find that I am always changing my lesson plans and exams either to try to be a better instructor or to keep up with changes in law-related knowledge and technology. Students are seeing the benefits of this effort, but I don't think I'm streamlining anything. This module has given me interesting insight.
i have a similar exam for my students, I like it that way because it gives all of them a variety of ways to come up with the awnswes
I find that a combination works best because it really does show critical thinking and retention of the material far better than mere memorization of terms.
