I teach mathematics classes and I have experimented with lots of different exam formats. I have tried to balance the time it takes to grade them with what it actually takes to evaluate whether the students have effectively learned the material. Because of the time it takes to grade them, I have moved away from having the students show every step and giving partial credit for the steps they did correctly. Because I don't think it shows that the students effectively learned the material, I have moved away from multiple choice exams. This has helped me assess the students grasp of the material with the effective use of my time.
Does anyone know of a good website to use to make games; for example, word search.
James, Sometimes when you want to change people and their behavior, you have to change policy. It sounds like you did just that with your one point deduction system.
Dr. Melissa Read
I teach four seperate classes ,I use either short answer or multiple choice for all my exams. I teach the same classes each semester, I use the same exams, and the same foremat for didactic. Sometimes I vary with word games or short topical films
I prefer multiple choice quizzes. This allows me to use a punched answer key. A second great strategy is let my wife do the grading.
Scantrons are a great idea if you have access to the machine; also I liked the idea of having students underline the important part of the answers on essay exams.
Brandi, Sounds like you are in a wonderful position, being able to leverage so many existing teaching materials from your colleagues. I'm glad to hear you accepted their help. Some instructors are too proud to accept help from others, and this often causes a lot of unnecessary rework.
Dr. Melissa Read
Paula, Go ahead and give it a try. It can save a tremendous amount of time in both question writing and grading. That leaves more time for you to do the things that matter most in your role - like spending more time with students.
Dr. Melissa Read
In our school we have a time limit for each lab task but the students seem to have a hard time meeting it because they walk off to see there friends in lab so I inform them that they lose one point off each lab task every day they are late plus what they answer wrong. That seems to help so i can grade the in a timely manner
Shannon, Test makers combined with scantron machines are really the perfect pairing. With both of them, we save time in test production as well as grading. This kind of automation allows us to dedicate more quality time to our students - like in office hours.
Dr. Melissa Read
Keeping my grade sheets to one page, works really well. I'm always thinking through the process of grading,so that in the end, the grading goes quickly. Thanks Dr.Read!
I have yet to try online testing, but definitely want to head that direction!
While I understand the pricipals that make grading more streamlined, we have very stringent guidlelines on the tests that we can give.
I will use test makers and the scantron machine for grading. This way only takes a few minutes to create a test and grade the test as well.
Bonnie, Excellent to hear. These tools are made to be easy for you and at a guess, they will give you are real turbo boost when it comes to testing and grading.
Dr. Melissa Read
I'm going to look into the online testing sights that were offered in this module, as well as the discussion groups. These tech tools seem extremely easy and helpful and the way students are now with the phones, it seems to be a very easy way to connect with them! I love these ideas!!
I am currently teaching a new course that I haven't taught before. Everything is new: the lectures, the assignments, the assessment. My collegues have helped me out tremendously with their syllabi, homework and in-class assignments, quizzes, and lectures! All I needed to do was gather everything and put my own spin on things. It made things much easier. Now I spend more time with my students helping them learn than I do with the assessment itself. I use a scantron for quizzes and tests (questions are usually multiple choice or true/false). I have created universal rubrics for written assignments and presentations. I think I will continue to revise my grading as time goes along, but the methods mentioned in this course coincide with what I already do!
Diane, This sounds like a great new approach. I think you will be amazed at how much time you can save with automatic test maker functionality. With the time you save, you will be able to focus more on other, more important things to enhance student learning and assessment.
Dr. Melissa Read
Since we have obtained a scantron machine, grading has become much simpler. I rarely give a test or quiz that I don't utilize this. As for the research project that each class is required, I have begun to utilize dustball.com to check for plagarism. I also have begun to have students submit the written portion to that site as well as send it to me electronically so I can verify it easily myself.
I usually type and create all of my own exams. This is time consuming and stressful. Because of the courses taught at my college change frequently and use different books alot it is hard to create a generalized class format.
I downloaded and signed up for the EasyTestMaker website suggested in this module; I really think this will help me a great deal with time, formating and creation of assignments and exams.
