Dr. Wilkinson,
We use both objective and subjective assessments in the mathematics course at the Calculus and College Algebra level.
The objective assessments are multiple choice selections. However, there is always a posed problem to solve first, and then 1-2 sheets of work on paper are needed to arrive at the answer. It is not just a “read and select†process. The multiple choice answers are all set up using common mistakes in the work, so even though the student finds an answer choice that matches his and clicks on it gleefully, it may still be completely wrong! The advantage to the objective evaluation is that no instructor bias is present,
We also use "essay†type questions in a Discussion Board thread, One example would be to calculate the BMI of a famous person (or yourself), and then find for the given weight, what height the person would have to be to fall into one of several weight/height categories. The ‘essay†part comes in when they need to understand the formula, and then search where the formula came from. The discussion can be fairly trivial at this point, or the better students can discover that the BMI formula actually came from a Belgium Mathematician Adolphe Quetelet (1796 – 1874) as a result for general population studies and was never intended for individual usage.
However, doctors hijacked it and starting making tables of the results and then telling everyone whether their BMI was good or not. That makes no sense as it doesn’t account for body types and muscle mass.
This is the kind of discussion I want to see coming from the math students, and enables me to really assess whether they are learning to take the “next step†and actually understand what they have learned and when to question what the mathematics is showing. The grading can be quite subjective on this one!
Comments?
Anthony
Samantha,
I agree with you. The more varied your assessments are, the better assessment you have of the student and youl
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Hello Professor
As a course developer, I embed both objective and subjective assessments in my courses. This to me is the most comprehensive way to make sure the students are comprehending the materials in the curriculum.
Samantha Carlo
Penelope,
True, I am much more project driven assessment than testing. I tend to me more of a realistic assessment person as it better reflects what students will do in the workplace.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Heather,
You subject matter really does need a more subjective way of evaluating. I know there are rules of design but you need to see how students work within those perimeters.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Nicole,
I like your plan. It is that mixture we have talked about that can provide reach feedback for you and the student.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I prefer to use research assignments and essays as it gives the student a chance to explain the subject matter in a way that they see things rather than "teach to the test".
I use a combination of both, focusing the objective evaluation to assessing formative knowledge, and a more complex, subjective evaluation as a summative evaluation. The objective evaluations generally come in the form of bi-weekly quizzes that the students can take as many times as necessary, with the goal being to get all questions correct, and have a solid understanding of the topic and information.
For the summative evaluation, it is generally in the form of a final project. I teach graphic and web design, so the final project is used to gauge the culmination of skills learned over the course. The guidelines of the project provided at the beginning of the project include with objectives clearly outlined, time frame, limitations of medium, and a complete rubric.
In my courses, I use a combination of objective and subjective evaluations but subjective evaluations are used more frequently. Most of my evaluations are performance based and rubrics are provided to students prior to completing the assessment. For example, in my web design course, I have students build a complete website that adheres to a set number of criteria. In the weeks leading up to the performance students receive a few multiple choice evaluations. After completing the module I can see where more objective evaluations can be included.
Karen,
Sounds like you have a solid plan. You do hope they take the feedback and make changes. That is the biggest challenge!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I have used both in a variety of formats in my courses.
Objective: have used multiple choice quizzes and final exams. One of the more fun activities that I used in lieu of a graded quiz was the use of Socrative polling process. At the beginning of each class, the class and I used Socrative with my multiple choice questions so that we could all see how well concepts were understood. Socrative provides a bar graph which identifies the number of responses for each of the multiple choice answers. It was a very helpful assessment of student learning.
Subjective: all of my courses include a paper which is written in sections. The final paper is built section by section. Each section is submitted for feedback. Hopefully the student incorporates recent feedback in the next assignment so that by the time the final paper is submitted, it should be a very robust document.
samia,
It seems to be easier to use subjective evaluation to measure transference of theory to real world. The objectives should drive the evaluation.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
samia,
That is reasonable. Does your workload play a role in the decision? (There is nothing wrong with that).
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Nicole, in my original post I did mention that there is a tendency to use objective assessments for review purposes in the associate courses. There is no doubt that as an instructor the objective assessments are easier to handle.
For feedback and rubric purposes I prefer the subjective evaluations because they do assess the foundational general education criteria, plus ctitical thinking and problem solving, and the ability of the learner to run with the theory and tie it in to real world scenarios.
Samia
Dr. W
As a facilitator of grad and ungrad classes, I believe that the use of objective evaluations was predominant in the undergrad and for review purposes.Subjective evaluations were used in the bachelor and master level courses.
Samia
Lois,
That is a problem! It is important use a variety of assessments to evaluate learning. I hope that your LMS improves!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Lois,
Quizzes are an effective way to communicate to students important information they should learn. There is research that determined quizzes actually guided students in the learning as it was their guide to what was important; and the students actually liked it.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Perry,
You are right. It give students the criteria upfront. It does help you explain the students when they disagree with a grade.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Douglas,
As far as quizzes and examinations my platform also only allows for objective evaluation, but I get around this by including assignments that are subjective evaluation of the course learning outcomes. I am able to put in a rubric to make grading more consistent and easier and I have a way to provide the students with detailed instructions and rubrics.
Online platforms can be limiting, but there are some ways around that. I hope you are able to evaluate your students through assignments that are subjective evaluation.
Lois
I use quizzes each week in my course as objective evaluations. The quizzes are multiple choice and focused on the reading and lectures. The students may take these quizzes 2 times, so it actually adds to their learning.
I do not have tests that are subjective, but utilize assignments as a form of subjective evaluation. Students are provided with detailed instructions and the rubric so they are aware of the evaluation criteria. The evalution focuses on the course student learning outcomes and content covered. These evaluations require research of the topics, problem solving, and application of the material. I give 3 assignments in the course and these progress to include all outcomes by the end of the course.
Lois
