I agree with you, things like math should be given as an objective tests because the results are only a certain answer. Classes like HR, English or Literature, subjective evaluations are more appropriate. Also, I believe subjective tests give the students a chance to think and be creative, which is something they don't get a chance to do when taking a mulitple choice test. For MC, it is all about memorizing and regurgitating the information.
How does that affect your work load? Nice uses!
We use all of the different types of questioning. What we select will be reflected by the type of lesson being assessed. For example if the lesson is about Centrifugal Liquid Chillers then the test will be comprised of mostly objective type evaluations such as multiple choice, true/false or fill in the blank. This may include some written type questioning such as "describe four of the eights steps in the start-up sequence. If the lesson is about doing a load calculation for heating and cooling a building. The student will be required to accomplish this when given building structural information about the building and doing the necessary calculations. The results of this type of test should demonstrate the students ability to use formulas and tables correctly. Each student will have a slightly different numerical solution since a student may choose to either round out a decimal factor or not. For a lesson on "Business Applications" a more subjective type of assesment would be apppropriate, like "Write a buisness plan and explain the procedures you will take and how you will set up your company or business" The student is evaluated on how well they use information presented in the unit. Any time we mix essay with objective type questions we try to avoid situations where they can pass the test by ignoring the essays.
Thoughtful answer! How does this translate into an online assessment. Does "online" change these considerations?
This is the part that I am having trouble with. How to translate general assesments done in the classroom to an online format. I have never taught a course online. This course I am teaching will go completely on line early 2012. I had built the course using moodle as the on-line system but the school has contracted another company to develope it under a different system. I am not sure what this company will do with the assessment materials. For moodle I took the lesson quizzes and converted them to macromedia flash quizzes or html interactive quizzes which could be submitted for instructor review and feed back. The reason I am taking these online instructor courses is so I can prepair myself for this online change.
While teaching anatomy and physiology I utilize all forms of questions just to balance the exam as well as expose the students to various ways of answering a question; however, I do mention to my students that the certification exams are multiple choice and timed.
In my online classroom I use a mix of subjective and objective evaluations. Students take a weekly quiz and a final test as part of the objective evaluations. These exams are multiple choice questions that include questions from the lecture, the textbook readings and the exercises that students are asked to complete during the week.
The subjective evaluations include a weekly essay and an open-ended short answer question. These evaluations really ask the student to demonstrate their mastery of the subject. They need to present their knowledge in a clear and logical manner to others.
The combination of objective and subjective evaluations gives me a well-rounded understanding of whether or not the students are meeting the learning objectives of the class.
Using both to assess my students, quick assessments for formative assessments throughout learning unit and more subjective assessments to for summative assessments. This is how I tend to use them but I will use both at times for formative and summative assessements as needed for a particular content or student ability/interest.
I like to use objectie evaluations as part of end of chapter tests. These tests help me guage if the student retained the main components of the chapter. I use open ended questions as part of my lab assignments. Labs are activities that present real life situations and I look for the students to apply some of the things that they learned to the lab. Essays are a much better fit for the labs.
I prefer short answer, "fill in the blank" type questions. They have the advantages of objectivity without giving the answer away, and yet allow for creative answering/thinking/ and subjectivity if the specific answer isn't known.
In the online courses I facilitate, I use subjective evaluations. Actually the university does not utilize objective evaluations (true/false, multiple choice tests, etc). So my assessments align with the policy of the University. The individual projects consist of essay papers or presentations that address real-world situations adapted to the classroom. The discussion boards are evaluated in the same manner, as I consider the quality of content posted and level of engagement in the discussion throughout the unit. Rubrics are posted for students, so they have an opportunity to see how their submissions will be evaluated. I then provide substantive feedback on all submissions, and tie that back to the posted rubric. In the feedback I explain what they did well, and what would benefit from additional development.
In my RN program you must test and prepare for critical thinking and for the upper learning levels of application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. So, I rarely use true/false, but I do use multiple choice and multiple/multiple. I have used essays on many occasions. Although when I have tested in certain fundamentals aspects in nursing, in the beginning levels, you may see some true/false and matching questions, testing for knowledge.
In the clinical setting I do use a mix of open-ended questions, true/false and questions that provide an environment for discussions.
I usually used the objective and subjective evaluations combined in a manner that about 90 percent of them are objectives and 10 percent subjective evaluations because although both are important the objective ones give us more information about the effectiveness of the teaching method
I tend to use a mixture of T/F, and multiple choice because I found out that students are a bit more careful when chosing the answer.
I have used a variety of these methods in my courses. However, I no longer use true/false because I think they are sneaky and often confuse the students. I tend to use open-ended questions in order to measure what a student knows. They may be able to articulate differently than I am asking.
Gretchen,
Open ended questions can be very effective. I like to use rubrics to assess them as well to make sure I am being consistent in the grading as they can be very subjective. I think T/F questions can be designed very well and not be "sneaky" and I have even had students answer True or False and then incorporated an open ended quesiton asking "Why did you choose True or False?" This makes the students defend their choice. You can find out what students know when you aske them to defend their answer instead of just giving them an opportunity to guess T or F. Nice job. Thanks for your input.
I tend to use subjective evaluations, as this requires the students to think and analyze their results more comprehensively! Since I am teaching marketing, I am looking for application of concepts. As such, students must understand the concepts AND apply them well to get credit for a response.
Conni,
With your subject matter, that really does work well.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I try to use a variety of objective evaluations in my quizes and tests. I was initially in a habit of doing all multiple choice and realized the students were getting used to my wording. Changing up the test formats allowed me to ensure they were learning the materail. I rarely use subjective evaluations in examination, but will require an essay for a homework assignment.
