I generally use objective evaluation questions in the lower level courses or courses where a student needs to first establish a baseline level of knowledge such as medical terminology or introduction to healthcare delivery systems. Objective evaluations are helpful early on in these types of courses because it helps the student create a foundation for the content.
Subjective evaluations are generally used in the higher level courses and with content where I know the student will have to have a higher degree of knowledge in order to apply the information to real world experiences. Course related to Information Systems, Medical Law and ethics lend themselves well to subjective evaluations specifically problem solving scenarios.
Aundrea,
What an interesting post. Your assessment strategies give all students ample opportunities to showcase their learning.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Heather,
You are right, you want to make sure you provide students multiple ways to show their learning by achieving the outcomes described in the course.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Eric,
Great post! You don't want to measure their learning just by objective questions, you want the students to show you want they can do. That may be through projects or discussion where they have to apply their learning in a variety of real world ways.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Richard,
Really? I don't know if it is that simple. I find students will talk around open ended question and then question your grading. I do think you should provide ample opportunities to display the their knowledge in accordance with the objectives.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Juan ,
Great point. We tend to think of assessments as tests but our evaluation of knowledge can take the form of discussion boards or projects. There should be variety.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Karen,
Great post. We tend to dismiss the importance of the lower level learning but you are right, students need the baseline knowledge such as terms or broad based knowledge. Education is building on knowledge and you need a good foundation.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I have used both - and as learned (my ah ha moment!) in this session the choice for objective and subjective should match the learning objective. So my goal is to review the classes I am developing and look at the Learning Objectives and devising the appropriate evaluation based on the Bloom's level of the Learning Objective. In those areas where objective evaluations occur I want to use questions that match the learning objectives and the programmatic requirements of the accrediting agency.
Mary Kay,
Sounds like you have a plan. Your objectives should drive your assessment.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I use subjective evaluations in the form of discussion boards and essays. In order to ensure that the objectives are clear for students and that I provide consistent grading, I provide a grading rubric for each assessment. I believe that it is important for me to provide feedback and address how well my students met the objectives as well as addressing areas that need improvement.
Thank you,
Dawn
Having objective evaluations are important. These types of evaluations can be data driven. Granted there will always be a subjective component to an evaluation such as tone, willingness to collaborate and enthusasium. However, the driving force by any evaluation should be based upon something that can be proven. With this being said, objective is the way to go.
I use both. I believe both are important to learning process. The decision to use one or another depends of the objectives of learning.
I've used evaluations to help a student engage in a 2 way conversation and increase the learning process. This allows for students to not only understand the material but apply it and demonstrate competency.
Thank you,
Mr. Roark
In my class, we use subjective evaluations which consist of open-ended questions. We also have Rubrics that are used for grading purposes. The students know what they will be graded on and how many points are allotted for that question. This seems to work well unless they don't understand the questions posed in the assignments. I always offer to answer any questions they have about the assignments if they don't understand something. Because of this method, we have to ensure that the questions are well written so there is no misunderstanding about what is being asked. That makes it challenging for us as instructors.
I have used both in assessing the student skill level. I teach two levels of training with the objective testing in the lower skill level having less complexed multiple choice questions. My subjective testing is more in depth which allows me the feedback I need to see their hands on ability and how they tie in the theory behind the actual.
I have used both in the past. Currently, my classes are a mix of objective quizzes and assignments, usually research papers. In my previous on ground classes, my tests were a mixture: about 2/3 objective, with two or so short answers, and one long essay. I often provided a choice for the essay, so that students chose one out of two or three options.
Sometimes in an online class, subjective essays tests are more difficult to incorporate as an assessment tool. Our current quiz engine is system scored, so it does not allow for instructor evaluation or essays.
Therefore to evaluate critical thinking and synthesis / use of concepts, we are using research paper assignments that are based on a series of questions to answer. So, in a way this is like a series of essay questions tied together into a well constructed paper.
All of my tests are open book, again because it is difficult to use "closed book" techniques online. Lyn Hoffmann
I do not tend to use many objective questions, as I teach math. I like to see the student's work and explanations, so my tests tend to be of the subjective nature. This also enables me to give feedback on the part(s) that they answer incorrectly.
Once, in a great while, I may have 1 - 2 objective questions on a test.
Do any of you also teach math?
Sincerely,
Marjorie Thrall Moller
Kelly,
My university tends to use subjective tools primarily for evaluations. We used Case Study and Research papers to evaluate concepts learned.
However, I do try to use Objective tools in the formative assessment process (along with the other tools mentioned in this course). I believe that it would be a good practice if we did start to use objective tools (in addition to or our use of subjective tools)in our evaluation process.
Thanks
Jim
Nicole,
Thank you very much for your post. I am interested in knowing if you provide feedback with your objective assessment. If you do, how do you provide it?
Very nice post
Jim
