Speaker
Aaron Slepkov
(Trent University)
Description
Multiple-choice (MC) exams are becoming more prevalent in physics courses as student populations rise and instructional resources dwindle. Particularly in STEM disciplines we would like to find ways to test deeper levels of understanding or knowledge integrations than are typically afforded by multiple-choice tests. With simple immediate-feedback tools we can construct new types of multiple-choice assessment structures that test both higher-level thinking, and knowledge integration. Such “Integrated Testlets” (ITs) also add the benefits of simple and valid granting of partial credit, as well as turning a final exam into a formative assessment opportunity. In this talk, I will touch on the antagonism between constructed-response and multiple-choice testing in physics, I will outline how ITs resolve some of this antagonism, I will summarize recent data on the validity of partial credit in MC testing, and I will briefly review the development and current usage of ITs.
Author
Aaron Slepkov
(Trent University)
Co-author
Dr
Ralph Shiell
(Trent University)
