tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35248477.post5526622602080615966..comments2024-03-27T14:20:05.905-04:00Comments on Montclair SocioBlog: Multiple Choice - What Is It Good For?Jay Livingstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06652075579940313964noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35248477.post-449474647409981422009-05-15T23:06:00.000-04:002009-05-15T23:06:00.000-04:00As a student, I hated multiple-choice exams (GRE e...As a student, I hated multiple-choice exams (GRE excluded). As a professor, I've hesitated to use them. Faced with much bigger classes in the upcoming semester, it's heartening to read about your positive experience with mixing group work with multiple choice quizzes.Unbalanced Reactionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13407339711183651108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35248477.post-46677557366544706302009-05-13T23:02:00.000-04:002009-05-13T23:02:00.000-04:00Corey, I've had the same situation and the same fr...Corey, I've had the same situation and the same frustration. I wish I knew the solution. But at least in a small class, you have a chance.Jay Livingstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06652075579940313964noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35248477.post-11388784186960427462009-05-13T10:08:00.000-04:002009-05-13T10:08:00.000-04:00Good post Jay.
I hate multiple choice tests and...Good post Jay. <br /><br />I hate multiple choice tests and I hate grading essays (of any length). At WVU a small class has 50 students and a regular class has 100. (And our intro curriculum, delivered by lecturers, is delivered in auditoriums of 200 - 400). Thus, our students are tested almost exclusively through multiple choice tests. <br /><br />In my advanced classes, I have opted to test using short answer (1 to 2 sentence) and short essay (1 to 2 paragraphs). But, few of my students do well on these without an explicit study guide. The mass education model that many of our institutions perpetuate prepares students to identify discrete factoids which can be discerned through the process of elimination. Many of these students are out to sea when tasked with preparing a synopsis of some idea followed by a critical assessment of its pro's and con's.<br /><br />I've turned to _Teaching Sociology_ and other pedagogy resources to see how I might improve preparing students to do well at the later. Unfortunately there seems to be little out there to instruct the instructors.Coreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00119612449610307692noreply@blogger.com