Multiple choice questions are, essentially, a test of
recognition. They do not elicit full recall from memory. That’s not to say they
are not useful but it does say that they are of limited use.. In practice, it
is active recall that really matters in knowledge and skills, not recognition. So
why not move up the assessment ladder and consider open response?
1. Tests recall not
recognition
Open-response test items ask for recall of the actual text. This
is very different from the recognition that multiple choice questions demand.
It’s a step up in terms of competence.
We can distinguish between four levels of learning:
Familiar
– knew but can’t now remember
Recognised
– correctly recognise answer in a multiple choice question
Recalled
– recall with effort but without help and takes time
Automatic
– immediate, effortless, high-performance recall
It is quick and ‘Automatic’ recall that is the goal of
high-performance learning and expert ability.
2. Reinforces
learning
Open-response takes cognitive effort and the very act of
recalling knowledge reinforces that knowledge in memory. Active recall, pulling something out of memory, not just
recognising something from a list, improves future performance, something we
have known for a century (Gates 1917). The act of active recall develops and
strengthens memory. It also improves the process of recall in ways that passive recall – reading, listening and
watching do not. So retrieval in itself, prevents memory loss (Bjork 1975) and
the more we recall, the more recallable memories become.
3. Accept synonyms
You may accept the word ‘synonym’ as the correct answer but
should you not also accept ‘substitute’ or ‘replacement”? Always consider
correct synonyms as correct answers, unless you’re asking for that one,
specific word.
4. Accept common
misspellings
Unless you are also testing for spelling, accept common
misspellings, especially double letters, silent letters, capitalisation and
common mistakes. You may also want to accept both British and American
spellings. Consider also typos, especially transposition errors i.e. when
someone either accidentally types in two letter the wrong way round (a common
typing error). Ntoe htat trnaspoesd lettres aer usaully tpying errosr adn hte
maennig remians intcat.
5. Feedback on common
misconceptions
For example, if you are doing a medical test and you’ve
typed in virus, as opposed to bacterium/bacteria, it may be useful to point out
that this is a common error in diagnosis, and that it seriously affects the
recommended treatment.
6. Provide letter
count
Some like to leave the filed blank or have a continuous line
where the answer is to be typed. Others like to provide small dashes, so that
the learner knows what’s expected in terms of letter length. It depends on how
tough you want to be. In formative assessment, I prefer dashes.
A _____ is
a small infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of other
organisms.
A ----- is
a small infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of other
organisms.
7. First letter hint
First letter hints avoid the wild guessing but you must be
aware that you’re not testing for full automatic recall.
A v---- is
a small infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of other
organisms.
8. Meaningful hints
You may want to provide meaningful semantic hints, as open
input can be a challenge. Moving the learner meaningfully towards typing in the
right answer can reinforce learning. If the answer is virus and the learner has
typed in ‘germs’ or ‘disease’ or ‘infection’, you may want to clarify their
mistake. Open-response is often useful for this tight form of assessment around
conceptual knowledge. For example. Knowing the difference between a molecule,
mixture and compound in chemistry.
9. Timed responses
To up the stakes, and distinguish between recall and automatic recall, add a timer.
Automatic recall can be tested by putting a time limit on the answer.
10. Provide a get out
Whatever check and feedback technique(s) you use, make sure
the learner has a chance, eventually, to get out of an endless loop of
guessing. Given the mathematical possibility that there are millions of options
for even relatively short words, don’t trap them into guessing and trying
forever. You do have to either provide letter-by-letter reveals or eventually
provide enough information for them to get the right answer or the answer
itself Note that it may still be important for the learner to type that correct
answer in, as this is an important act of reinforcement.
Conclusion
I have spent some time building an open response tool that
creates e-learning on the fly. You simply put in your text (sentence,
paragraph, document, paper, company policy, textbook - whatever) and it
automatically creates e-learning with formative, open-input assessment. It also
links out to Wikipedia for additional information and does the same, creating
e-learning on the fly. If you want to know more about this automatic creation
of e-learning tool, contact me here.
Bibliography
Bjork R.A. (1975) Retrieval as a memory solidifier: an
interpretation of negative recency and related phenomena. In RL Solso (Ed.)
Information processing and cognition (123-124) Hillsdle, NJ: Erbaum
Gates A.I. (1917) Recitation as a factor in memorizing.
Arch. Phschol. 6, 40.
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