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First quiz grades are in and I'm pleased that they are good but not *suspiciously* good!
If anyone's looking for a student-friendly way to increase academic integrity online, lemme share how I handle multiple choice questions...
If anyone's looking for a student-friendly way to increase academic integrity online, lemme share how I handle multiple choice questions...
Credit for this btw goes to an idea from the book "Effective Teaching: A guide for community college instructors" that I read as an assignment for a faculty development course at @mccc!
It recommended adding an optional item for students to explain their answer for MC questions.
It recommended adding an optional item for students to explain their answer for MC questions.
Even if a student chose the wrong answer, they could get half credit if their written explanation showed they understood the concept and just got vocab mixed up or circled the wrong letter! Sometimes students would even correct their own mistake as they wrote out their thoughts.
I got good responses to this for face-to-face quizzes, so it came along for the online transition last spring. All of my MC questions are actually formatted as short answer questions.
Instead of clicking a bubble, they type their letter choice and optionally explain why!
Instead of clicking a bubble, they type their letter choice and optionally explain why!
Now I get to hear students' voices more in their answers, AND because I have to grade them manually they don't get immediate feedback to pass on to someone else taking the quiz at the same time. Plus I'm giving them an extra chance instead of taking something away.
This is the example I use to show students what to expect on Blackboard btw. This student would get half credit for having a good scientific reason for their answer and just mixing up the exact numbers!
So this is just one thing that works only for smaller quizzes and manageable class sizes, but dang I really like it for reducing my headaches and just letting students do their thing during a pandemic!
Oh and forgot to mention this is combined with large randomized question pools and only letting students see one question at a time without backtracking for integrity too!
