Methods of teaching introductory psychology: A Canadian survey.

Ross, Abraham S.; Anderson, Rita E.; Gaulton, Rennie

doi:10.1037/h0079911

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 4 publications

(13 reference statements)

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“…The weighting of MC items was especially heavy in larger classes, and in some courses MC items accounted for more than half of the course marks. Thus, MC items are not only widely used, but in many cases they are also a substantial determinant of students' course grades (Ross, Anderson, & Gaulton, 1987;Siegfried, Saunders, Stinar, & Zhang, 1996).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examination of the Quality of Multiple-choice Items on Classroom Tests

DiBattista

Kurzawa

2011

cjsotl-rcacea

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Because multiple-choice testing is so widespread in higher education, we assessed the quality of items used on classroom tests by carrying out a statistical item analysis. We examined undergraduates’ responses to 1198 multiple-choice items on sixteen classroom tests in various disciplines. The mean item discrimination coefficient was +0.25, with more than 30% of items having unsatisfactory coefficients less than +0.20. Of the 3819 distractors, 45% were flawed either because less than 5% of examinees selected them or because their selection was positively rather than negatively correlated with test scores. In three tests, more than 40% of the items had an unsatisfactory discrimination coefficient, and in six tests, more than half of the distractors were flawed. Discriminatory power suffered dramatically when the selection of one or more distractors was positively correlated with test scores, but it was only minimally affected by the presence of distractors that were selected by less than 5% of examinees. Our findings indicate that there is considerable room for improvement in the quality of many multiple-choice tests. We suggest that instructors consider improving the quality of their multiple-choice tests by conducting an item analysis and by modifying distractors that impair the discriminatory power of items.Étant donné que les examens à choix multiple sont tellement généralisés dans l’enseignement supérieur, nous avons effectué une analyse statistique des items utilisés dans les examens en classe afin d’en évaluer la qualité. Nous avons analysé les réponses des étudiants de premier cycle à 1198 questions à choix multiples dans 16 examens effectués en classe dans diverses disciplines. Le coefficient moyen de discrimination de l’item était +0.25. Plus de 30 % des items avaient des coefficients insatisfaisants inférieurs à + 0.20. Sur les 3819 distracteurs, 45 % étaient imparfaits parce que moins de 5 % des étudiants les ont choisis ou à cause d’une corrélation négative plutôt que positive avec les résultats des examens. Dans trois examens, le coefficient de discrimination de plus de 40 % des items était insatisfaisant et dans six examens, plus de la moitié des distracteurs était imparfaits. Le pouvoir de discrimination était considérablement affecté en cas de corrélation positive entre un distracteur ou plus et les résultatsde l’examen, mais la présence de distracteurs choisis par moins de 5 % des étudiants avait une influence minime sur ce pouvoir. Nos résultats indiquent que les examens à choix multiple peuvent être considérablement améliorés. Nous suggérons que les enseignants procèdent à une analyse des items et modifient les distracteurs qui compromettent le pouvoir de discrimination des items

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examination of the Quality of Multiple-choice Items on Classroom Tests

DiBattista

Kurzawa

2011

cjsotl-rcacea

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“…Surveys have indicated that in the vast majority of cases, introductorv psychology professors rely solely on objective tests (Ross, Anderson, 6 Gaulton, 1987). Use of undergraduate TAs provides the option of incorporating short-answer exams and papers into the class.…”

Section: Evaluative Feedbackmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using one's own passion and undergraduate TAs to transform the large-lecture introductory psychology course.

Wortman¹,

Smyth²

Teaching Introductory Psychology: Survival Tips From the Experts.

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Using One? Own Passion and Undergraduate TAs to Transform the large-lecture Introductory Psychology Course y first experience teaching introductory psychology occurred nearly 25 years ago. I was a new faculty member at Northwestern University, and I was asked to teach the introductory course during the winter quarter. I was told that the enrollment would be between 300 and 500 students and that I would have one graduate student teaching assistant (TA). I had virtually no teaching experience while in graduate school. During the fall term, I had struggled with an 80-person introductory social psychology course and was barely able to keep my head above water. The prospect of coming up with an entirely new set of lectures and study materials for the introductory course was daunting. I knew that I was supposed to be getting my research program off the ground, but the teaching was so all-consuming that there was little time for anything else.The Northwestern approach to covering introductory psychology-having a teacher with a microphone confront several hundred students in a lecture hall-is the norm at most schools. Indeed, because of enrollment pressures and constrained resources, it is hard for departments to offer this course any other way. Although I understood the reasons for this pedagogical approach, I nonetheless felt straitjacketed by it. I guess this was because I hoped to accomplish more through my teaching than conveying factual M This chapter represents an active collaboration between Camille B. Wortman and Joshua M. Smyth. Because much of it draws heavily on the personal experiences of Camille B. Wortman, however, sections are written in the first person.

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Annotated Bibliography on the Teaching of Psychology: 1988

Wise

Fulkerson

1989

Teaching of Psychology

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Methods of teaching introductory psychology: A Canadian survey.

Cited by 3 publications

References 4 publications

Examination of the Quality of Multiple-choice Items on Classroom Tests

Examination of the Quality of Multiple-choice Items on Classroom Tests

Using one's own passion and undergraduate TAs to transform the large-lecture introductory psychology course.

Annotated Bibliography on the Teaching of Psychology: 1988

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