Name
Evaluating Multiple Choice Questions for Readiness Assurance Tests and Application Activities
Date & Time
Saturday, March 14, 2020, 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Cortny Williams Julie Estis
Description
Roberson & Franchini (2014) proposed five possible uses of MCQs in TBL. First, MCQs may be useful as 'naive' tasks presented before the RAT to stimulate interest/ engagement. Second, MCQs may be useful as knowledge/ comprehension RAT questions (@ 2/3 of a typical RAT). Third, MCQs may be useful as entry-level application RAT questions (@ 1/3 of a typical RAT). Fourth, MCQs may be useful as low-level informed Application Activities. Fifth, MCQs may be useful as high-level informed Application Activities. Because they have many important uses TBL, instructors must be able to evaluate MCQs for quality, for cognitive level, and for place-of-best-fit in TBL. That is, instructors must know the 'rules' for writing high quality/ varying cognitive level MCQs and decide whether available MCQs are of high, medium, or low quality. In addition, they must understand Bloom's Taxonomy and determine the cognitive level of available MCQs. Specifically, instructors must be able to determine whether MCQs assess the knowledge/ comprehension, application/ analysis, or synthesis/ evaluation levels. Finally, instructors must be knowledgeable about the purpose/ makeup of RATs and Application Activities and use that knowledge to decide the place-of-best-fit is for available MCQs. The Workshop will be conducted using a TBL format. Attendees will be provided with pre-workshop reading assignments related to evaluating MCQs and using them in RATs and Application Activities. The Workshop will begin with an IRAT and a TRAT and will continue with a series of Application Activities. Application Activities will support participants in evaluating the quality, cognitive level, and place-of- best-fit for selected MCQs; and provide practice in creating MCQs for their courses.  By the end of the workshop, attendees will be able to evaluate the quality, the cognitive level, and place-of-best-fit (in RATs and Application Activities) for MCQs and create MCQs for their courses.