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Multiple Choice Test (multiple + choice_test)
Selected AbstractsIntegrating pharmacology topics in high school biology and chemistry classes improves performanceJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 9 2003Rochelle D. Schwartz-Bloom Although numerous programs have been developed for Grade Kindergarten through 12 science education, evaluation has been difficult owing to the inherent problems conducting controlled experiments in the typical classroom. Using a rigorous experimental design, we developed and tested a novel program containing a series of pharmacology modules (e.g., drug abuse) to help high school students learn basic principles in biology and chemistry. High school biology and chemistry teachers were recruited for the study and they attended a 1-week workshop to learn how to integrate pharmacology into their teaching. Working with university pharmacology faculty, they also developed classroom activities. The following year, teachers field-tested the pharmacology modules in their classrooms. Students in classrooms using the pharmacology topics scored significantly higher on a multiple choice test of basic biology and chemistry concepts compared with controls. Very large effect sizes (up to 1.27 standard deviations) were obtained when teachers used as many as four modules. In addition, biology students increased performance on chemistry questions and chemistry students increased performance on biology questions. Substantial gains in achievement may be made when high school students are taught science using topics that are interesting and relevant to their own lives. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 40: 922,938, 2003 [source] Development and evaluation of the conceptual inventory of natural selectionJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 10 2002Dianne L. Anderson Natural selection as a mechanism of evolution is a central concept in biology; yet, most nonbiology-majors do not thoroughly understand the theory even after instruction. Many alternative conceptions on this topic have been identified, indicating that the job of the instructor is a difficult one. This article presents a new diagnostic test to assess students' understanding of natural selection. The test items are based on actual scientific studies of natural selection, whereas previous tests have employed hypothetical situations that were often misleading or oversimplified. The Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection (CINS) is a 20-item multiple choice test that employs common alternative conceptions as distractors. An original 12-item version of the test was field-tested with 170 nonmajors in 6 classes and 43 biology majors in 1 class at 3 community colleges. The test scores of one subset of nonmajors (n,=,7) were compared with the students' performances in semistructured interviews. There was a positive correlation between the test scores and the interview scores. The current 20-item version of the CINS was field-tested with 206 students in a nonmajors' general biology course. The face validity, internal validity, reliability, and readability of the CINS are discussed. Results indicate that the CINS will be a valuable tool for instructors. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 39: 952,978, 2002 [source] Matching/mismatching revisited: an empirical study of learning and teaching stylesBRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, Issue 1 2001Nigel Ford This paper presents results of a research project that explored the relationship between matching and mismatching instructional presentation style (breadth-first and depth-first) with students' cognitive style (field-dependence/-independence) in a computer-based learning environment. 73 postgraduate students were asked to create Web pages using HTML, using instructional materials that were either matched or mismatched with their cognitive styles. Significant differences in performance on a multiple choice test of conceptual knowledge were found for students learning in matched and mismatched conditions. Performance in matched conditions was significantly superior to that in mismatched conditions. However, significant effects were found for gender, matching mainly affecting male students. Performance on a practical test of Web page creation was not linked to matching or mismatching, but was linked to an interaction between gender and instructional presentation style. The findings provide support for the notion that matching and mismatching can have significant effects on learning outcomes. The paper concludes with suggestions for further research. [source] Prospect theory analysis of guessing in multiple choice testsJOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DECISION MAKING, Issue 4 2002Yoella Bereby-Meyer Abstract The guessing of answers in multiple choice tests adds random error to the variance of the test scores, lowering their reliability. Formula scoring rules that penalize for wrong guesses are frequently used to solve this problem. This paper uses prospect theory to analyze scoring rules from a decision-making perspective and focuses on the effects of framing on the tendency to guess. In three experiments participants were presented with hypothetical test situations and were asked to indicate the degree of certainty that they thought was required for them to answer a question. In accordance with the framing hypothesis, participants tended to guess more when they anticipated a low grade and therefore considered themselves to be in the loss domain, or when the scoring rule caused the situation to be framed as entailing potential losses. The last experiment replicated these results with a task that resembles an actual test. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||