UK Centre for Materials Education
Working with you to enhance the student experience
Working with you to enhance the student experience
This project aimed to use Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) developed using QuestionMark Perception software as a teaching tool. The use of this software to develop MCQs was not new, it was already in use an as assessment tool in the Maths department at Loughborough. However, the PI incorporated elements (for example, a hint button) which would help it to be used more effectively as a teaching tool. These have now become standard elements of the software in use. However, because the software was essentially designed as an assessment package rather than a teaching tool, it was not as stable as it potentially should have been. Teething problems in the formative stages of this project mainly involved software issues in designing elements that would enable it to be used as a teaching tool (e.g. the hint buttons). The question bank also had to be designed in such a manner that wide range of question types would be available (Multiple choice, Multiple response, Numeric, text match, ranking) so as to eliminate guessing, and to ensure that students of all abilities were catered for. The coding was also done in such a manner that the student could be presented with a set of questions randomly selected from various question blocks, so that no test would be exactly the same.
The project was piloted for use in Statistics and Classical Thermodynamics modules. There were 7 question banks for the Stats module, and web-based question packages were used as a means of formative assessment. There were 5 question banks developed for the Thermodynamics module, which was used specifically as a teaching tool in tutorial sessions. For the Thermodynamics module, the MCQs constitute part of the training and coursework, and are followed by a formal test. In the Stats module the MCQs are complementary with lab work. The MCQs are not used as a final year tool, as coursework they constitute 20% of total marks for 1st year Materials students, and 50% of the total for 1st year Design and Technology students.
There is a strong possibility that the success of this mode of assessment and training in the Statistics and Thermodynamics modules may encourage newer members of staff to incorporate it in other modules. There is also the potential that this mode of learning and assessment may enable it to be used more effectively as a tool for distance learning.
