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 Topic
C5: Developing Definition Test Questions
Introduction
How to use test questions to make the
students become accountable for their learning.
How to construct definition test questions.
How to test for prerequisite vocabulary knowledge.
Teaching suggestions
| How to use test questions
to make the students accountable for their learning. |
Telling a student he or
she is not learning the information in the class is of no value
to this student. The student already knows this.
What you should do as an instructor
is inform each student who is not learning why they are not learning.
Then you can tell them what they must
do in order to learn the information in your course.
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Students should not be forced to guess what will
be on a test. An instructor should give his or her students
the information or objectives that must be mastered in order to
pass a test. Then, the instructor should develop the test
questions from this information or objectives.
One type of question that should be on every test
is questions that measure the student's knowledge of the definition
of the terms introduced and the ability to recognize examples of
these terms.
If the student knows he or she will be given questions
requiring knowledge of the terms' definitions covered in the course
and be required to recognize examples of these terms on a test,
he or she will know to study the definitions of the terms introduced
in the course and learn to recognize examples of them if he or
she expects to pass.
If a test is designed so that there are separate
scores for the definition and/or example questions, both the instructor
and the student will know if the definition of the terms introduced
are being learned. When this is done a test then becomes
a learning diagnostic and prescription instrument.
Students who have not learned the definitions of
the terms introduced in a course will be shown why they are unable
to understand and learn the information covered in the course.
By having definition and example questions on every
test, a large part of the accountability for student success is
shifted from the instructor to the student.
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How to construct definition test questions.
A definition test question gives one or two parts of the
definition in the question and the other part or parts in the answers. In
a multiple choice question, the question part is called the stem.
The possible answers to the question are called the distracters.
Before constructing a test question, an instructor has
to make two major decisions. First, before developing a definition
question, it must decided what will be in the stem of the question: term
being defined, classification, or identifying characteristics.
Second, it must be decided what type of question is going
to used: multiple choice, true or false, matching, or fill-in-blank.
While knowledge of any definition and example can be measured
on almost any type of question, a multiple choice question should be
used for most definition and example questions.
The definition of the different kinds of small groups will
be used in the examples of the different kinds of test questions that
can be used to measure knowledge of a term's definition.
A primary group is
a small group of people whom we associate with by living together
with them.
A casual group is
a small group of people whom we associate with for companionship
and friendship.
A therapeutic group is
a small group of people who are interested in changing their behavior,
values, and attitudes.
A problem-solving group is
a small group of people who have a specific goal of finding a solution
to a specific problem.
An educational group is
a small group of people who are interested in becoming educated on
a certain topic.
Multiple Choice Questions
Question gives: Term
Response requires: Knowing the term's classification
and identifying characteristic
By giving only the term being defined in the stem of the
question, changes in both the classification and identifying characteristics
given in the responses are used as distracters.
A casual group is
the...
a. Small group of people with whom a person lives
b. Large group of people with whom a person works
c. Large group of people we know
d. Small group of people who are companions
and friends
Question gives: Term and its classification
Response requires: Knowing the term's identifying
characteristics
By having both the term and its classification in the
stem, fewer changes can be made in the distracters.
A casual group is a small
group of people who...
a. live together
b. meet to become educated on a certain topic
c. want to solve a specific problem
d. come together for companionship and friendship
Question gives: Term's classification
and identifying characteristics
Response requires: Knowing term
A small group of people
who associate for friendship and companionship is called...
a. problem solving
b. primary
c. educational
d. causal
True or False Questions
Question gives: Term Being Defined
Response requires: Knowing the term's classification
and identifying characteristic
A true or false question is best used when there are only
two possible alternatives. It has the advantage of being very easy
to construct. However, a multiple choice question probably is a better
type of question for knowledge of a term's definition.
True or False – A
casual group is a small group of people who associate together for
companionship and friendship.
True or False – A
group that comes together to solve a problem is called an educational
group.
Matching Questions
Question gives: Term Being Defined
Response requires: Matching identifying characteristic
to the correct term
When there are several terms that have the same classification,
matching questions can be made from the identifying characteristics of
the terms. However, matching questions should not be used for terms
that have a different classification.
| Directions: Match the identifying characteristic
to the correct term. |
| _1.Primary |
a. become educated |
| _2.Casua |
b. solve a specific problem |
| _3.Therapeutic |
c. changing behavior, value, and attitudes |
| _4.Problem-solving |
d. companionship and friendship |
| _5.Educational |
e. live together |
Fill-In-The-Blank
Question gives: Identifying Characteristic[s]
Response requires: Recalling the correct term
A fill-in-the-blank question is similar to a well-stated
multiple choice question without the responses given as distracters.
The student must recall the term being defined.
A fill-in-the-blank question has the following advantages:
- It can be constructed quickly without having to create
distracters
- Student must recall the correct term without the advantage
of being able to find clues in the responses given as distracters.
- Sometime it is difficult to construct a multiple-choice
question without making the answer obvious. Since there is no
answer in a fill-in-the-blank question, this type of question eliminates
this kind of problem.
It is always best to start the question with the identifying
characteristic(s) and have the term being defined at the end.
A group of people who come together
to solve a problem is called a ___________.
How to Test for Prerequisite Knowledge
It is helpful to have a few terms on your test that measure
the knowledge of the definition of the terms used in the new definitions
introduced in your course. This will tell you if your students are properly
prepared for your class.
A student who learns the definition of the new terms introduced
but cannot understand the information given in the course might not know
the definition of some of the terms used in the definition. In
other words, this student is just parroting back the definition without
understand it.
Read the following definition of a lepidosiren:
A lepidosiren is a lungfish with an eel-like
shape that is found in swamps and stagnant waters in the South American
tropics.
The following two prerequisite knowledge questions could
be developed for this definition:
1. A lungfish is?
2. What is the shape of an eel?
While a student probably would know the shape of an eel
and be able to recognize a lepidosiren from this definition, he or she
would need to know the definition of a lungfish in order to understand
why lepidosirens are in swamps and stagnant water.
A lungfish is a bony fish that has both lungs
and gills.
In the following definitions, notice the importance of
having knowledge of a prerequisite term used in a definition.
In order to understand the definition of a gearbox, you
must know the definition of a transmission.
A gearbox is a transmission like those in
an automobile.
When presenting this definition, you also should give
the definition of a transmission.
A transmission is the part of a machine that
transmits power from the engine to the driven members such
as the wheels by means of belts, fluids and gears.
| Teaching
Suggestions |
If you have terms that
have relationships as their identifying characteristic, make sure
the students know the identifying characteristic of the term used
to make the relationship.
Have definition test questions that
measure knowledge of the identifying characteristic of the
term used as the relationship identifying characteristic.
Determine if the students have the prerequisite skills for the
course knowing the definition of the prerequisite terms.
Have definition test questions that
measure knowledge of the prerequisite terms.
Promote student accountability by informing students there will
be a separate score for the definition questions on the
test.
Grade the definition part of your
tests separately.
Students who have low scores on the definition question part
of a test should be reminded to learn the definitions of the
terms used in the course if they expect to pass.
Suggest that students who have
low scores on the definition part of the test need to starting
learning the meaning of the term introduced if they expect
to pass the course.
Inform the students it is impossible
to learn the information in the course without knowing the
definition of the terms used.
Inform the student who has a low score
on the definition part of the test where he or she can find
help on how to learn the meaning of the new terms introduced.
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