Investigating Multiple-Choice Assessment: Secondary School Teachers' Perceptions and Practices

Multiple-choice assessment is used within nearly all levels of education and is often heavily relied upon within both secondary and postsecondary institutions in determining a student’s present and future success. Understanding why it is effective or ineffective, how it is developed, and when it is or is not used by teachers can further inform teachers’ assessment practices, and subsequently, improve opportunities for student success. Twenty-eight teachers from 3 secondary schools in southern Ontario were interviewed about their perceptions and use of multiple-choice assessment and participated in a single-session introductory workshop on this topic. Perceptions and practices were revealed, discussed, and challenged through the use of a qualitative research method and examined alongside existing multiple-choice research. Discussion centered upon participants’ perspectives prior to and following their participation in the workshop. Implications related to future assessment practices and research in this field of assessment were presented. Findings indicated that many teachers utilized the multiple-choice form of assessment having had very little teacher education coursework or inservice professional development in the use of this format. The findings also revealed that teachers were receptive to training in this area but simply had not been exposed to or been given the opportunity to further develop their understanding. Participants generally agreed on its strengths (e.g., objectivity) and weaknesses (e.g., development difficulty). Participants were particularly interested in the potential for this assessment format to assess different levels of cognitive difficulty (i.e., levels beyond remembering of Bloom’s revised taxonomy), in addition to its potential to perhaps provide equitable means for assessing students of varying cultures, disabilities, and academic streams.

Engineers and technicians : the effect of cognitive style and gender on visual information processing

The purpose of this project was to identify in a subject group of engineers and technicians (N = 62) a preferred mode of representation for facilitating correct recall of information from complex graphics. The modes of representation were black and white (b&w) block, b&w icon, color block, and color icon. The researcher's test instrument included twelve complex graphics (six b&w and six color - three per mode). Each graphics presentation was followed by two multiple-choice questions. Recall performance was better using b&w block mode graphics and color icon mode graphics. A standardized test, the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) was used to identify a cognitive style preference (field dependence). Although engineers and technicians in the sample were strongly field-independent, they were not significantly more field-independent than the normative group in the Witkin, Oltman, Raskin, and Karp study (1971). Tests were also employed to look for any significant difference in cognitive style preference due to gender. None was found. Implications from the project results for the design of visuals and their use in technical training are discussed.

Attractive silences in cricket courtship song : mate choice using a short-range signal /

Matings systems using signals for sexual communication have been studied extensively and results commonly suggest that females use these signals for locating males, species-identification, and mate choice. Although numerous mating systems employ multiple signals, research has generally focused on long-range signals perhaps due to their prominence and ease of study. This study focused on the short-range acoustic courtship song of crickets. The results presented here suggest this signal is under selection by female choice. Females mated preferentially with males having shorter silences between the two types of ticks within the song. The length of these silences (Gap 1) was correlated with male condition such that males having long silences were significantly lower in mass with respect to body size when compared to males having short silences. Both Gap 1 length and male condition were significantly repeatable within males over time suggesting the possibility these traits have a genetic basis. This study is the first empirical study to test female preferences within the natural variation of the courtship song. It now appears, at least in crickets, that both the longand short-range signals of a multi-signal mating system may contribute to male mating success.

Heritability of multiple mating by female field crickets, Gryllus integer (Orthoptera: Gryllidae)

The heritability of multiple mating in female Gryllus integer crickets was studied. Two preliminary experiments were conducted to determine when females first mate following the post-imaginal moult and to ascertain whether constant exposure to males affects female mating rate. Female Q. integer first mated at an average age of 3.6 days (S.D. = 2.3, Range = 0-8 days) . Exposing female crickets to courting males 24 hr daily did not significantly alter mating rates from those females in contact with males for only 5 hr per day. A heritability value of 0.690 ± 0.283 was calculated for multiple mating behavior in female Q. integer using a parent-offspring regression approach. Parental females mated between land 30 times (x 9.8, S . D. = 6. 6 ) and offspring matings ranged from 0 to 26 times (x 7 .3, S.D. = 3.4). Multiple mating is probably a sexually selected trait which functions as a mechanism of female choice and increases reproductive success through increased offspring production. Classical theory suggests that traits intimately related with fitness should exhibit negligible heritable variation. However, this study has shown that multiple mating, a trait closely linked with reproductive fitness, exhibits substantial heritability. These results are in concordance with a growing body of empirical evidence suggesting many fitness traits in natural populations demonstrate heritabilities far removed from zero. Various mechanisms which may maintain heritable variation for female multiple mating in wild, outbred Q. integer populations are discussed.