Multiple-choice testing is becoming ever more common as student populations rise and instructional resources dwindle. Multiple choice testing is easy to deploy, reliable, and inexpensive, yet there is often a sense that the format is somehow deficient in validity. The knock on multiple choice testing is that it easily assesses superficial knowledge but hinders assessment of deeper cognitive processes. In almost every discipline we would like to find inexpensive and streamlined ways to test deeper levels of understanding or knowledge integration than is typically afforded by multiple-choice tests. We have recently applied immediate-feedback assessment tools to enable the development of “integrated testlets”—a group of multiple choice questions that share a common stem, but which may build one upon another to assess higher echelons of learning. Furthermore, the immediate-feedback tool allows for straightforward (and demonstrably valid) grading of partial credit. With integrated testlets, conceptual scaffolding is both tested and, if needed, assembled during the assessment. Thus, an integrated testlet that utilizes immediate feedback serves both summative and formative purposes.
In this workshop, we will take the time to introduce both the immediate feedback assessment technique and examples of integrated testlets in disciplines such as biology, art history, modern literature, physics, and chemistry. Participants will actively engage with one or two testlets of their choosing to gain experience with both the technology and the workings of integrated testlets. Time will then be devoted to unpacking these experiences and to highlighting the pedagogical implications of being able to assess integration of knowledge with multiple-choice tools. Finally, we’ll sample key sentiments from a trove of student evaluation feedback to show how at Trent University integrated testlets in introductory physics courses are already transforming our students’ learning experiences.