Are many colleges moving toward this?

[mom31257]

Are college classes moving toward more project-based learning and away from traditional assessments? I was told that most colleges are moving away from traditional testing. So professors don't lecture much anymore and give essay answer type tests, much less multiple choice type assessments? 

 

 

 

 

 

[maize]

I doubt many large universities are doing that; multiple choice is the most efficient to grade, and lectures are an easy way to present material to large groups at a time.

 

I imagine smaller liberal arts colleges and have the most room for innovative education. Though essays and other types of assessments have always been part of more rigorous and higher quality classes.

[Bootsie]

I think there are some pockets where this is happening, but I think "most" is an overstatement.  In fact, there are some schools that are piling even more students into classes and using online multiple choice exams.

[8filltheheart]

Even at large universities most upper level classes are not MC type tests. My kids have always had proof or problem-based tests in their math/science/engineering classes where the process of getting the answer is as important as the answer itself. Humanities classes have always had essay questions as part of the exam.

 

Project-based learning is different from just exam structure. My engineering ds had some project-based classes at his public university even a decade ago.

[Gwen in VA]

Everything depends so heavily on the college!

 

I never had a M/C exam, though that was many moons ago. None of my kids have ever had a multiple/choice exam in college, and they have attended a wide variety of schools -- LAC, engineering school, and conservatory.

 

We all have had written exams with long-answer questions.

[Bootsie]

My nephew was studying for his upcoming multiple choice exam last weekend--he is in law school.  

[freesia]

I never had a multiple choice test in college in the '80s. So I agree that it d lends on the school and always has.(I went to a small liberal arts college)

[J-rap]

Maybe it depends on the major.  I had tons of multiple choice questions in the 80's with my Psychology major.  My dd has very little, but she is a design/communications major.

[mom31257]

So, thinking long term on preparing kids for college, they need a variety of experiences and skills. A customer service rep from a curriculum company told me that about the colleges. 

 

I just met a teacher in another county that is implementing project-based learning. They are no longer allowed to give multiple choice tests. Lecturing the whole group is very frowned upon and should not be much of a percentage of the teaching time. I find all this ironic when the teacher evaluations will be based heavily upon end of course, multiple choice tests. 

[angela in ohio]

Are college classes moving toward more project-based learning and away from traditional assessments? I was told that most colleges are moving away from traditional testing. So professors don't lecture much anymore and give essay answer type tests, much less multiple choice type assessments? 

 

As soon as you hear "most colleges are..." ignore the person. :D Seriously. And then be wary of other things they say. 

 

Seriously, I wouldn't be shipping massive amounts of chocolate out right now if my girls weren't frantically studying for "traditional assessments." And one of them goes to a project-based engineering school. :D

[fourisenough]

As soon as you hear "most colleges are..." ignore the person. :D Seriously. And then be wary of other things they say. 

 

Seriously, I wouldn't be shipping massive amounts of chocolate out right now if my girls weren't frantically studying for "traditional assessments." And one of them goes to a project-based engineering school. :D

 

ITA! Gross generalizations like that are almost guaranteed to be at best an over-simplification; at worst, outright false.

 

I feel the same when I hear people generalize about what is/is not taught in PS today. I usually hear this from someone whose kids are not even in a PS and haven't been anytime recently. It is my cue to disregard anything else they say!

Edited April 20, 2017 by fourisenough

[Mom22ns]

As soon as you hear "most colleges are..." ignore the person. :D Seriously. And then be wary of other things they say. 

 

This. I have one kid at a small private LAC and one at a medium size state U.

 

The state U has given almost all MC exams with just a few essays tagged on. 

 

The LAC kid has had every type of evaluation. He has had MC tests, all essay tests, projects, and presentations. I think this is in part because of his majors and in part because class sizes are small enough to allow teachers the time to grade alternative evaluations.  

 

I don't believe for a moment that there is a standard.

[Nan in Mass]

My sons have lots of projects. LOTS. But then, their colleges were chosen because they were very hands on. As far as prep for this type of class goes, writing skills are important, and research skills, and planning skills, since you have to be able to break a large project into doable chunks. Communication skills are important if there are lots of group projects.

 

Nan

[FaithManor]

I never had a multiple choice exam in college. Not one.

 

Tons of writing, papers, essays, and projects with Finals being well, a lot of writing, analysis, and problem solving. So far my sons have not had MC exams either. The biology final for ds2 this semester is all critical analysis and demonstration of understanding concepts not memorization. Math is all problem solving, showing work, anthropology is an essay exam, his PE exam is a swim test turning in his exercise and nutrition journal, and his climatology final involves interpreting data and graphing it along with writing. Not a true/false, MC,fill in the blank type thing on any of them. He is a freshman.

 

Ds1 had an oral exam for German, and all essay exams in his writing/English majors, and composition to turn in for music theory.

[Bluegoat]

I never had multiple choice tests either.  Mostly, in class or out of class essays.  Often one per term that was pretty much the mark for the whole class.

Oral exams in my first year, many found those horribly stressful.

Edited April 25, 2017 by Bluegoat

[DawnM]

My oldest is the only one in college right now and  he is in the Simulation and Game Design program and wanting to specifically go into Animation.

 

So, yes, his classes are all project based.   But his Gen Ed classes are not.

[mom31257]

My oldest is the only one in college right now and  he is in the Simulation and Game Design program and wanting to specifically go into Animation.

 

So, yes, his classes are all project based.   But his Gen Ed classes are not.

 

That was my thinking. Of course there will be courses that have to be project based, but I think many core class teachers with 200 students in a class at universities are going to rely on more traditional assessments. 

 

I had a friend who is a nurse say she had a lot of multiple choice tests; however, they were extremely challenging because they were which choice is the best answer. 

[luuknam]

I had a friend who is a nurse say she had a lot of multiple choice tests; however, they were extremely challenging because they were which choice is the best answer. 

 

 

In Integrative Neuroscience the tests were multiple choice, but there were a lot of answer options. Something like:

 

A - fee

B - fie

C - foe

D - fum

E - A & B

F - A & C

G - A & D

H - B & C

I - B & D

J - C & D

K -A & B & C

L - A & C & D

M - A & B & D

N - B & C & D

O -  A & B & C & D

P - none of the above

 

ETA: IME, this was worse than short-response tests, because it would make you doubt yourself a lot more, plus short response often would give you partial credit if you wrote that the answer is fie and fum because blah-dee-blah, even if foe was also a correct answer (also, if the question says "always" or some other absolute like that, and the real answer is "practically always" you can address that in your short-response, but not in multiple choice, where you have to figure out if your instructor is one of those people who are imprecise with language or not).

Edited April 27, 2017 by luuknam