The Research Log

INTRODUCTION:

I have taught college composition for almost 20 years. The second half of the composition sequence includes a major research project I call simply the Term Paper. Students receive the assignment in the opening weeks of the term and submit their finished papers immediately before final exams. In my earliest years of assigning the Term Paper, I collected final papers that were routinely poorly focused, poorly developed, and poorly organized. The more serious problem represented in these products was that student writers were not learning and adopting effective habits for research and writing. My regular weekly reminders seemed to have little effect. What I eventually decided on was a regular series of assessments that would motivate the students more directly than reminders and classroom activities. I called it the Research Log: a series of brief weekly research/writing assignments related to the Term Paper. This strategy can be adapted to nearly any class that includes a major research project, provided that the time for working on the project extends over a period of at least a few weeks.

PURPOSE:

• Show writers how to work steadily on an extended project.
• Encourage broad (many types of sources) and deep (sources with intense focus) research strategies.
• Reinforce critical thinking and writing.

SUPPLIES/SET UP:

This is a semester-long series of short assessments. The following documents are appended at the end of this article, but instructors may wish to adapt any of these to suit a specific learning goal or assessment:

• The Term Paper assignment handout
• Description of the Research Log
• Ten assignments for individual Research Log entries
• Rubric for assessing individual Research Log entries
• Research Log Survey (post-Term Paper deadline)

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Source: --Douglas Okey, On Course Website

10 Rules For Writing Multiple Choice Questions

This is a back-to-basics article about the undervalued and little-discussed multiple choice question. It’s not as exciting as discussing 3D virtual learning environments, but it might be just as important. If you need to use tests, then you want to reduce the errors that occur from poorly written items.

The rules covered here make tests more accurate, so the questions are interpreted as intended and the answer options are clear and without hints. Just in case you’re not familiar with multiple choice terminology, it’s explained in the visual below.

Here are the ten rules. If you have any others, please add them through the Comments form below.

Rule #1: Test knowledge comprehension, not just recall

Multiple choice questions are criticized for testing the superficial recall of knowledge. You can go beyond this by asking learners to interpret facts, evaluate situations, explain cause and effect, make inferences, and predict results.

Rule #2: Use simple sentence structure and precise wording

Write test questions in a simple structure that is easy to understand. And try to be as accurate as possible in your word choices. Words can have many meanings depending on colloquial usage and context.

Rule #3: Place most of the words in the question stem

If you’re using a question stem, rather than an entire question, ensure that most of the words are in the stem. This way, the answer options can be short, making them less confusing and more legible.

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Source: --The eLearing Coach