Suggestions for STEM and other quantitative courses

STEM and other quantitative courses face a particular challenge in creating effective online assessment, particularly in lower-division courses. In part this is because there is often a significant amount of content coverage and thus many questions are computational.

Canvas has some quiz features that can help with this. If your class uses traditional tests and quizzes, you might find the following particularly useful:

• The "formula" quiz question type, Links to an external site. which allows you to use more of more variables in your questions so students can't easily copy from one another.
• Randomized questions using a question bank Links to an external site.
• Various "Quiz Settings to Maximize Security"

More Resources

Rutgers University professor Joe Guadagni  compiled this advice from the Mathematics department:

• Ask more conceptual questions (e.g., "what is the next step in this problem?", "state the definition of...", "explain why this hypothesis in the theorem is necessary").
• Ask students to identify an error in a proof or computation (this is particularly effective since it can't be googled).
• Eliminate multiple-choice and fill-in questions in favor of show-all-work questions where students have to scan and upload their work.
• If using problems from a textbook, change not only the numbers but also the names (e.g., John to Alice) and the scenario (e.g., pulling a boat in to letting a kite string out). The reason for this is that popular textbooks will probably have many of their problems already solved online somewhere, for example, on Chegg.
• Use letters and variables in place of specific numbers.
• When randomizing the exam, don't just randomize numbers. Also, randomize discrete parts of the problem. For instance, one version might have a problem like "maximize the volume of the box given its surface area" whereas another version might have "minimize the surface area of a box given its volume". (The numbers can even be the same for the two versions.)
• Avoid questions that consist of only simple computations. For example, instead of "calculate this integral", present students with some application in which they also have to set up a proper integral. "Write an integral expression that is equal to the probability that..." or "write a triple integral which is equal to the mass of the region" are good alternatives. There are online calculators that will not only solve many computational problems but also give step-by-step solutions. Adding more words and applications to a problem makes it more difficult to cheat and also tests the real learning goal: do students know how to apply basic principles? (Ultimately, anyone can use a calculator, but only if you know what you want to calculate.)