Abstract

MONCADA A, Ligia Inés; LOPEZ P, Consuelo; NICHOLLS O, Rubén Santiago  and  REYES H, Patricia. Open question evaluation: experience in a parasitology of course . rev.fac.med. [online]. 2007, vol.55, n.3, pp.153-164. ISSN 0120-0011.

Background . The origin of examinations dates back to ancient China , when Comennius established the use of exams, to which several functions were attributed, amongst them the evaluation of the learning processs of students, but also the evaluation of teachers and methods. Objetive . The purpose of the present project were to evaluate, after eight years, the experience of using open questions in the Parasitology Unit. Materials and methods . An anonymous semistructured survey was carried out, in which demographical aspects of the students were included, as well as their perception on the advantages and disadvantages of the open question and their preferences about the methods used in parasitology . With the purpose of comparing the results of open question exams with those of multiple choice exams, two questionnaires were designed, about the same subjects, one with open questions and the second one with multiple choice questions. Results . The survey was answered by 53 of 103 students; 58.5% were males and the most frequent age group was 19 years. 71.15% preferred questions in which they were able to generate their own answers, while 9.61% preferred multiple choice questions. As advantages of multiple choice questions students considered it as an easier way to answer an exam, as well as the fact that it provides clues and is influenced by chance, while open questions had advantages such as stimulating them to study better, thus enhancing the quality of study, improving their writing skills and eliminating chance. Discussion . The use of open question exams is very important because the results show that when students are aware that it will be used be used for their assessment they are stimulated to study more profoundly, besides considering that, with feedback, it is also a teaching method and it contributes to improving their writing skills.

Keywords : evaluation; educational measurement; methodology; data collection.

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