In this month’s ILT seminar, I shared my experiences with helping students overcome learning barriers by using existing revision MCQs as a primary resource.
Some of the most common learning barriers experienced by my first-year students include:
- “I don’t know what to study/focus on for each lecture/lab”
- “I run out of time to study before tests/exams (I cram)”
- “I believe I understand things well, but I struggle to show my understanding in the actual test/exam”
- “I want to know how to use my study time more efficiently”
- “I struggle with multiple-choice question (MCQ) format tests”
In this session, I used examples to explore the potential of ‘playing’ with MCQs in:
- encouraging regular and distributed revision;
- fostering learner engagement with cognitively active learning behaviour and development of higher level thinking skills; and
- supporting students in their practise of articulating, externalising, clarifying, evaluating, and deepening their understanding
The session may be of interest to staff who have limited direct influence over the actual academic content or influence over how the curriculum is delivered (e.g. Learning Designers, Student Learning Advisors, and some Course Coordinators).
Angela Tsai is a Professional Teaching Fellow in FMHS where she contributes towards a number of MEDSCI courses. Angela completed the PGCert (Academic Practice) in 2013 and was a CLeaR Fellow in 2015. Her Fellowship project took a multi-pronged approach toward enhancing student engagement and achievement in a large Stage 1 introductory biology course. Angela loves all things learning and teaching and enjoys meeting other colleagues who share the same passion. She is pursuing part-time Doctoral studies with the Faculty of Education and Social Work.
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