1. Itembank statistics in Methods Education
Dimitris Pavlopoulos

2. Idea and development Many old exams…
Plus (free-to-use) questions from publishers

3. First step: database with questions
Tailored to course-needs
Clustered, with feedback, eventually with clips
Easy to make (summative and formative) tests

4. Educational aim: intensification
Weekly formative tests
(MVA: vragen)
Weekly summative test (‘theory’)
Weekly tutorials (SPSS)
Weekly summative test (‘SPSS’)

5. Aim 2: using contact hours…
College
Practicum
Toetsing
Courses run well: good success rates, good evaluations…
…but we are still dissastisfied
Lecture attendance is low
But not in international groups (Anthropology)
Is it due to slidecast lectures or not?
BSc students’ participation is low
Few questions, little interaction
Students find tutorials boring

6. SPSS tutorials: Till last year: Students don’t come
Students got an assignment (in Canvas) and data
They could work independently
In the tutorial they could ask questions (sometimes it takes long…)
Then they got the solutions
Students don’t come
Or (if it’s compulsory) they come but find it boring…

7. Tutorials: digitalizing
Instruction, links to electonic sources
Students can work independently

8. Aim Tutorials-new form: differentiation
Addressing diversity. Students have:
Different background (e.g. MVA MSc)
Different level of motivation
They fear statistics at different levels…
2 experiments:
BIS/DIS/PMC-BIS courses. Tutorial assignment split in 2 parts
Basic: first hour
‘Advanced’: second hour
MVA MSc. Students were offered a choice
Do the assignment independently: tutorial with extra material
Follow a ‘classical’ tutorial

9. Midterms Weekly split in 2 tests Questions
Theory: answer questions without data
SPSS: analyse a dataset and answer questions
Questions
Multiple choice (as few as possible…)
Numerical
(Multiple) fill in the blanks – numerical and text
Matching
Open

10. Questions: numerical Work very well, but don’t forget…
…to set a range (when a calculation is involved)
…to check if a completely different answer is correct as well
This is not necessary in a multiple choice!

11. Questions: fill in the blanks
Numerical: the same
Text: work also well but be carefull!
Correct answers that you have not foreseen
A typo, an extra space etc can cause it to be wrong
You need to count is as correct with ‘Modify’

12. Questions: matching Works also very well!
Check that the matching is exclusive

13. Questions: open Compared to paper exams: day and night!
Easy and fast to correct
But even more so for questions with short answers

14. Involve your students: comments
Option for comments in TestVision. Dare using it!
Students do react immediately
Improve questions you make. Improve feedback
Make students co-owners of the formative test

15. Results: no clear image
MVA MSc
Mean grade: 7.02 (2017: 7.17)
Percentage pass: 94% (2017: 87.1%)
BIS
BSc: 5.45
PMC: BCO-6.27, CW (BIS plus)-5.99, SOC-5.98

16. Evaluations: very clear image!
MVA MSc
Differentiatie (advanced groep)

17. Evaluations: very clear image!
BIS

18. Way open for: blended learning
Should we change the structure of courses?
Should we offer tutorial online only?
Give comments
Maybe with targeted meetins afterwards
Lectures? Possible structure
Monday: 3-hour lecture
Tuesday-Thursday: work with online assignment and practice
Friday: 2-hour practice (all together)
Biweekly: 2-hour remedial or advanced meeting (differentiation)

19. Itembank statistics in Methods Education
We welcome suggestions!
We welcome collaborations!
Towards management: we need investments!