Scholar Project: Test-Taking Strategies for Multiple-Choice Assessments (MCAs) in Math
CIRTL Scholars add to community knowledge about teaching and learning, most often by presenting or publishing their work to university, regional, national, or international audiences.
CIRTL Scholars add to community knowledge about teaching and learning, most often by presenting or publishing their work to university, regional, national, or international audiences. It is the highest achievement level CIRTL participants can earn. In this spotlight, Marium Yousuf, Ph.D. student in Applied Mathematics, talks about presenting her teaching-as-research (TAR) project at the U of A’s Graduate Interdisciplinary Program (GIDP) Showcase in December.
I designed my CIRTL Teaching-as-Research (TAR) project, Investigating the Success of Multiple-Choice Assessments in a Math Classroom, around the first-year College Algebra course I was teaching. In this course, students’ overall grades depended heavily on the midterm multiple-choice exams and the cumulative multiple-choice final. My goal was to develop instructional strategies that would reduce test and math anxiety while improving both students’ grades and confidence on multiple-choice assessments.
The project was later selected for presentation at the University of Arizona’s Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs research showcase. Sharing and justifying my pedagogical choices, and discussing their impact on students, was both rewarding and instructive! It helped me grow as a researcher and as an instructor, highlighting the value of intentional, research-informed teaching design in improving student outcomes.
My advice for those considering a TAR project is to choose a question that genuinely interests you and addresses a real classroom need, seek regular feedback from mentors to refine your approach, and collect data throughout the semester to capture student growth. Conducting this TAR project, with the support and guidance of Dr. Kristin Winet and Dr. Lisa Elfring, allowed me to sharpen my teaching philosophy and gave me the confidence to communicate my pedagogy articulately.
