We have investigated gender differences in performance over the past eight years on the Australian Science Olympiad Exam (ASOE) for physics,which is taken by nearly 1000 high school students each year. The ASOE, run by Australian Science Innovations (ASI), is the initial stage of the process of selection of teams to represent Australia at the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of constructivism on assessment approach, where the type of question (true or false, multiple-choice, calculation or essay) is used productively. Although the student's approach to learning and the teacher's approach to teaching are concepts that have been widely researched, few…

In a large enrollment, multiple-section course, review sessions enable efficient and consistent delivery of information to all students. A redesigned review session has been implemented to increase attendance and improve effectiveness. The new design involves a practice quiz consisting of about 20 multiple-choice questions that students answer…

Traditionally, matching test formats have been avoided in favor of multiple-choice items for several reasons, including item analysis properties and chance performance characteristics. In the light of research on test format and anxiety, this study postulates that, if a matching test could assess knowledge for a given topic as effectively as an…