Test Question Templates
For many years, I (Greg) struggled with a common teaching dilemma: how can I help my undergraduate students develop transferrable knowledge and skills in courses dominated by high-stakes tests that traditionally reward memorization above all else?
In 2019, I and my mentor Lekelia (Kiki) Jenkins (Arizona State University) were grappling with the issue of alignment between active-learning exercises and summative assessments. Would students engage in interactive activities that did not directly relate to problems they would face on subsequent exams? Working together via Sue Wick s PALM Network, Kiki and I were incorporating more active learning into my Human Anatomy & Physiology courses, but we were stymied by the alignment issue, for which the field of science education seemed to lack scalable solutions.
As we pondered this dilemma, I came across an essay by Ben Wiggins (then at the University of Washington) on his Public Exam system. Public Exams direct matching of learning goals with actual exam questions -- consistent with the general principle of backward design (McTighe & Thomas 2003) -- appealed strongly to me and Kiki, who, with help from Ben, then adapted some aspects of this approach to formulate a related but distinct assessment framework that we dubbed Test Question Templates, or TQTs for short. Early TQT dissemination efforts led two additional faculty -- Usha Sankar (Fordham University) and Marcus Lawrence (Southern Utah University) -- to seek my mentorship via the PALM Network, as I had previously done with Kiki. These new pairings have led to further explorations of TQTs and further interest from other members of the science education community.
This TQT origin story shows that the development of the TQT framework is not attributable to any single individual, but rather to a community of science educators spanning a range of roles at a range of institutions.
A Test Question Template is a student-facing resource that explicitly connects a Lesson Learning Objective (LLO) with multiple specific examples of how that LLO might be assessed on a test. TQTs thus show students what they will need to do on tests, and how to practice, without revealing all details of the tests. From the instructor side, TQTs' pre-specification of test question formats makes test-writing more straightforward; by varying certain details within a consistent broader structure, we can generate additional new questions with relative ease.
Beyond making tests less stressful and more rewarding for students and instructors, TQTs should generally promote students transfer of knowledge to new contexts by encouraging practice on multiple examples with different surface features (Kaminske et al. 2020).
Since the TQT framework emphasizes (A) cognition above and beyond straight memorization, (B) transparent alignment of practice and testing, and (C) abundant opportunities for creative and collaborative student practice, it may be considered a cousin of approaches such as specs grading, Mary-Ann Wilkelmes' TILT, and Deb Donovan's Learning Targets and Success Criteria.
- Gregory J. Crowther, Usha Sankar, Leena S. Knight, Debra L. Myers, Kevin T. Patton, Lekelia D. Jenkins, and Thomas A. Knight. Chatbot responses suggest that hypothetical biology questions are harder than realistic ones. Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education 24(3): e00153-23.
- Dilan P. Evans, Lekelia D. Jenkins, and Gregory J. Crowther (2023). Student perceptions of a framework for facilitating transfer from lessons to exams, and the relevance of this framework to published lessons. Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education 24(1): e00200-22.
- Gregory J. Crowther and Thomas A. Knight (2023). Using Test Question Templates (TQTs) to teach physiology core concepts. Advances in Physiology Education 47(2): 202-214.
- Gregory J. Crowther (2021). How do kidneys make urine from blood? Qualitative and quantitative approaches to filtration, secretion, reabsorption, and excretion. CourseSource 8: 42.
- Gregory J. Crowther, Benjamin L. Wiggins, and Lekelia D. Jenkins (2020). Testing in the age of active learning: Test Question Templates help
to align activities and assessments. HAPS Educator 24(1): 74-81.
TQT-Focused Webinars & Podcasts
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- Greg Crowther and Tom Knight. Chatbot responses suggest that hypothetical biology questions are harder than realistic ones [link is to register]. JMBE Live!, May 17, 2024 [scheduled].
- Greg Crowther. Exams on Demand: Using Templates to Write Multiple Equivalent Problems. The Grading Conference, June 4, 2022.
- Hilary Kemp (performing as Joan Jett). I Love TQTs! Northwest PULSE, January 29, 2021.
- Kevin Patton and Greg Crowther. Test Question Templates Help Students Learn. TAPP Radio, Episode 70, June 2, 2020.
- Zachary Via and Greg Crowther. The PALM Network: All Hands on Deck! National Institute on Scientific Teaching, December 4, 2020.
Ongoing TQT-Related Projects
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Different members of the "TQTeam" have been working on various TQT-related projects as summarized below.
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- TQTs for Human A&P and Cell Biology
- While I continue to write and edit TQTs, my existing TQTs are available in Google Drive folders for Human Anatomy and Physiology and Cell Biology. (These are mostly intended for sophomore pre-nursing students, but some are better for more advanced students.)
- Effects of Pre-Releasing Exam Materials on Students and Faculty
- TQTs and Standards-Based/Specs Grading in Human A&P
- with Ricky Dooley, Kiki Jenkins, Tom Knight, Karen Perell-Gerson, and Usha Sankar
- Using TQTs to Help Students Integrate Previous Content and New Content
- Two Models of Helping Students Write Simulated Test Questions
- Do Animals and Aliens Belong in Human Physiology Courses?
- with Usha Sankar, Erik Silldorff, and Crystal Uminski
- How to Write Clear, Effective, Interesting TQTs
- with Jon Herron, Kiki Jenkins, Marcus Lawrence, and Usha Sankar
- A Taxonomy of Problem-Solving in Anatomy
- with Deb Myers and Krista Rompolski
- TQTs and You and Me?
- Do you have an idea for a TQT-related project? Please get in touch with me (gcrowther at everettcc dot edu)!
In developing TQTs, we are grateful for pilot funding from several wonderful sources:
Dr. C sipping some TQTea.
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