Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Results
Results
1. Questionnaire
Table 1 displays which main genre of writing was most significant for a teacher. The
five faculty members were asked to answer the questions provided, based on the genres
listed.
Writing
Genre
Emails
Which one is
most
important?
0
Which one
did you use
the most?
3
Exams
Homework
Problems
Lectures
Table 1. Chart displaying opinions of five faculty members at CSUF, on different types of genres.
used by teachers.
Table 1 indicates that exams were the most important and significant type of writing
genre for teachers. Exams were the most important, the most troublesome, and most
beneficial for future teachers. However, emails were the most frequently used genre for
teachers.
2. Course Catalog
The Single Subject Credential Program at CSUF has a variety of courses that need to be
taken within the time span of one year. There are specific courses that prepare the future
teacher that are listed under a program course sequence. Under this program course
sequence, there are courses that teach students about adolescent development, diversity,
English learners, technology in classrooms, etc. There are also courses dedicated to
gaining fieldwork experience in actual classroom settings. However, there are no courses
that emphasize any type of writing genre that a future teacher might need to learn.
3. Conventions of the Genre
Evaluation
Synthesis
Analysis
Application
Comprehension
Knowledge
H I G H E R - O R D E R
T H I N K I N G
S K I L L S
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation
analyze
appraise
calculate
categorize
choose
compare
contrast
criticize
deduce
examine
experiment
organize
question
test
differentiate
discriminate
distinguish
arrange
assemble
compare
collect
compose
construct
create
design
devise
develop
discuss
formulate
hypothesize
manage
organize
plan
prepare
propose
report
set up
schematize
support
write
appraise
argue
assess
attach
choose
compare
criticize
defend
estimate
evaluate
judge
justify
predict
rate
select
support
value
Table 3. Higher-order thinking skills. Analysis means to identify parts and see related
order; Synthesis means to put parts together to form a new whole; Evaluations means
to judge value or use based on criteria (Guggino, 2014).
Test Format
Promoting higher-order thinking skills is very important to keep in mind when
writing an exam. However, it is also extremely important to choose the right testing
format. The format refers to whether the test will be objective (multiple choice, true/
false, matching, etc.) or essay (Jacobs, 2004, p. 2-3). There are three factors to
consider when deciding on the format of the test: what is to be measured, the size of
the class, and the time available to prepare and score the test (Jacobs, 2004, p.2-3).
When considering what is to be measured, you might want students to contrast A and
B, which would be done through an essay question, but when measuring reasoning,
comprehension, application, and analysis, using multiple choice questions would be
more beneficial (Jacobs, 2004, p. 3). Now, consider the size of the class. An essay
questions would only be viable if you have a smaller class with a good amount of
time to grade. (Jacobs, 2004, p. 3).
References
Guggino, P. C., (2014) Promoting Higher-Order Thinking Skills [Word document]. Retrieved
from course documents used online: https://moodle-20142015.fullerton.edu/mod/resource/view.php?id=360685
Jacobs, L. C., (2004) How To Write Better Tests: A Handbook for Improving Test Construction
Skills. Indiana University. http://www.indiana.edu/~best/write_better_tests.shtml
Program Course Sequence. (2014, September 24). Retrieved November 16, 2014, from
http://ed.fullerton.edu/seced/future-students/credential-programs/programcourse-sequence/