Evolution of

Assessment

Karen Lillywhite

Mitchell Fitzgerald

Cyndie McCarley

Introduction

2012: Flinders adopted Moodle institution wide; - staff required to learn new

LMS (Flinders Learning Online – FLO)

2013: Teachers looking to

extend usage

2014: Topics across the faculty using quizzes in

creative ways, particularly the “embedded answers

(cloze)” question type

Paramedics – ECG Interpretation

http://youtu.be/TEC_XMx97as

Paramedics – ECG Interpretation

• Difficult yet critical skill for paramedic students to learn

• Requires a systematic approach

• 20 identically formatted questions for 20 different ECG

strips.

– reinforce systematic approach taught in lecture

– Important ECG traces in clinical practice – interpretation essential

for optimal pre-hospital care

Draw conclusion

Paramedics – ECG Interpretation lecture slide quiz question

Speech Pathology

http://youtu.be/VfEz5-I8MRU

Speech Pathology

Auditory Perceptual Voice Analysis

• Method to assess voices

• Requires specific training to develop these skills

• Quizzes (formative & summative)

– Modelled on a paper-based perceptual profile used in a clinical setting

– Listen to range of voice types, make judgments about quality of the voice, and complete the profile.

– Check answers for feedback on their assessment of the voice

– Staff can review data on student performance & usage

Note: loudness too hard to rate with recorded material

• 2 Separate Tables

• When window is wide enough, they sit alongside each other (maximal representation of paper form)

• When window isn’t large enough, the tables stack

Speech Pathology

Students get partial marks when 1 severity rating different from expert opinion

Nursing Drug Calculations

• Essential skill that student nurses need to develop and

demonstrate competence in

• Questions are presented in a ‘real-life’ format to

contextualise otherwise basic mathematics

• Cloze question is best suited as we are testing both what

dose to administer and the volume/quantity of the dose

Nutrition: AGHE Diet Analysis

• Simulated clinical task providing an introduction to patient

dietary assessment

• Assessment of dietary adequacy involves:

1. Dietary interview to collect food intake information from patients

2. Rationalise interview notes to construct a food intake list

3. Determine the number of AGHE serves & food group for each item

4. Determine overall AGHE serves of each food group

5. Make assessment about the nutritional adequacy

* AGHE: Australian Guidelines to Healthy Eating

Nutrition

AGHE diet analysis quiz

• Provided with compiled food

intake list

• Student determines

– Serve sizes

– Food group

– Overall intake per food group

* AGHE: Australian Guidelines to Healthy Eating

Steps 1 & 2

Step 3

Step 4

• Acts as an introduction to common

Australian foods for international

students who are unfamiliar with

western foods.

44 “questions” in one

Optometry

• 3 different uses of multipart embedded (cloze) questions

1. Diagnostic Photograph interpretation – Fundography

2. Test result interpretation – Visual field plots

3. Instrument interpretation - Corneal Topography

• Banks ~50 of each type

– Healthy eyes and eyes with a range of conditions

– Formative and summative uses

Optometry 1: Fundography Interpretation

“Normal can look very different”

Optometry 2:

Visual Field Plot

Test result interpretation

Optometry 3: Corneal Topography

Very complex, information dense results display – considerable practice/exposure required

Optometry 3: Corneal Topography Interpretation

Feedback available by

hovering over

ticks/crosses

Neuroscience

Bachelor of Medical Science

• Student numbers have doubled in last 5 years with continuing growth

• Needed to find efficiencies in marking

• Re-structured “paper assignment” so that all questions were multiple choice

• Students work on assignment over a few weeks, transpose answers into quiz

• All assignments are automatically marked

Neuroscience Automate assignment marking

INSTRUCTIONS: This assignment should be printed out. Please submit all answers in the answer

sheet in FLO. The assignment is worth 17% of your final mark. Don’t leave it to the last minute

– it may only involve multiple choice questions, but it isn’t easy.

Page 3 of 11

PART A: LIST OF NEURAL CHARACTERISTICS

(a) equilibrium potential (EK) for potassium ions

(b) space constant of membrane

(c) a moment where delayed rectifier channels dominate membrane potential

(d) calcium activated Mg++

current

(e) amplitude of inhibitory post synaptic potential

(f) conduction delay along a cholinergic neuron’s axon

(g) full duration of an excitatory post synaptic potential

(h) moment where an EPSP summates with an IPSP

(i) threshold for action potential

(j) amplitude of after-hyperpolarisation

(k) duration of inhibitory post synaptic potential

(l) where an afterhyperpolarisations summates with an EPSP

(m) action potential overshoot

(n) measure reflecting cell input resistance

(o) moment where large inward, voltage-dependent Na+ current is near its maximum

(p) sodium equilibrium potential

(q) resting potential of GABA-ergic neuron

(r) synaptic latency for inhibitory synaptic potential

(s) threshold of a GABAergic neuron

(t) resting membrane potential of a cholinergic neuron

(u) synaptic latency for excitatory post synaptic potential

(v) time constant for nerve cell membrane

(w) half duration of action potential of glutamatergic neuron

(x) where voltage sensitive Na channels are largely inactivated

(y) action potentials at a frequency of about 80Hz

(z) point where two EPSPs summate

Record Part A answers here –5 marks out of 17

FillinyouranswersheretoPartA.Don'topentheonlineanswersheetuntilyouhavecompletedthewholeassignment,because

onceitopensyouonlyhave60minutestocompleteit!!!

Feature#fromFig2

Characteristic#(A-Z)

Feature#fromFig2

Characteristic#(A-Z)

1 10

2 11

3 12

4 13

5 14

6 15

7 16

8 17

9 18

Page 5 of 11

What would happen if the following drugs/toxins/ion substitutions/pulses were made:

i. a drug such as hexamethonium, which specifically blocks nicotinic cholinergic

receptors, is given in a moderate concentration, sufficient for only partial block

ii. extra K+ ions are added to the bathing fluid to raise the extracellular concentration

from about 5mM to 7mM

iii. a benzodiazepine drug which acts as an “allosteric modulator” of the GABAA

receptor, potentiating the effects of GABA

iv. physostigmine is added in a concentration that potently blocks the action of

acetylcholinesterase on all cells in the bath

v. all Ca++

ions in the bathing fluid are substituted with Mg++

which does not pass

through voltage-operated Ca++ channels

vi. An antagonist at NMDA receptors (ligand gated ion channels) in glutamatergic

synapses is added in a blocking concentration

vii. Tetrodotoxin, a blocker of voltage-sensitive ion channels is added to the bath at a

dose that blocks all such channels

viii. a larger amplitude of hyperpolarizing and depolarising current pulses (0.7nA) is

applied to Cell α through the grey electrode

Fill in the answers in the marksheet in FLO, with question 16 corresponding to the recording for

Cell α for drug (i) ie: hexamethonium, Question 17 is trace B for drug (i) etc. Note that no single

answer is to be used twice although some answers are identical (eg: traces for Cell α - A, D, E, F

and H are all identical – any of these is correct in the appropriate place).

HINTS:

· You may find it easier to use the table below to work out and exclude possibilities – work

from the easiest cases to the more difficult ones…

· you may want to measure the latency of some events after the presynaptic action potential

that causes them….use a ruler…. and include conduction delays in your calculations….

· Also, look for inflections where synaptic potentials summate….

· RECORD YOUR ANSWERS (A-H) HERE FOR QUESTIONS 19-50 (9 marks/17)

Drug: hexameth 7mM K+ benzodi Physostig

0mM

Ca++

NMDA

block TTX

0.7nA

pulses

Trace (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) (viii)

Cell α-

mV/Cell

α-nA Q19 Q23 Q27 Q31 Q35 Q39 Q43 Q47

Cell β

Q20 Q24 Q28 Q32 Q36 Q40 Q44 Q48

Cell γ

Q21 Q25 Q29 Q33 Q37 Q41 Q45 Q49

Cell δ

Q22 Q26 Q30 Q34 Q38 Q42 Q46 Q 50

Page 6 of 11 Page 8 of 11

PART C – multiple choice questions (3 MARKS/17)

Please write answers in the following table for questions 1-28 below:

51 56 61 66

52 57 62 67

53 58 63 68

54 59 64 69

55 60 65 70

51. The four major components of the cell membrane are:

a. cholesterol, phospholipids, glycolipids and proteins

b. triglycerides, proteins, phospholipids and glycolipids

c. phospholipids, cholesterol, triglycerides and proteins

d. phospholipids, cholesterol, triglycerides and saccharides

e. cholesterol, glycolipids, proteins and saccharides

52. Ion channels always have one of the following features – which?

a. a charged region that detects transmembrane voltage (membrane potential)

b. sugar groups coupled to the region that faces the inside of the cell

c. a transmembrane pore that allows ions to pass through under some conditions

d. binding sites for transmitter substances

e. intracellular binding sites for cell metabolites

53. The equilibrium potential for an ion is defined as the potential at which:

a. the number of positively charged ions leaving the cell exactly equals the number of

negatively charged ions entering the cell

b. Na+, K+ and Cl- ions are in equilibrium across the membrane

c. the tendency for the ion to move down its concentration gradient is exactly counterbalanced

by its tendency to move down its electrical gradient

d. there are equal numbers of ions inside and outside the membrane

e. the Na+/K+ co-transporter exactly counterbalances the movement of ions through ion

channels in the membrane

54. Calcium ions contribute little to the resting membrane potential in most cells despite the fact

that they have a large transmembrane concentration gradient and hence a very positive equilibrium

potential. Why?

a. because Ca++ ions are too insoluble to contribute to resting potential

b. because Ca++ ions are too large to pass through proteinaceous ion channels

c. because there are no Ca ion channels in normal cells

d. because Ca++ ions are so toxic to the cell

e. because Ca ion channels are rarely open at resting membrane potential

55. Three important elements involved in nerve cell electrical signaling are potassium, sodium and

calcium. Which of the following shows these 3 ions, in descending order of concentration, as they

occur in the cytoplasm of a healthy neuron?

a. K+, Na

+, Ca

++

b. K+, Ca

++,Na

+

c. Na+, Ca

++, K

+

Page 9 of 11

d. Na+, K

+, Ca

++

e. Ca++

, K+, Na

+,

56. The resistance of a nerve cell soma membrane is inversely proportional to:

a. The total number of open K channels

b. The total number of ion channels

c. The total number of Na channels

d. The surface area of the membrane irrespective of ion channels

e. The total number of open ion channels

57. The time constant (tau) for most neurons falls in the range of:

a. 1-5ms

b. 2-20ms

c. 10 – 100ms

d. 100-1000ms

e. >1000ms

58. The rising phase of an action potential is mostly due to:

a. inward flux of Na+

b. inward flux of K+

c. inward flux of Na+ and K+

d. outward flux of Na+

e. the Na/K ATPase

59. Voltage activated sodium channels are inactivated when the Vm remains depolarised above

threshold for more than about half a millisecond. How do they recover their voltage sensitivity

again?

a. they are phosphorylated by cellular kinases activated by depolarisation

b. they reactivate when membrane potential falls below threshold

c. they reactivate when K+ ions bind to them

d. they are recycled via the Golgi apparatus

e. they are reactivated by neurotransmitters

60. Which of the following would be expected to alter the voltage threshold for an action potential

in a nerve?

a. the number/density of chloride channels

b. the number/density of calcium channels

c. the number/density of voltage-activated sodium channels

d. the number/density of potassium channels

e. the number of dendrites

61. Squid giant axons are about 350-500µm in diameter, yet they conduct at only about 25m/s.

Why do such large axons conduct relatively slowly?

a. because squids lead such boring lives that they don’t need fast information

b. because they have large gaps between their Nodes of Ranvier

c. because they live in cold water

d. because they do not have a myelin sheath

e. because they have a high axoplasmic resistance

62. Gap junctions consist of:

a. 12 connexins arranged into two connexons which bridge between cells

b. 24 connexons arranged in two rows connecting two cells

Page 10 of 11

c. gaps in the phospholipid bilayer with cytoplasmic continuity between cells

d. fused membranes from two cells that touch

e. voltage-activated ion channels aligned serially across the gap between two cells

63. Glutamate is the most abundant excitatory transmitter in the brain. What class of

neurotransmitter does it belong to?

a. amino acids

b. amines

c. peptides

d. a class of its own

e. reactive gases

64. Which is true about gap junctions? They are permeable to:

a. only CO2 and O2

b. ions and water

c. ions water and molecules with molecular weight <100

d. ions water and molecues with molecular weight <1000

e. ions water and all intracellular molecules

65. The least common mechanism for the removal of transmitter from the synaptic cleft is:

a. diffusion

b. degradative enzymes

c. uptake by surrounding cells or nerve terminals

d. oxidation by mitochondria in the synaptic cleft

e. spontaneous breakdown of the transmitter molecule

66. If a synaptic potential was mediated by closure of leak K+ channels, which of the following

would be true during the course of the potential:

a. the cell would depolarise and Rm would increase

b. the cell would hyperpolarise and Rm would increase

c. the cell would depolarise and Rm would decrease

d. the cell would hyperpolarise and Rm would decrease

e. the cell would depolarise, but there would be no change in Rm

67. Which transmitter has ionotropic receptors that can be distinguished by their sensitivities to

NMDA, kainate and AMPA?

a. acetylcholine

b. glutamate

c. dopamine

d. 5-hydroxytryptamine

e. adenosine triphosphate

68. Which of the following ligand-gated ion channels generally have inhibitory effects on nerve

cell excitability, when opened by their endogenous transmitters?

a. GABAA and glycine

b. glutamate and glycine

c. 5-Hydroxytryptamine3 and glycine

d. P2x and GABA

e. P2X and glutamate

69. Which of the following is true about ligand gated ion channels (“ionotropic receptors”)?

a. they are made up of several protein subunits

“ ”

Cloze question layout mimics assignment layout – facilitates

answer transcription by students

Page 5 of 11

What would happen if the following drugs/toxins/ion substitutions/pulses were made:

i. a drug such as hexamethonium, which specifically blocks nicotinic cholinergic

receptors, is given in a moderate concentration, sufficient for only partial block

ii. extra K+ ions are added to the bathing fluid to raise the extracellular concentration

from about 5mM to 7mM

iii. a benzodiazepine drug which acts as an “allosteric modulator” of the GABAA

receptor, potentiating the effects of GABA

iv. physostigmine is added in a concentration that potently blocks the action of

acetylcholinesterase on all cells in the bath

v. all Ca++

ions in the bathing fluid are substituted with Mg++

which does not pass

through voltage-operated Ca++

channels

vi. An antagonist at NMDA receptors (ligand gated ion channels) in glutamatergic

synapses is added in a blocking concentration

vii. Tetrodotoxin, a blocker of voltage-sensitive ion channels is added to the bath at a

dose that blocks all such channels

viii. a larger amplitude of hyperpolarizing and depolarising current pulses (0.7nA) is

applied to Cell α through the grey electrode

Fill in the answers in the marksheet in FLO, with question 16 corresponding to the recording for

Cell α for drug (i) ie: hexamethonium, Question 17 is trace B for drug (i) etc. Note that no single

answer is to be used twice although some answers are identical (eg: traces for Cell α - A, D, E, F

and H are all identical – any of these is correct in the appropriate place).

HINTS:

· You may find it easier to use the table below to work out and exclude possibilities – work

from the easiest cases to the more difficult ones…

· you may want to measure the latency of some events after the presynaptic action potential that causes them….use a ruler…. and include conduction delays in your calculations….

· Also, look for inflections where synaptic potentials summate….

· RECORD YOUR ANSWERS (A-H) HERE FOR QUESTIONS 19-50 (9 marks/17)

Drug: hexameth 7mM K+ benzodi Physostig

0mM

Ca++

NMDA

block TTX

0.7nA

pulses

Trace (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) (viii)

Cell α-

mV/Cell

α-nA Q19 Q23 Q27 Q31 Q35 Q39 Q43 Q47

Cell β

Q20 Q24 Q28 Q32 Q36 Q40 Q44 Q48

Cell γ

Q21 Q25 Q29 Q33 Q37 Q41 Q45 Q49

Cell δ

Q22 Q26 Q30 Q34 Q38 Q42 Q46 Q 50

Benefits

• Scope be creative, simulate authentic tasks, more complex

questions.

• Can allow ranges (for numeric questions), partial marks

• Check, check and test again. Get a colleague to have a “fresh look”.

• Have a go

Advice/Lessons learnt

Images in feedback

Images as Answer Options

Considerations

• Syntax/Code – scary at first

• Layout/Screen real-estate

• Thinking of all possibilities for short answer type question parts

• Each question part is independent

• Multichoice (dropdown) options always shuffle

• No “checkbox” option

• “Specific feedback” display inconsistent

• Answer box length for short answer type

• Including images within the cloze code possible but tricky

Sudoku (because I could!)

Answer box size is determined by longest

answer +/- random amount

Multichoice dropdown: options always shuffle –

not always desireable

Alternate setup for “Select all that are present”

Evolution of

Assessment

Karen.Lillywhite@flinders.edu.au

Mitchell.Fitzgerald@flinders.edu.au

Cyndie.McCarley@flinders.edu.au