Those in higher education have long used assessments to measure learning, whether for a grade, to determine prior knowledge, or to see how well students are following a current lesson. But assessments can also serve as learning devices. One way to put assessment in the service of learning is by using “integrated testlets” as companions to lessons (Shiell & Slepkov, 2015). These consist of simple, auto-graded multiple-choice questions that are interspersed throughout a lesson. But unlike with traditional assessments, students’ answers add to their understanding, and that new understanding is needed to answer subsequent questions. Thus, the assessments are themselves lessons.
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