Presented by:Mousumi GhoshTr.Instructional Designer 26/04/08
Creating Assessment Questions in an E-learning Course
In this session we are going to look at the following:
Need for Assessment Questions
Classification of Assessment Questions
Components of Assessment Questions
Types of Assessment Questions
Session Objectives
Need for Assessment Questions
Assessment helps to gauze the effectiveness of the course
It helps to assure that the student has mastered the material within the course
It encourages and builds confidence in the learners
It corrects any misconceptions
Acts as a breather
Need for Assessment Questions
It helps to keep track of student’s progress
It motivates the student to focus on important elements in a course
It reinforces learning through feedbacks
Students/learners also get to know their strength and weakness in terms of performance
If the learners successfully complete the assessment question, they are able to meet the course objective.
Assessment Questions
Learning Objective
Learner
Classification of Assessment Questions
Diagnostic: This kind of assessment is used to know the skill level of the learner, so that the learning activities can match their requirements.
Formative: This kind of assessment is included after each concept which is taught, so as to check the level of understanding of the learner.
Summative: This kind of assessment is given at the end of the course testing the learner on the overall content of the course.
Components of Assessment Questions
Question StemQuestion Stem
DistractorsDistractors FeedbackFeedback
Question Stem
Close-ended QuestionsOpen-ended Questions
Yes/no type of questions are categorized as close-ended
Question forms like did, do etc are used in such question types
Example:
Do you like watching movies?
Do you like ice cream?
Questions which do not have particular answer and is open to discussion fall in this category
Question forms like how, what, could you, would you, why etc are used in such question types
Example:
How come you don’t like ice cream?
How did you find the play we watched last evening?
Question Stem
Question stem should be created in a such away that it should map the learning objective
Learning objective states what the learner is going to learn at the end of the course
Use appropriate action verbs to form learning objectives
The questions should be based on the testing point
Question Stem
A testing point are stepping stones to learning objectives. A testing point is the basis on which a learner is asked questions
It is very important to cover all the learning objective while forming question stems
Questions should be created based on the weightage assigned to each learning objective. Meaning questioned should be created based on the importance of the concept
Example
Active Listening (Hear What People Are Really Saying)Listening is one of the most important skills you can have. How well you listen has a major impact on your job effectiveness, and on the quality of your relationships with others. We listen to obtain information. We listen to understand. We listen for enjoyment. We listen to learn. Clearly, listening is a skill that we can all benefit from improving. By becoming a better listener, you will improve your productivity, as well as your ability to influence, persuade negotiate. What’s more, you’ll avoid conflict and misunderstandings – all necessary for workplace success.
Objectives:By the end of this lesson, you will be able to: Define what is active listening State the purpose of listening State the advantages of being an active listener
Example
Testing Points:
Definition of active listening Purpose of active listening
• To obtain information• To understand• For enjoyment• To learn
Advantages of active listening• Improves job effectiveness• Improves productivity• Improves ability to persuade, influence or negotiate • Helps avoid conflict and misunderstandings
Question can be formed on each or any of these testing points.
How to assign weightage?
Imagine that the duration of the lesson is 10minutes. Questions have to be formed according to their importance.
This testing point is not so important, hence we can leave it.
Distractors
How to create distractors?
Distractors are the options provided along with the correct answer with every question
They are known a distractors because they distract the learner from the correct answer
Distractors should be consistent and standardized
It should be consistent in length
Disrtactors should belong to the same family
Is should be challenging
Distractors
Distractors become easy to create if we begin it with the same action verb as in the learning objective
Terms which are used in the question stem can not be used in distractors
Do not use ‘none of the above’ or ‘all of the above’ as one of the distractors, because this becomes a giveaway
Do not use opposites as one of the distractors, it becomes a giveaway
Distractors should always be taken from the text
Example of Bad Distractors/Giveaways
Q) Imagine that Rohit is making a presentation; he is quite nervous and he presumes that nobody will pay attention to his message. Choose the correct option to assure Rohit that you are paying attention to his message.
You will ask him questions not pertaining to the presentation
You will nod your head to indicate that you are listening
You will not make any eye contact with him
Ask him to read out the message from his paper
This is a negative distractor.
This distractor is irrelevant.
This distractor is a giveaway.
Example of Good Distractors
Q) Mr. A went for requirement gathering to Mumbai for ABC project. He is the team lead (TL) for this project. During the meeting he concentrated more on jotting down the points rather than listening to discussion. After coming back to his office he was unable to explain all the points to his team mates. It is clearly evident that Mr. A is not an active listener. Based on the above scenario choose the purpose of active listening.
It helps to think betterIt helps to explain
It helps avoid misunderstanding and conflict It helps to reproduce better
Correct Answer
Feedback
Giving Feedback:
Feedback should always answer the question
Just telling ‘you are correct ‘ or ‘sorry, you are wrong’does not serve any purpose
Before giving the answer , it is always better to provide hint answers to the learners
In feedback it is a good practice to state why the answer is correct
Its Advantage:
It reinforces learning
If does away with mistaken belief of any concept
It instills confidence in the learner
Example of Good Feedback
Q) Identify the conjunction used in the following sentence.
Neither Tom nor Harry play football.
Example of Good Feedback
Answer:
Neither Tom nor Harry play football.
Feedback for Correct Answer:That’s correct!Other conjunctions are: And Either/or Or But
Because it not only reinforces but adds to the knowledge of the learner.
Example of Bad Feedback
Answer:
Neither Tom nor Harry play football.
Feedback for Incorrect Answer:Sorry you are partially correct!Neither and nor both are conjunctions
It is a bad feedback because it only enlightens the learner about the correct answer, without telling about the other conjunction.
Questions Can Be Of The Following Types:
MCQ/ Multiple Choice Questions
Match the Column
True or False
Drag n Drop
Fill in the Blanks
Hotspot Questions
Sequencing Questions
Types of Questions
MCQ/ Multiple Choice Questions:
This is an objective type of question where only one option is correct and the rest are distractors.
Types of Questions
Example:It ________________ when I came to the office.
was raining
is raining
had been raining
has been raining
MCQ/ Multiple Choice Questions:
Types of Questions
Answer :It ________________ when I came to the office.
was raining
is raining
had been raining
has been raining
Match the Column:
In this kind of a question the learner has to match the options of column A with that of B.
Types of Questions
Example:
Match each emoticon with the appropriate word.
Column A Column B
:-}
:P
:-/
:-O
Perplexed/Confused
Sticking out your tongue
Embarrassed smile
Frightened
Smiling
Types of Questions
Answer:
Match each emoticon with the appropriate word.
Column A Column B
Smiling
:-} Embarrassed Smile
:P Sticking out your tongue
:-/ Perplexed/Confused
:-O Frightened
True and False Questions:
In this type of question there are only two responses for each item and the learner has to choose. It is used to test recall understanding.
Types of Questions
Example:Is it possible to cry in space? True False
Jawaharlal Nehru was the first President of India. True False
Ostrich is the largest living bird. True False
Types of Questions
Answer:Is it possible to cry in space?
True False
Jawaharlal Nehru was the first President of India. True False
Ostrich is the largest living bird. True False
Drag and Drop:
In this type of question multiple questions and answers are are provided and the learner has to drag and place the correct before a question.
Types of Questions
Example: Drag and drop the official language in front of the country it belongs to.Country Official Language
Nepal MonacoArgentinaMoroccoKenyaFinlandDenmark Nepali
Finnish
Spanish
English
Danish
Arabic
French
Types of Questions
Answer:Drag and drop the official language in front of the country it belongs to.
Country Official LanguageNepal
Monaco
Argentina
Morocco
Kenya
Finland
Denmark
French
Nepali
Spanish
Arabic
English
Finnish
Danish
Fill in the blanks:
In this type of question multiple answer are provided out of which only one is correct.
Types of Questions
Example:
We had our house ________________with white color. Painted Painting
Don’t let the teacher catch you _______________. Cheating To cheat
He has many friends, but _________ are good ones. A few Few
Fill in the blanks:
Types of Questions
Answer:
We had our house painted with white color. Painted Painting
Don’t let the teacher catch you cheating. Cheating To cheat
He has many friends, but few are good ones. A few Few
Hotspot Questions:
A Hotspot Question is a question that allows the user to click on the correct area within the image. There is only one correct answer to this type of question.
Types of Questions
Example:Identify the planet named Saturn.
Hotspot Questions:
Types of Questions
Answer:Identify the planet named Saturn.
Sorry! That ‘s not correct.
Hotspot Questions:
Types of Questions
Answer:Identify the planet named Saturn.
Sorry! That ‘s not correct.
Sequencing Questions:
In this type of question the learners are asked to put items into a sequence from beginning to end by some rule or according to some principle. Learners are presented with a list of items in an incorrect order and then they are asked to move the items to put the items into the right relative positions within the list.
Types of Questions
Example:http://www.horton.com/portfolio/sequence/rankingMinerals.html
MS-Office Word 2007
How to open a word application.
Go to start Go to programs
Sequencing Questions:
Types of Questions
Answer:
MS-Office Word 2007
How to open a word application.
Go to start
Go to programs
Conclusion
It can be concluded that:
Assessments are necessary as they not only reinforce learning but also ensure that the learner interacts with the course.
It coaxes the learner to think.