What kind of answer you are looking for?
When formulating a question, we always have expectations about the length of an answer. Do we want a simple yes or no, or do we want something more elaborated? Our questions are always thought of in that way. If we just want a yes or no then we are formulating a closed question. An open question is one that allows for an answer that could go wherever the person responding wishes to take it.
Closed questions- Have you eaten today? - Do you have a drivers licence? |
Open questions- What did you have for lunch today? - What type of vehicle you drive? |
Tips for Asking Questions
1. Consider what your learning objectives are and select questions accordingly
2. Ask varying questions progressing from lower to higher cognitive level questions
3. Ensure your questions are clear and specific.
4. Ask questions in a logical and sequential manner
5. After asking a question, ensure that you provide a wait time before accepting responses, such as 3 to 10
seconds, depending on the complexity
6. Do not give the answer away in the question
It is a good idea to consider objectives, desired cognitive levels, abilities of the learners and choice of verbs and question stems. For greater impact, ask yourself if your questions are powerful.
Tips for writing Questions
1. When creating a True/ False question, the stem must be clear and the options are 100% true or false.
2. When creating a one-best-answer question, they should contain a stem, a lead-in question, and a series of
choices typically containing only one correct answer.
3. When writing stems:
- Focus on important concepts not just facts.
- Answerable without options viewed.
- Includes important facts and remember not to add more data in options provided.
- Keep them simple and do not be “tricky.”
- Make sure they are not negatively phrased.
4. When writing options, make sure they are:
- Homogeneous in content (the same or similar in some way).
- Incorrect compared to the correct answer.
- Attractive and good possibilities for the uniformed examinee.
- Resemble the correct answer. (The way it is phrased and the length).
- Consistent both logically and grammatically with the stem.
5. Avoid using absolutes. (Always, never, all, etc.).
6. Avoid using imprecise terms they can cause confusion. (Frequently or usually).
7. A question should assess application of knowledge. We wish to avoid recall of isolated facts.