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Introduce yourself to your neighbor Discussion point: What are some features of effective multiple-choice questions?

Part 3. Writing Great Clicker Questions Dr. Stefanie Mollborn Sociology and Institute of Behavioral Science University of Colorado Boulder Adapted from slides by: Dr. Stephanie V. Chasteen Physics Department & Science Ed. Initiative University of Colorado – Boulder Creative Commons – Attribution. Please attribute Stephanie Chasteen / Scince Education Initiative/ CU-Boulder

4 4 Challenges: Questions Best practices Ask several times during lecture Ask challenging, meaningful questions What does this mean for non-STEM fields?

Various question types 1.Conceptual “one right answer” questions 2.Discussion “no one right answer” questions 3.Predict an outcome (e.g., of an experiment) 4.Survey questions / personal opinion / past experiences 5.Embed reasoning in answers (“Slower, because gravity is acting against it.” “Slower, because it loses energy to friction.”) 6.Use images as part of question or as answer choices See TEFA handout

Activity 2: Gallery Walk Visit as many questions as you can. For each question: Try to think beyond the question content. What are some useful features of this question? What does and doesn’t work well about this question? 15 minutes Aihofanz2010 on Wikimedia

Question-writing tips Don’t just use simple quiz questions; use questions at a variety of difficulty levels Use challenging questions that prompt discussion and emphasize reasoning Use tempting distracters (for ‘right answer’ questions) Think outside the box! Use a variety of question strategies and use questions at a variety of points in lecture. See handout

Tips for ‘no right answer’ questions Mutually exclusive and exhaustive categories! Consider a wide variety of possible answers Catch-all “other” category for many question types Avoiding unclear or double-barreled questions Read question and answers out loud to yourself

Question Cycle: Before, During, and After Lecture 9 Credit: Rosie Piller and Ian Beatty. BEFORE Setting up instruction Motivate Discover Predict outcome Provoke thinking Assess prior knowledge DURING Developing knowledge Check knowledge Application Analysis Evaluation Synthesis Exercise skill Elicit misconception AFTER Assessing learning Relate to big picture Demonstrate success Review or recap Exit poll Look at handout

What makes a good clicker question? 10 clarity Students should waste no effort trying to figure out what’s being asked. context Is this topic currently being covered in class? connection to learning goals Does the question make students do the right thing to demonstrate they grasp the concept. distractors What do the “wrong” answers tell you about students’ thinking? difficulty Is the question too trivial? too hard? stimulates thoughtful discussion Will the question engage the students and spark thoughtful discussions? Is there potential for you to be “agile”?

Use questions at a variety of cognitive depths 11 Do the questions you use intellectually challenge your students or simply assess their factual knowledge? handout A tool to investigate this: Bloom’s Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain

Bloom’s Taxonomy See handout with verbs

Activity 3: Write a Question 13 Credit: Rosie Piller and Ian Beatty. BEFORE Setting up instruction Motivate Discover Predict outcome Provoke thinking Assess prior knowledge DURING Developing knowledge Check knowledge Application Analysis Evaluation Synthesis Exercise skill Elicit misconception AFTER Assessing learning Relate to big picture Demonstrate success Review or recap Exit poll Write a draft question that accomplishes one of these goals 10 minutes Handout

But… The perfect question doesn’t solve all problems!

Action Plan Take a few minutes to write down your action plan to implement ideas you heard about in this part of the workshop. it to yourself! 15

Thank you! If you are staying for the Advanced Workshop, stay here. Feel free to contact us with any questions! If there is an evaluation, we should mention it here.