When I think of quizzes and multiple choice questions, I roll my eyes since they are the ubiquitous end-of-course stumbling blocks to course completion. Larry Chu just spoke at Medicine 2.0 about emailing monthly quizzes to challenge residents at the Stanford University School of Medicine Dept. of Anesthesiology. I was struck by the advantages of quizzes to instead inspire people to learn. A quiz is a great way to see that you don’t know something that you should. It is also a great way to be exposed to the subtleties in a topic. If the quiz then leads to sources of information, it can be very valuable.
Chu didn’t speak much about the quizzes in his talk, but I sat next to Gwyneth Evans, who agrees. “Interesting, students rank quizzes as the lowest area for investment because they don’t like tests. But do they realize the fast potential for learning that the quiz provides? Seconds to validate and correct your perceived knowledge!” Thanks for the insight, Evans!
I prefer to use tests/quizzes that are based on scenarios or case studies that contain real life situation with open-ended questions. Multiple-choice quizzes are like worksheets. There value is minimal.
I prefer to use tests/quizzes that are based on scenarios or case studies that contain real life situation with open-ended questions. Multiple-choice quizzes are like worksheets. There value is minimal.
In today’s technology world, there is so much more you can do to test or quiz students. For instance, a scenario can be constructed and you can have an avatar perform tasks.
You can use case studies to solve problems either by just written format or you can build an e-learning powerpoint that is interactive.
If both of the listed are not exactly what you want then there are lots more ways to ask questions.