Designing Questions for i>clicker Student Response System

1
Designing Questions forigtclicker Student
Response System

• Stephen Addison
• Office of Vice Provost (Information Technology)

2
Introduction

• Well-designed structured questions are
  important for the effective use of clickers
• Asking the right questions is more important than
  the technology
• Each question should have an explicit pedagogic
  purpose

3
How are you going to use questions to interact
with students in the classroom?

• List ideas

4
Types of Questions

• True/False
• Yes/No/Abstain
• Multiple Choice (up to 10 choices)
• Likert (4/5/7 scale)
• Priority Ranking

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What Makes a Good Question?

• Common sense wrong answers
• Novel contexts
• Subtleties
• Ambiguity
• Comparisons
• Predictions
• Causal relationships

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Questions

• 2 to 4 per 50 minutes
• Clearly identifiable pedagogical goal
• That suit instructors subject and style
• Question design replaces lecture note
  preparation. Comprehension versus coverage.

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Some Ways to Use Questions

• Track changes
• Test for common misconceptions
• Test assigned reading
• Ask students to discuss their answers before
  voting

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SRS-Based Pedagogy

• Use class time to promote student interaction,
  and to refine and extend students understanding
• Rethink entire instructional model plan
  curriculum around questions and comprehension
• New skills quick thinking, moderating discussion
• Giving up control of the class

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Beatty (2005) Question Cycle

• Repeat this cycle three or four time per 50
  minutes class
• Present a question or problem
• Allow few minutes of student discussion in small
  groups
• Ask students to key in their answers
• Display the range of responses (but not the
  correct answer)
• Moderate a class-wide discussion and ask
  volunteers to explain their reasoning
• Show the correct answer if necessary
• Follow up with general observations, brief
  micro-lecture or another related clicker question
• Extracted fromDesigning effective questions for
  classroom system teaching by Ian D. Beatty et al
  (2005), American Association of Physic Teachers,
  74, 1.)

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Explicit Pedagogic Purpose

• Each question should have an explicit pedagogic
  purpose
• What piece (s) of the subject material do we want
  to illuminate? (Content)
• What cognitive skills do we want students to
  exercise? (Process)
• What beliefs about learning and doing the subject
  do we wish to reinforce? (Metacognitive)
• TIP Escape from the trap of always using
  standard calculate-an-answer
• questions.
• Extracted fromDesigning effective questions for
  classroom system teaching by Ian D. Beatty et al
  (2005), American Association of Physic Teachers,
  74, 1.)

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1) Content

• What piece (s) of the subject material do we want
  to illuminate?
• Foundational ideas
• Core principles
• Crucial distinctions
• Conceptual organization of the material at hand
• Inter-relationships between concepts and
  principles
• Extracted fromDesigning effective questions for
  classroom system teaching by Ian D. Beatty et al
  (2005), American Association of Physic Teachers,
  74, 1.)

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2) Process

• What cognitive skills do we want students to
  exercise?
• Understanding a situation by identifying
  essential concepts and
• their relationships and reasoning with these to
  draw conclusions.
• Compare and contrast
• Extend the context
• Categorize and classify
• Predict and observe
• Reflect and evaluate
• Discuss, summarize and model
• Extracted fromDesigning effective questions for
  classroom system teaching by Ian D. Beatty et al
  (2005), American Association of Physic Teachers,
  74, 1.)

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3) Metacognitive

• What beliefs about learning and doing the subject
  do we
• wish to reinforce?
• The perspective expressed about the subject
• Memorization and applying rules
• Reasoning and making sense of the world
• Learn on own or in a group
• Learning how to learn
• Extracted fromDesigning effective questions for
  classroom system teaching by Ian D. Beatty et al
  (2005), American Association of Physic Teachers,
  74, 1.)

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Example Questions

• Biochemistry
• Chemistry
• Physics
• Human Disease
• Educational Assessment
• Educational Psychology
• Educational Technology

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How many phosphodiester bonds does this compound
contain?

• None
• 1
• 2
• 3

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Indicate the extent to which you agree or
disagree with the following statement

• Student behaviours (e.g. effort, participation,
  adherence to class rules) should NOT be included
  in grades.
• A. Strongly Agree
• B. Agree
• C. Disagree
• D. Strongly Disagree

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The Augustine National Party has its headquarters
in

• A. Camden, New Jersey
• B. St. Augustine, Florida
• C. Palo Alto, California
• D. Dallas, Texas
• E. Denver, Colorado

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Hermann Klavemann is best known for

• A. Developing all musical scales used in the
  western world.
• B. Composing every sonata during the Romantic
  era.
• C. Translating all Russian classics into English.
• D. Inventing the safety pin
• E. A and B

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A marble rolls on to a horizontal piece of felt
that is 30cm in length. After 20cm the marbles
speed is half its initial value. Does the marble
reach the far end of the felt?

• A. Yes
• B. No
• C. Not enough information

20
What factor contributes the most to childhood
obesity?

• TV and video game watching
• B. Poor parental models of healthy eating
• C. Genetic predisposition
• D. Availability of convenience foods
• E. Media focus on unhealthy foods

21
This 44-year-old smoker presents to the ER with
sudden onset shortness of breath. The chest
X-ray shows

• Pneumonia
• Pleural effusion
• C. Tuberculosis.
• D. Severe asthma.
• E. Tension pneumothorax

22
How is "life" consistent with the Second Law of
Thermodynamics?

• A.  Life is the one exception to the 2nd law-
  that's what makes it special.
• B.  Our labor throughout life balances the
  negative entropy of our original
  conception.        
• C.  Entropy changes in the stars balances life's
  negative entropy.         
• D.  The negative entropy of life is balanced by
  the heat given off to the surroundings by bond
  formation.

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Technology in teaching tends to be used for the
benefit of the instructor rather than the student.

• Strongly Agree
• Agree
• Neutral
• Disagree
• Strongly Disagree

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Summary

• Well-designed structured questions are
  important for the effective use of clickers
• Use appropriate pedagogy
• Asking the right questions is more important than
  the technology
• Focus on key concepts to reveal misunderstandings

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Further Information

• For more information and articles on designing
  effective questions, go to
• http//www.vpit.ualberta.ca/elearning/srs/design-
  questions.php
• References
• Beatty I. D et al (2005) Designing effective
  questions for classroom system teaching,
  American Association of Physic Teachers, 74, 1.