- In this article, you'll learn about the three question types currently available in the Amplifire tool.
- For more information on drafting questions, check out:
Question Types
Amplifire currently allows three question types:
Multiple Choice Questions
Multiple Choice questions are the original and most often used type of question in Amplifire. These questions must have a single correct answer and at least two incorrect answers.
Cognitive research conducted by Dr. Jeri L. Little, Dr. Robert Bjork, and Dr. Elizabeth Bjork at UCLA has proven that multiple choice questions best promote learning because they combine recognition with memory recall by asking the learner to contemplate each answer choice and categorize each one as either right or wrong.
The biggest hurdle when writing Multiple Choice questions are the distractors. To maximize learning, you must ensure that each incorrect answer is truly incorrect, while still highlighting a learner’s CHM by presenting answer options that learners think are true but aren’t.
Best Practices
- Don't include too many incorrect answers. Up to four is typically plenty.
- Make sure the correct answer is the only possible correct answer. If it isn't, consider making the question a Multiple Correct question.
- Make each incorrect answer count! Use them as opportunities to address commonly held misinformation (CHM).
Multiple Correct Questions
Multiple Correct questions can be harder to answer than Multiple Choice questions as learners must examine each answer choice, compare it, and accept or reject it, bearing in mind that more than one answer may be correct. In other words, you can't use the process of elimination to determine which is the correct answer. These questions lend themselves well to certain types of knowledge:
- Multiple ways to accomplish a task
- Multiple examples of a concept
- List of actions that should be taken in a situation (in no particular order; if there is an order, consider using Multiple Choice)
Best Practices
- Use this type of question when writing a question that requires the answer, "all of the above."
- Don't include "mark all answers that apply" verbiage. This is automatically included by the platform. (Although it does not appear in Authoring, it will show up for learners.)
- At least three answer choices must be included. Some or all can be correct. (If only one is correct, instead use the Multiple Choice question type.)
Matching Questions
Matching questions should be used sparingly, as they introduce an additional layer of difficulty. They are essentially three or more questions combined into one, and a learner must successfully form each match in order to master the question. It is recommended to include no more than four matching pairs to avoid making the question too difficult to answer. These questions lend themselves well to certain types of knowledge:
- Groups of terms and their definitions
- Recall of facts and features
- Matching examples to a concept
- Steps in a procedure
- Image-based learning
Because the list of answer options is shuffled by the Amplifire algorithm, Matching questions are not well-suited for presenting sequences and timelines.
Best Practices
- Three matching pairs is the recommended amount. Adding more can make the question more complex and difficult for learners to master.
- Matching questions are 508-compliant (consideration for visually impaired learners).
Changing Question Types
Changing question types in Amplifire is easy. From the second panel on the authoring page, you'll see the Type dropdown. From there you can change questions types.
Multiple Choice > Multiple Correct
Changing from multiple choice to multiple correct is a smooth transition. If you discover your question actually has more than one right answer, select Multiple Correct in the dropdown and select the answer choices that are correct.
Multiple Correct > Matching
When changing from either multiple choice or multiple correct to matching, keep in mind that you'll lose both the question intro material and the answer choices. The question stem and WYNTK sections will remain. You'll receive a message reminding you before the content is deleted.
For more information on writing questions, check out Creating Quality Questions, or contact your Client Engagement Director to access the article and learn more about author training.