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Question Types

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 is the distractors. To maximize learning, you must ensure that each incorrect answer is truly incorrect, while still highlighting a learner’s confidently held misinformation (CHM) by presenting answer options that learners think are true but aren’t.

 question intro stem and answers_knowledge base_parts of a question_2025-july-29_tje

Best Practices

  • Limit the number of incorrect answers. Up to four is typically plenty.
  • Ensure that the correct answer is the only possible correct answer. If not, consider using a multiple-correct question.
  • Make each incorrect answer count! Use them as opportunities to address confidently 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. Learners 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
  • Multiple actions to take in a given situation—in no particular order. If the actions should be taken in a specific order, consider using a multiple-choice question.

Best Practices

  • Use multiple-correct questions when one answer is "all of the above."
  • Avoid "mark all answers that apply" verbiage— the platform automatically includes it. Although it's not visible in Authoring, it will be displayed to learners.
  • At least three answer choices must be included. Some or all can be correct. If only one answer is correct, use a multiple-choice question.

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 to master the question. Avoid using more than four matching pairs to prevent making the question too difficult.

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.

amniotes matching question_knowledge base_question types_2025-august-01_tje

Best Practices

  • Don't include more than four matching pairs. Three pairs is the recommended amount. Adding more may make the question more complex and too difficult to master.
  • Ensure that 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 drop-down menu and the question-type options. Select the new question type and adjust the answers.


Multiple Choice > Multiple Correct

Changing from multiple-choice to multiple-correct is a smooth transition. If you determine that a question has more than one right answer, select "Multiple Correct" in the drop-down menu and mark the correct answers.

Changing Question Type


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.

Changing Matching Question Type

 

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.