Crafting Shadow Questions
Best Practices
In this article, you'll learn how to create quality shadow questions.
For more information about how to create questions in the authoring tool, check out:
A shadow question consists of two connected questions that have the same topic, the same learning objective, and the same What You Need to Know content. Ideally, shadow questions are used for high-value objectives and typically cover roughly 1/3 of the module.
Three Levels of Questions
There are three types of Amplifire questions:
- KNOW: Learners usually memorize the correct answer to KNOW questions. These brief questions provide limited context and do not use scenarios or introductions. Question stems most often begin with “Who”; “What”; “When”; and “Where”, seldom with “Why” or “How.”
- UNDERSTAND question stems most often begin with “Why” or “How” and sometimes use a scenario introduction.
- APPLY/PRACTICE questions provide information in the form of a scenario or other introductory material, then ask learners to make a decision (an action, evaluation, or prediction) about that information. Regardless of their phrasing, question stems are usually brief and do not themselves contain topical information.
KNOW, UNDERSTAND, and APPLY/PRACTICE questions tend to address different kinds of objectives. To ensure that every question in a given learning unit supports the same learning, they should be of a single “Type” – KNOW, UNDERSTAND, or APPLY/PRACTICE.
For more information on question difficulty, check out:
Techniques for KNOW Shadow Questions
KNOW questions tend to employ pairs of information, e.g.:
- A term and its definition
- A class or category and a member of it (along with nonexamples)
- Relationships among or attributes of people, events, dates, etc.
Any time information is paired in a KNOW question, shadow questions can be readily created by “flipping” – moving the parts of the pair from the stem to the correct answer:
|
LU |
Stem |
Answer |
|
Q1 |
Who invented the automotive assembly line? |
Ransom Olds |
|
Q2 |
What did Ransom Olds invent? |
The assembly line |
|
Q1 |
What is an unlearned, involuntary response? |
a reflex |
|
Q2 |
Which terms describe a reflex? |
unlearned and involuntary |
|
Q1 |
Who was the only unelected President? |
Gerald Ford |
|
Q2 |
What made Gerald Ford’s presidency unique? |
He was unelected |
Foils and explanatory content can readily be edited and reused to accommodate “flipped” shadows.
Rankings and procedures
This technique is less effective when working with rankings or statistics because the foils tend to be arbitrary – they don’t address misinformation:
|
Q1 |
Which occupation has the highest entry-level salary? |
CA: Computer programming
|
|
Q2 |
What is the salary for entry-level computer programmers? |
CA: $67,000
|
In Q1, the foils are other areas of employment, which can be explained in terms of demand and starting salaries. In Q2, however, the foils are necessarily arbitrary – literally any number would work.
In these cases, the ranking information may have greater learning value if the question is used as a prefix or introduction to an UNDERSTAND or APPLY/PRACTICE question:
|
Q1 |
Entry-level computer programmers can earn up to $67,000 per year.
Why is the starting salary so high in this occupation? |
CA: The number of available positions has increased dramatically.
|
|
Q2 |
What is the effect of the increased demand for computer programmers? |
CA: A higher entry-level salary
|
Techniques for UNDERSTAND Shadow Questions
UNDERSTAND questions cannot simply be “flipped” to form shadow questions – the flipped versions tend to address different learning. As with any question, rephrasing UNDERSTAND questions to create shadows is effective:
|
Q1 |
Why are written employee performance evaluations important? |
CA: Documentation is needed to support any corrective actions. |
|
Q2 |
Joe, a manager, was swamped with work but took time to write performance evaluations for all of his employees. Why did he make sure to do this? |
CA: He knows that documentation is needed to support any corrective actions. |
Note
- Q2 includes an scenario, but addresses the same learning objective as Q1.
- Foils can readily be edited and reused to accommodate the shadow question, and explanatory content can be copied as-is.
Techniques for PRACTICE/APPLY Shadow Questions
Shadows for PRACTICE/APPLY questions can be created by altering variables in a scenario. Learners must read the question closely to discern differences in what may appear to be identical questions.
Examples:
- Learning Unit Objective: Given a formula, the learner will be able to solve for x.
|
Q1 |
2x + 3 = 9 What is the value of x? |
CA: 3
|
|
Q2 |
2x + 5 = 15 What is the value of x? |
CA: 5
|
Learning Unit Objective: Given a scenario, the learner will be able to determine the correct triage level for the patient.
|
Q1 |
Melinda is 65 years old. This morning she awoke with a severe headache and an upset stomach and drove herself to the urgent care center. The caregiver at the center measured her vital signs:
Based on the available information, what is the correct triage level for Melinda? |
CA: Level 1 - Emergent
|
|
Q2 |
Melinda is 65 years old. This morning she awoke with a severe headache and an upset stomach and drove herself to the urgent care center. The caregiver at the center measured her vital signs:
Based on the available information, what is the correct triage level for Melinda? |
CA: Level 3 – Non-urgent
|
Notes:
- The only difference in the two questions is the patient’s temperature, which is enough to change the correct answer in Question #2 to Level 3 – Non-urgent.
- Distractors may differ between the two questions so long as all distractors are addressed in the Explanation.
Re-phrased Shadow Questions
UNDERSTAND:
- Learning Unit Objective: Given a scenario, the learner will be able to determine the correct course of treatment for the patient.
|
Q1 |
Why should water never be used to extinguish a grease fire? |
CA: Water will make the flames spread. |
|
Q2 |
Sue is frying chicken for dinner when some of the grease catches fire. She runs to the sink, then stops.
Why didn’t she use water to put out the fire? |
CA: Water will make the flames spread. |
PRACTICE/APPLY:
- Learning Unit Objective: Given a scenario, the learner will be able to determine the correct course of treatment for the patient.
|
Q1 |
Video of doctor explaining a patient's vitals to a nurse.
Watch the video above. Based on the patient’s presentation, what will the physician order for Katie? |
CA: Fluid bolus of 500 ml over 15 minutes
|
|
Q2 |
Gabrielle, a 50 kg patient presented to the ED with a red swollen laceration on her left arm and triaged. The physician was notified of her presenting condition:
Based on Gabrielle’s current vital signs, the physician will order sepsis lab work plus: |
CA: IV of 125 ml of normal saline/hour
|
|
Q1 |
Wanda T. is a 53-year-old female weighing 62 kg who is in the emergency department with acute pancreatitis secondary to chronic alcoholism. She has received a 2-liter fluid bolus of 0.9% NS, broad-spectrum antibiotics, and is receiving norepinephrine via continuous IV drip. She is currently somnolent, with intermittent moaning.
(Please explore the image for more information)
http://www.dragonfly-design.net/kf/wanda/
What action should be initiated next? |
CA: Intubate and mechanically ventilate to stabilize respiratory status.
|
|
Q2 |
Wanda T. is a 53-year-old female weighing 62 kg. She is in the emergency department with acute pancreatitis secondary to chronic alcoholism. She has received a 2-liter fluid bolus of 0.9% NS, broad-spectrum antibiotics, and is receiving norepinephrine via continuous IV drip. She has been stabilized. Vitals:
What action should be initiated next? |
CA: Obtain a stat CT scan of her abdomen to visualize the pancreas.
|
Notes:
- The details of the scenarios are presented via video/interactive in the first questions, and textually in the second questions. Varying the method by which the scenario is delivered in this way may increase novelty or improve learner engagement, but is not, however, an essential part of this shadow technique.
- In these examples, the details of Question #2 vary enough to change the correct answer. This approach is strongly recommended, rather than simply changing non-determinative scenario details.
Distractors must be chosen carefully to ensure that they are related to the objective and address misinformation learners are likely to hold.