Improving eLearning with Better Multiple Choice Questions

October 20, 2021
4 minutes
Patti Shank joined #IDIODC

Question: IDIODC stands for Instructional Designers in Offices Drinking Coffee
Please select the best answer below.
- True
- False
- None of the above

If you listen/watch this episode you will learn what is wrong with that question.  That and so much more.  

Patti Shank is an expert at assessments and writing great multiple-choice questions. She joined us to help us all get a little bit better at writing these assessment types.  

I do not think any of us will ever look at our multiple choice questions the same way again.  It was a fun and fascinating conversation that covered a lot of ground but also left a lot of room for further study.  You can buy her book here.

"Multiple-choice questions are hard to write well. Too many multiple-choice questions measure recall of course content rather than achievement of (well-written) learning objectives! Poorly chosen and written multiple-choice questions damage assessment validity." - Patti Shank

To see all the comments from the chat, check out the full session right here.  

And to ask more questions, or participate in extended conversations about this episode, please join us in the IDIODC LinkedIn Group.

About Patti Shank

Patti is known to use science to improve the results from instruction. Often working with experts, instructional designers, companies, and others to select and apply needed tactics, in order to get critically-needed results.

Patti Shank PhD is listed as one of the Top 10 Most Influential People in eLearning internationally. She has written numerous books and her articles are found all over the Internet.

You can find out more about Patti on her site here at pattishank.com

You can also buy her books on Amazon.

About IDIODC

Instructional Designers in Offices Drinking Coffee (affectionately known as IDIODC) is a weekly live videocast and podcast that helps instructional designers with pain points and provides best practices and industry insight.  

Every Wednesday morning at 10am ET hosts Brent Schlenker and Chris Van Wingerden guide us through an upbeat and candid conversation with their guests from the elearning and training world. The live cast session encourages peers to participate in the chat and share their own personal insight! After airing live, you can catch the learning podcast on all major streams such as Spotify, Apple and Google Play podcasts, as well as on YouTube.

IDIODC is a Top 40 Hit!

We could have been #1 but chair dancing was not a judged element. But no matter, we’re just happy to be selected. Check out this amazingly short press release: “IDIODC was selected as one of the Top 40 Learning and Development Podcasts on the web.”

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