Designing and using MCQs in the classroom
- Yamina Bibi
- Jul 11, 2020
- 3 min read
After reading Daisy Christolodou’s book ‘Making Good Progress? The Future for Assessment for Learning’ a few years ago, I became interested in the way multiple choice questions can be used to embed the principles of formative feedback in the classroom.
With the current situation, it’s great to see many schools considering their use of MCQs in order to elicit evidence of learning, address misconceptions and to help close the knowledge gaps our students will inevitably return to school with in September.
In my own classroom, I have been creating MCQs to check my students’ understanding and knowledge using self-marked google form quizzes. I then use student responses to plan learning that directly addresses the misconceptions to support their progress.
Key Principles
In Stuart Kime’s ‘Guidance for using MCQs in Distance Learning’ for #rEdLoom CPD, he noted the key principles of MCQs which make them effective in identifying misconceptions. Although these were for distance learning, it is definitely applicable to any classroom.
The stem (the question) identifies the key knowledge being tested and should be a meaningful question.
Be precise and focus on one small aspect of a topic. Avoid complex vocabulary in the stem question.
It should not be negatively phrased (“which of the statements are not…”)
The ‘key’ is the correct answer.
The two others are the ‘distractors’ (incorrect answers) Having a choice of three is best. This can be quite challenging but fun.
Alternatives should be similar in content, mutually exclusive and not overlap.
How have I used MCQs in my classroom?
This term, I have created MCQs testing students’ knowledge of ‘Macbeth’, specifically knowledge of plot and features of language and form used by Shakespeare. As well as knowing what happens in the play, I would like my students to be able to analyse and evaluate Shakespeare’s use of language and metre in their essays. In order to do this, they will need to be able to identify and explain the differences between metrical forms first.
As you can see in the image below, I explicitly teach them the key knowledge required and then test them using MCQs. Through google forms, I was able to identify which questions were frequently missed and it was unsurprising to see that many students were still confused about the differences between iambic pentameter and trochaic tetrameter. I ensured I planned for this by including the answers to the quiz within my lesson (see image 2) and explicitly revisiting this key knowledge.
What I then do is set the same or similar quizzes again later on in the term in order to check whether students have really understood the knowledge, concepts, skills or whether I need to reteach them.
Image 1
Image 2
I have really enjoyed creating MCQs as it has tested my own subject knowledge and tested whether I can create plausible distractors to elicit evidence of learning.
What’s next?
As a MAT, we have been thinking about how we use MCQs across departments to enable teachers to quickly identify students’ gaps and address them in virtual lessons and through homework.
As a result, I was asked to deliver a CPD session on using MCQs effectively. I have added the slides from the session below and hope you find it useful in helping you embed the principles of formative assessment. I am aiming to add a recording of this session soon.
I would love to hear your thoughts so all feedback is welcome!
Thank you for reading.
Yamina
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