Thoughts@Focalworks

Creating MCQs, Part III: Alternative Types of Multiple Choice Questions

This three-part whitepaper explores some possibilities and ideas in creating multiple choice questions (MCQs). In Part III, we look at alternatives to the basic MCQ.

Employee Assessments: Organisational Value and Purpose

Managers, whether in HR or in Training, need to know employees at various levels. The process of getting to know employees happens in diverse ways: A recruitment manager finds out about potential candidates through interviews and written tests. A team leader finds out about team members through one-on-one interactions, word of mouth, qualitative assessments of past performance.

Learning Objects and Learning Objectives

 One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to learning courseware. But for numerous reasons, one size “needs” to fit all; the effort and resources put into standards compliance is monumental.

Courseware Unlimited: Knowledge Managers and the Internet

In terms of attitudes to Internet use, we see all sorts today. Some still use paper and pen, only occasionally looking up information online, while others do everything online. Just the same way, some read print newspapers, others read their news online, and so on.

7 Essential Learning Tools

Whether in everyday life or in a corporate environment, learning is an ongoing process. For knowledge workers, much of it happens online; in structured contexts, all of it happens online (or at a computer). Perhaps because so much of our work is done online, “learning” and “productivity” today are closely linked ideas. Many tools can be called learning tools or productivity tools, almost interchangeably.

Learning Theories 101: What they mean

Any e-learning courseware designer knows about Bloom’s Taxonomy of the cognitive domain. The taxonomy works as a theory that can directly be applied to e-learning. Others, like Multiple Intelligences, can be used to promote (or discourage) this or that learning system. Broader theories—like Humanism—look at people and learning in all their complexity, trying to arrive at How to Teach People. Why so many theories?

Learning 2.0: Accelerating Learning

Taking a conceptual look at the idea of "Social Learning", a string of ideas is apparent. Ease of access to information means that more people are on the network, and that information exists in more locations. This in turn causes more people to access information. At the next level: there is more interaction between people, and also, people and information have begun to interact. This in turn causes people to interact more with each other.

All this points to the concept of acceleration.

ROI In Training: The Good, the Bad, and... the Real

The value of training often needs to be declared in monetary terms before a programme begins. The value might need to be demonstrated after the training ends. Various members of an organisation—the training manager, upper management, the HR people, and others—can have different ideas about the ROI.

Given that there are many points of view, ROI in training can become a convoluted topic. What happens when we try to keep it simple?

Learner-centric Training: Beyond the Buzz

Knowledge workers deal with larger amounts of information every year, and avenues of knowledge dissemination increase at a similar rate. The knowledge manager needs to ask more and more often: Is my training programme working? And, further: Are my training costs justified? Do I need to adopt a new training paradigm? I can’t retain all my employees, but can I retain their working knowledge?

Creating MCQs, Part I: Which is the Right Question?

This three-part white paper explores some possibilities and ideas in creating multiple choice questions (MCQs). In Part I, we look at:

  • Framing questions with the correct focus
  • Best practices in MCQ creation
  • Making distracters plausible

Creating MCQs, Part II: Make The Right Choice

This three-part white paper explores some possibilities and ideas in creating multiple choice questions (MCQs). In Part II, we look at:

  • The types of knowledge (by Bloom’s taxonomy of cognitive objectives) that you can test for using MCQs
  • How to create MCQs for each of the types of knowledge