7.1.1 Question types

Described image
Figure 2 Screenshot of a completed practice quiz for Succeed with Maths 1 (OpenLearn).

You can use quizzes to ask learners to do the following:

  • categorise information and ideas
  • compare and contrast options
  • answer questions which require more than one answer
  • analyse texts or scenarios (such as a case study)
  • evaluate different options or scenarios
  • choose from a selection of potential answers (provide at least 4 choices)

Each of these different assessment options can be supported in questions which do not require the learner to write a paragraph or essay and can be designed to draw quite complex thought processes and responses from learners.

Question types available in Moodle quiz include the following:

  • Combined (more than one type of question combined into a question)
  • drag and drop into text
  • drag and drop onto image
  • drag and drop markers
  • matching
  • multiple choice
  • numerical
  • OU multiple response
  • pattern match
  • select missing words
  • short answer (this works as a very restricted type of pattern match)
  • true/false
  • variable numeric
  • variable numeric set
  • variable numeric set with units

Questions either require a selected response in which all possible answers are available for the learner to choose from, or a constructed response in which the learner must work out their own answer, though the author would ensure there are a very small number of potentially correct answers against which the learner response can be compared.  

Numeric and selected response questions are suitable for using in an open online course for supporting learning and effective assessment. Examples of selected response questions include:

  • multiple choice (select one from many)
  • multiple response (select several from many)
  • true/false (select one from two)
  • drag and drop into text, select missing word, drag and drop onto images, matching (select one from many several times)
  • drag and drop markers (onto an image or a piece of text)

Please note that drag and drop quiz questions do have accessibility issues for some users – older browsers do not support drag and drop questions so well as new ones (many learners will be using older browsers) and some tablets also have problems with drag and drop. Therefore you need to consider how much you are going to use this question type in your quiz and if there is a pass grade, whether there are sufficient questions of other types to enable a learner to pass if they cannot use the drag and drop questions successfully.

Described image
Figure 3 Selecting Moodle quiz question types.

Only some constructed response questions are suitable for an open online course where there is no tutor to mark the responses, for example essay questions are impossible to mark without a tutor.

Examples of constructed response questions which can be used (with great care in the case of short answer and pattern match) include:

  • Pattern match and short answer (free text matching is tricky, so although the pattern match question has sophisticated response matching functionality, using this requires careful and thorough authors)
  • Numeric, variable numeric and variable numeric sets (will match numeric responses)

7.1 Quiz question types and behaviour

7.1.2 Question behaviour