INSTRUCTOR RESOURCES
Best practices for authoring MCQs
There are a number of review articles that articulate good practices for authoring MCQs. We have all encountered vague or problematic questions before (including many end-of-chapter test questions in textbooks), but there are some simple rules that enable authors to create good questions. We generally start the course and introduction to Quizzical with a tutorial that covers the ‘do’s and don’ts’ of authorship.
Course set-up Instructions
Quizzical was written from the standpoint of an instructor who has little or no experience with educational software, and guides the instructor through aspects of scheduling, assignment of teaching assistants, the uploading of textbook figures, aspects of student authoring and parameters of quiz participation. For this and all other aspects of the instructor’s dashboard, please watch the video above.
Monitoring TA and Student Progress
On the instructor’s dashboard are graphics that chart class progress overall and by lecture, such that student comprehension can be indirectly gauged. The instructor can also use a proxy to log in as a student to see an individual student’s activity, which may assist in diagnosing gaps in student learning and facilitate more effective advising. There is also a graph that charts the progress of TA grading so that the instructor can quickly determine if grading is proceeding efficiently (which is important if there are deadlines for quiz participation).