Question Types Available in a Quiz Activity
Overview
This tutorial provides an in-depth overview of the various quiz question types available in the learning system, helping trainers and assessors choose the most suitable option for their assessment needs. It explains the purpose and functionality of each quiz question type, including their strengths, limitations, and ideal use cases.
By the end of this tutorial, users will have a clear understanding of when and how to use different quiz question types to engage learners, assess knowledge effectively, and maintain assessment integrity within the system.
Step Tutorial
Once you have created your quiz, go to the Questions tab. From there, you can add different question types from the available selection, including:
Multiple Choice
Purpose & Functionality: The Multiple Choice question type allows learners to select one or more correct responses from a list of possible answers. Teachers can specify whether only one answer is correct (single choice) or if multiple options may apply (multiple answers). Each option can be assigned a specific grade weighting, enabling flexible scoring.
Strengths: Automatically graded, quick to answer, and easy to analyse.
Limitations: May promote guessing if distractors (incorrect options) are poorly designed.
Ideal Use Case: Best for testing comprehension of facts, concepts, or general knowledge where clear, distinct options are available.
True or False
Purpose & Functionality: This question type presents a single statement that learners must decide is either true or false. It is automatically marked and easy to create, making it ideal for quick knowledge checks.
Strengths: Simple to construct and grade; highly efficient for basic assessments.
Limitations: Limited depth of assessment; 50% chance of guessing correctly.
Ideal Use Case: Ideal for assessing factual accuracy or confirming understanding of straightforward statements.
Matching
Purpose & Functionality: The Matching question type requires learners to pair items from two lists — such as terms and definitions, causes and effects, or questions and answers. It assesses the learner’s ability to recognise relationships between related concepts.
Strengths: Encourages critical thinking and association skills.
Limitations: Can become cluttered or confusing if too many items are included.
Ideal Use Case: Excellent for vocabulary tests, definitions, or concept pairing activities.
Short Answer
Purpose & Functionality: Learners are prompted to type a word or short phrase as their response. The system automatically checks their answer against a list of accepted responses defined by the teacher. This question type encourages recall rather than recognition.
Strengths: Promotes active recall; automatically marked when answers are predictable.
Limitations: Sensitive to spelling, spacing, and capitalisation unless alternative spellings are listed.
Ideal Use Case: Ideal for identifying key terms, short formulas, or direct factual responses.
Numerical
Purpose & Functionality: This question type requires learners to enter a numerical value as the answer. Teachers can set tolerance levels to account for rounding or small calculation errors and may include units for more precise responses.
Strengths: Automatically marked and supports tolerance ranges for acceptable answers.
Limitations: Not ideal for open-ended or multi-step problem-solving.
Ideal Use Case: Useful for mathematics, science, and finance calculations requiring exact numerical outcomes.
Essay
Purpose & Functionality: The Essay question allows learners to provide long-form written responses, which are manually graded by the teacher. It supports rich text formatting and file uploads.
Strengths: Enables assessment of higher-order thinking, analysis, and communication skills.
Limitations: Requires manual marking, which can be time-consuming.
Ideal Use Case: Best for assessing understanding, reasoning, and argument development in complex topics.
All-or-Nothing Multiple Choice
Purpose & Functionality: This variation of the multiple-choice question awards full marks only if all correct options are selected and no incorrect options are chosen. It ensures learners demonstrate complete understanding of the topic.
Strengths: Encourages careful consideration of all options and deeper understanding.
Limitations: Offers no partial credit, which may penalise near-correct responses.
Ideal Use Case: Ideal for questions where partial understanding is insufficient, such as safety procedures or compliance standards.
Calculated Multichoice
Purpose & Functionality: Combines elements of numerical and multiple-choice questions. It uses formula-based variables that generate random numbers for each attempt, creating unique versions of the same question.
Strengths: Minimises cheating and promotes genuine understanding through variable randomisation.
Limitations: Requires setup of complex formulas and careful answer calibration.
Ideal Use Case: Perfect for quantitative assessments where numeric variation enhances integrity, such as physics or accounting.
Calculated Simple
Purpose & Functionality: A simplified version of the calculated question, it generates random values within a defined range and uses a single formula to calculate the correct answer.
Strengths: Easier to set up than the full calculated question type; automatically graded.
Limitations: Limited flexibility for more complex formulas or multi-step problems.
Ideal Use Case: Great for maths and science quizzes requiring repetition and practice with varying numbers.
Drag-and-Drop into Text
Purpose & Functionality: Learners drag words or phrases into blank spaces within a passage of text. It tests comprehension and contextual understanding by requiring learners to place the correct word in the correct location.
Strengths: Interactive and engaging; automatically graded.
Limitations: Can be tricky to use on smaller devices; limited to predefined responses.
Ideal Use Case: Ideal for language learning, terminology practice, or process comprehension exercises.
Drag-and-Drop Markers
Purpose & Functionality: Learners place labelled markers onto specific locations on an image. Each marker represents a response that must be accurately positioned.
Strengths: Visually engaging and supports spatial learning.
Limitations: Can be difficult to use on touchscreens or smaller displays.
Ideal Use Case: Excellent for identifying parts of diagrams, maps, or anatomical structures.
Drag-and-Drop onto Image
Purpose & Functionality: Learners drag text labels or small images onto designated target zones on a background image. It assesses visual recognition and understanding of spatial relationships.
Strengths: Highly visual and intuitive; encourages active participation.
Limitations: Requires clear design and accurate placement of drop zones.
Ideal Use Case: Suitable for identifying system components, structures, or visual relationships.
Embedded Answers (Cloze)
Purpose & Functionality: This versatile question type embeds multiple sub-questions—such as multiple choice, short answer, or numerical—within a single passage of text. It provides an integrated assessment experience in a single question.
Strengths: Efficient use of space; tests comprehension in realistic or contextualised scenarios.
Limitations: Setup can be complex due to formatting syntax.
Ideal Use Case: Best for assessing comprehension within a case study, reading passage, or applied context.
Essay (Auto-grade)
Note: This question type is not related to AI Grading feature
Purpose & Functionality:
An advanced version of the essay question that automatically grades responses based on keywords, structure, or AI-assisted criteria. It aims to streamline marking for predictable short essays.
Strengths: Reduces grading workload and ensures consistency.
Limitations: May not fully capture nuance or creativity in written work.
Ideal Use Case: Suitable for short written assessments with specific criteria or model answers.
Freehand Drawing (ETH)
Purpose & Functionality: This question type enables learners to draw directly onto a blank or background image using a mouse or touchscreen. It is ideal for demonstrating visual knowledge or problem-solving processes.
Strengths: Encourages creativity and allows for practical demonstration.
Limitations: Manual grading required; drawing tools can be limited in precision.
Ideal Use Case: Ideal for design, architecture, biology, or technical subjects requiring sketching or labelling.
Gapfill
Purpose & Functionality: Allows teachers to create fill-in-the-blank questions where learners type the missing words or select them from a dropdown list. Teachers can define multiple correct answers per gap.
Strengths: Highly flexible and automatically graded; encourages recall and contextual understanding.
Limitations: Sensitive to spelling or spacing errors.
Ideal Use Case: Excellent for testing language structure, key terms, or sequential processes.
Random Short-Answer Matching
Purpose & Functionality: This type randomly selects short-answer questions from a specified category and converts them into a matching format. It automatically marks responses based on predefined answer pairs.
Strengths: Adds variability and challenge to assessments.
Limitations: Depends on a well-organised question bank.
Ideal Use Case: Perfect for revision quizzes or self-assessment where variation encourages deeper learning.
Ordering
Purpose & Functionality: Learners are required to arrange items, steps, or events in the correct order. The system then grades the accuracy of their sequence.
Strengths: Excellent for assessing understanding of processes or logical sequences.
Limitations: Limited feedback for partial errors.
Ideal Use Case: Ideal for workflows, chronological events, or step-by-step procedures.
Select Missing Words
Purpose & Functionality: Learners complete sentences by selecting the correct words from dropdown menus embedded in the text. Each dropdown corresponds to a specific gap.
Strengths: Easy to mark and encourages attention to context.
Limitations: Becomes cumbersome if too many dropdowns are included.
Ideal Use Case: Best for grammar checks, contextual learning, or technical terminology exercises.
Description
Purpose & Functionality: The Description question type is not an actual question; it is a text element used to display information, instructions, or guidance within a quiz. This is similar to how labels can be used to add content to a course page. It can include formatted text, images, multimedia, or HTML, but it does not collect any answers from students.
Strengths: It helps clarify instructions or provide context without confusing students with “real” questions. It can also include rich content such as images, videos, or formatted text to support understanding within the quiz.
Limitations: This question type cannot collect responses or be graded, as students do not answer it. Overusing it may make a quiz visually cluttered or harder to navigate.
Ideal Use Case: It is best used for providing instructions before a set of questions, giving context or background for scenario-based questions, or separating sections within a long quiz to improve readability.
These are the question types available within the quiz that you can choose from.
Congratulations on completing this tutorial. We hope this has been helpful to you and your organisation. For any questions or concerns regarding this function, please reach out to the contact support via email.
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