Characteristics Of A Good Question
Instructors and eLearning professionals are frequently charged with question generation as part of module quiz construction. This article addresses several important features of good questions as well as tools for creating questions and quizzes.
What Are the Features of a Good Question?
That is how important a good question is. It is a powerful instrument that can have the intended effect and elicit the appropriate feelings and thoughts. A smart question can spark creativity while simultaneously educating students.
While creating good questions may appear to be an easy undertaking, it is not as simple as it appears. An excellent question should have its personality, made up of distinct qualities. Here are among the most important qualities of a good question.
- Relevant
A good inquiry is pertinent. It focuses on remembering only the material covered in your class and is nicely aligned with the overall learning objectives.
If you ask, ‘What are the branches of soil science?’ for an initial lecture that focuses solely on the kind of soil, it is not a relevant question. In this case, a better and more relevant question would be, ‘What are the features of each type of soil?’
- Short
An excellent query is usually short and to the point. It eliminates any extraneous material that would necessitate pupils spending time comprehending it correctly. The goal is not to deceive students but to test their knowledge.
Consider the following question: ‘Because canine distemper affects numerous body systems, including the gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract, spinal cord, and brain, how should canines be treated for it?’ This question provides far more information than is required. It might easily be renamed ‘How to Treat Canine Distemper?’
- Clear
An excellent inquiry is phrased in simple, understandable language with no ambiguity. Even if they don’t know the answer, students should understand what the question is asking.
Because it does not specify whose rights are sought, the inquiry ‘What are your rights?’ may be seen as perplexing and ambiguous. When asked, however, ‘What basic rights are covered by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?’ the same issue becomes clear and explicit.
- Purposeful
A query with no clear objective is meaningless. The purpose aids in evaluating the question against some predetermined criteria. A good inquiry can elicit innate as well as particular knowledge.
To answer a question like “What is the capital of France?” the learner only needs to use their recollection. And if that is your goal, the query is entirely justified. However, if the goal is to assess and improve the student’s reasoning abilities, the same question could be phrased as ‘How is Paris well positioned to be the capital of France?’
- Leading But Not Guiding
A good question helps students understand the notion in the picture. However, it does not lead them to concrete answers.
For example, the question ‘Since infant formula is a safe substitute for breastfeeding, should its usage be normalized?’ is strongly biased because it believes formula is safe for infants and drives users to respond with a ‘yes.’ Instead, reword the question as, ‘Do you believe the usage of infant formula should be normalized?’
- It stimulates thought
An excellent question requires students to think about and remember the information given. By asking the obvious, it does not patronize them.
‘Can you exist without water?’ is an excellent example of a question that does not provoke thought because it queries a commonly acknowledged truth. In this case, a better inquiry may be, ‘How long does it take to die from a lack of water?’
- One Dimensional
Remember, one question equals one answer. As a result, a good question concentrates on one dimension at a time. If there are several ideas to evaluate, divide them into separate questions.
It all comes down to good questions, their strength, and their traits. Interestingly, if you are frequently assigned with question formulation, you no longer need to rely only on manual efforts. You could employ artificial intelligence-powered automatic question generation solutions. And, if you’ve got a wealth of good questions in your question set, check out this interesting advice on creating stellar learning quizzes.
I hope you found this information interesting. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
